Stefan Hamann
Founder & Co-CEOSince founding the company when 16-years-old, Stefan has been responsible defining the strategic course of shopware AG. With a focus dedicated to technology, finance and controlling, Stefan spearheads the continuing development of the award-winning eCommerce platform.
Sebastian Hamann
Founder & Co-CEOSebastian Hamann is a passionate designer and a pioneer in bringing more emotional shopping to the German ecommerce. Already at the age of 15, along with his brother, he founded Shopware. As the creative head of the company, Sebastian is responsible for the holistic design and marketing concept. In order to shape the future of retail, he always thinks out of the box.
Winfried Hering
COOWinfried Hering has been supporting Shopware’s CEOs Stefan and Sebastian Hamann as COO since 2020. Hering is a “digital native” and has worked in the IT sector since 2001, particularly in financial services. In 2013, he switched to the field of management consultancy and focused on business intelligence. Before joining Shopware, he was self-employed for four years. The Westphalian software provider was one of the companies he advised during this time. Now he primarily supports operational activities and is instrumental on Shopware’s path to grow and expand internationally.
Sebastian Klöpper
Director Product Platform & OperationsAs Director Product (Platform & Operations) Sebastian Klöpper is responsible for the Shopware product roadmap, release planning and the implementation of new features and improvements. The areas of support, quality assurance and documentation for all Shopware products also fall within his remit. Sebastian Klöpper has been with Shopware since 2007.
Jörn Paulsen
Director Product Cloud & ServicesAs Director Product (Cloud & Services), Jörn Paulsen develops and carries out Shopware’s Cloud strategy. With over 20 years of experience in the digital industry, the media IT graduate initially worked as a web application developer for a Hamburg agency At a start-up in Cologne in 2009, he immersed himself in the world of ecommerce as Head of Product. There he set up the Cloud shop system SUPR together with Tengelmann Ventures and the Otto Group and later sold it in the role of COO to Wirecard AG, where as Vice President he promoted ongoing expansion. Jörn Paulsen has been part of the Shopware family since 2019.
Josua Seiler
Director Product Technology & ExperienceJosua Seiler has been gathering experience with Shopware since 2012, as he managed the agency conexco; one of the few Shopware partners to be entrusted with the implementation of complex projects right from the start and was instrumental in the development of Shopware 6. Prior to founding conexco, Josua was part of the original team at pauldirekt GmbH and, as Managing Director, was responsible for the conception and development of one of Germany's leading online shopping clubs. His ecommerce experience dates back to 2001 when he set up and managed a variety of online shops. With his wealth of more than 15 years of practical experience, Josua is now pushing ahead with the future development of the Shopware product family.
Stefan Zessel
Director Sales GermanyStefan Zessel, Director Sales & Relations, has been working in Shopware sales since 2012. During this time, he already managed the sales activities in the DACH market while focusing on customer and partner satisfaction. Having worked as branch manager for small and medium-sized brand online shops, Stefan Zessel has gained extensive experience and comprehensive eCommerce expertise, which the business management graduate and his team apply in a very practical and pragmatic way to all sales processes.
Boris Redlich
Director Sales InternationalBoris Redlich has a degree in international business studies. Having gained international experience in Chile and the United States, Redlich has more than 20 years of sales and leadership experience under his belt. Among others, he worked at General Electric, Siemens AG, and Insight Technology Solutions. Before joining shopware AG, he was in charge of expanding and professionalising the sales department of a market leader for software personnel management, where he was able to achieve significant success.
Ben Marks
Director Global Market DevelopmentBen Marks is a demonstrated leader in the world of open source commerce ecosystems & strategy. After teaching himself PHP in 2003, he helped to connect hundreds of thousands of open source developers while launching tens of thousands of developer careers worldwide over the past decade. Ben has been working as Magento Lead Evangelist before he intentionally joined Shopware. He believes in the power of commerce ecosystems to transform lives and dedicates himself to bringing people together for this purpose.
Herbert Lefering
Director KnowledgeAs Director of Knowledge, Herbert Lefering is responsible for disseminating knowledge at Shopware, which includes e.g. the Shopware Academy. He graduated from a German academy for administration and economics. Before entering the IT world, he had been working as an independent management consultant. For a decade, the sales expert was in charge of developing and managing global sales at Tobit Software AG. He then launched the EMEA business of the Canadian company GWAVA, which he managed for 16 years. Herbert Lefering has been with Shopware since the end of 2018.
Tobias Blick
Director Brand MarketingTobias is responsible for the communication strategy of Shopware and the building and care of the brand. Since graduating in 1999 with a master’s in Event Planning and Business Administration, Tobias has amassed significant experience in marketing - his last position was Manager of Global Marketing at Chiemsee, the famous board-sports brand.
Jennifer Tribbels
Director Growth MarketingJennifer Tribbels is the director of the Growth Marketing department. Tribbels has many years of online marketing experience under her belt. She’s an expert in growth & performance marketing. Since 2007, she has set up teams on several occasions and has supported agile, fast-growing companies in their growth. She’s a fan of technology and innovation and enjoys looking at things from a new perspective. This mindset makes her a great fit for Shopware.
Ralf Marpert
Director Finance, People & CultureAs Director of Finance, People & Culture, Ralf Marpert is responsible for managing all administrative processes. Next to developing Shopware as an attractive employer, Ralf also covers all central procurement and contractual matters. Before his time at Shopware, he gained extensive experience in classic B2B retail at Pietsch Group, a wholesaler for home technology, as well as from his 8 years’ experience as an Assistant to the Managing Director and supply chain Division Manager. He graduated from the University of Konstanz (Administrative Sciences, 2004) and the German International Business School (GISMA) in Hannover (MBA, 2012).
supervisory board
Reinhold Wellers
Supervisory Board / Chairman
As chairman of the supervisory board, Reinhold Wellers has been an important part of Shopware’s history since 2008. His 35+ years’ experience as a bank operator have been instrumental to Shopware’s everyday business. During his time as chairman, Shopware became one of the leading shop software manufacturers in Europe.
Christoph Pliete
Supervisory Board
As founder and chairman of the board at the software company d.velop AG, Pliete brings an IT background to the supervisory board. For the past 25 years, he has seen constant growth at the top of a company and completes the supervisory board with his profound business insight.
Christoph Hertz
Supervisory Board
Like the Hamann brothers, Christoph Hertz set up his own business right after school and, as CEO of the visunext Group, became the market leader in the field of projection technology and visual products within 15 years. As the operator of numerous online shops, he brings valuable impulses from the customer perspective to the supervisory board.