Torsten Schäfer, Director of EU Business Operations: People of Pattern

At Pattern, we believe our people are the key to our success. Our #PeopleofPattern series shines a spotlight on our employees, their achievements, and why they choose to work at Pattern. The first person we’ll be talking to as part of this series is Torsten Schäfer.

Torsten Schäfer joined Pattern in October 2020 as our Country Manager for Germany and has recently been appointed Director of EU Business Operations. Torsten is responsible for Pattern’s Munich office where our team manages and builds strategic partnerships to grow sales for brands within the German market and neighbouring German-speaking markets. He will soon also be taking over management of the UK & NL warehouses, European compliance, and overseeing sales analysis and insights across the EU.

Torsten’s previous experience working at ecommerce heavyweight Amazon and consulting and technology leader Accenture has proven highly valuable in his role as Country Manager and pivotal to the success of our German office.

Why do you choose to work at Pattern?

I work at Pattern because of the broad responsibilities involved, as well as the opportunity to be able to work very closely with all the different functions of the business. This includes working on the very core operations of the business, from warehousing to supporting the marketing department with webinars and PR.

I also enjoy that we partner globally with the brands that we work with. Though I run the Munich office, I would say there’s no such thing as a “German team”. I consider us to be a key part of the European team, who work from the Munich office. With regards to getting to the details of setting up with the local commissions, getting the business set-up in Germany, and managing all this payroll, it's a very end-to-end and top-to-bottom responsibility. That’s what I was looking for and that’s exactly what I have now. That’s what I love.

What I also love is our strategic way of working. We have so many options that we can go for, so many opportunities that we can pursue, some of which I need to prioritise heavily so that I do the most promising things first. There’s a long list that we can work on all together. This is the second thing that excites me about working at Pattern and not working in big corporate anymore. We work on long-term partnerships to help brands grow internationally on marketplaces. The relationship we are building with our partners is eye level and includes plenty of strategic elements where we can draw from our expertise as ecommerce consultants. This in combination with operational excellence enables us to accelerate growth jointly.

That’s great, thank you. What would you say the most rewarding part of working at Pattern has been in your experience?

The most rewarding part? I think that the most rewarding part is feeling valued. Everyone in our business adds a lot of value and this is recognised by everyone. Being able to turn the dial, to really make a difference with going for new sales targets, on the one hand, or closing a deal that will bring us another 10% or 20% more business next year is great.

The same is true for our brand partnerships when we are accelerating sales by leveraging our technology platform, improving efficiencies, and inventing on their behalf. These are big opportunities that really mean something to the business, something significantly incremental to the business. Whether it’s on the profit end or on the growth side, that is very rewarding.

Last question, why would you recommend working at Pattern?

I would definitely recommend working at Pattern. Why? Because of the things that I’ve already said. We are not a small company anymore, but we are still acting with a start-up mentality. So, if you are excited and if you are willing to invest, then you can engage in a variety of projects that are helping the business and thus our partners to grow or be more efficient over time. You can really make a difference - this is why I would recommend working at Pattern.

Besides that, we have a great team that is working together in a variety of dimensions. We are also working very cooperatively to come up with solutions. Plenty of times we are meeting and brainstorming together and then dividing and conquering. This is also something that I really like about how we do things here at Pattern. Everyone plays an important role here. The overarching thing that is exciting is the business model and the trajectory that we are on.

We just recently announced our funding round, where we raised $225 million. We are doing exciting things, looking into new business models, like acquiring brands that can grow internationally, and investing into our ecommerce acceleration platform. It’s a great way of looking forward to what Pattern will be able to do in the next 2-3 years and even 10 years. There’s no limit.

We’re growing our team at Pattern!

If you're looking to start a career in ecommerce or even if you're a seasoned professional and want to learn more about our exciting opportunities, check out our open positions here. LinkedIn Live: Watch Harriet Redfern, European Talent Manager, and Nicola Hollow, General Manager Europe, discuss how digital, ecommerce and marketplace professionals can develop their careers with Pattern.