2024 is just around the corner, and for some of us that means looking back on the past while making a New Year’s resolution or two for the months ahead. This year, Chrono24 has additional business: The beginning of 2024 will see a change in leadership, with co-CEOs Tim Stracke and Holger Felgner stepping aside to make way for Carsten Keller as CEO of the world’s leading luxury watch market.
Time for a New Chapter
This year, Chrono24 looked back on the 20 years that have passed since its founding – 20 years that have taken Chrono24 to where it stands today: more than 9 million monthly users, over 35,000 worldwide sellers, a catalog of more than 530,000 luxury watches, and the technology and data that bring customers and dealers together. The change in leadership was a decision made with the future in mind. “This was a hard decision to make, but Holger and I always knew that we needed a successor who would lead Chrono24 into its next period of growth”, says Tim Stracke.
So just who is Carsten Keller?
The search was already underway at the beginning of 2023, and the perfect choice became clear among all the potential candidates: Carsten Keller from Zalando.
“Carsten’s expertise in the luxury industry, and his experience heading one of Europe’s largest online marketplaces as part of the management team of a DAX company, make him the ideal candidate for the next chapter at Chrono24”, Stracke said about his successor. Keller clearly brings plenty of experience to the table.
Over the past eight years, Carsten has played a key role in developing Zalando’s marketplace model, including founding Connected Retail GmbH, which connects brick-and-mortar stores with online sales. Prior to that, Keller spent more than a decade at McKinsey in leadership positions in the fashion and luxury sectors.
Carsten Keller’s decades of experience as a leader and strategic manager, and especially his fit with Chrono24’s corporate culture, make him more than the right choice for this position.
When asked about Chrono24’s long-term goals as the home of watch lovers around the world, Carsten replied, “The past two decades have seen Chrono24 revolutionize the luxury watch market. Tim and Holger’s leadership have turned it into an absolute world market leader. I’m honored to have this opportunity to lead this global champion towards a successful future. Chrono24’s unique global position, and the momentum on the secondary luxury watch market, are going to help us write the next chapter in this company’s growth.”
What’s Next for Tim Stracke and Holger Felgner?
This is anything but a farewell for Tim Stracke and Holger Felgner. Both will remain key shareholders in the company and members of the Chrono24 advisory board, with Tim Stracke taking over as chairman in January 2024.
