Amsterdam-based Otrium, a fashion e-commerce platform, announced on Thursday that it has appointed Zuhairah Washington as its new global CEO.
Co-founder Max Klijnstra will serve as Chief Sustainability & Growth Officer, aligning business growth with the outlet’s mission to connect its millions of customers with the world’s leading premium brands to ensure that all clothing that is produced is worn.
Zuhairah Washington – New global CEO
Washington joined the company as President and Chief Operating Officer in 2021, and will drive international growth and oversee all aspects of Otrium’s global operations – product, engineering, sales, marketing, logistics, expansion, legal, finance, and people functions.
Under her leadership, Otrium will focus on charting a path to profitability in Europe and further scaling growth in the US. In 2022, Otrium’s US members grew at a speed of 500 per cent.
Washington says, “I feel extremely fortunate to lead a company that provides consumers of all socioeconomic backgrounds with access to the world’s top premium fashion brands at affordable price points in pursuit of a larger mission – ensuring that all clothing that is produced is worn. As one of the few African-American female CEOs in tech leading a global fashion marketplace, I’m especially proud that we are building the next phase of Otrium with an executive leadership team that is 40% women, of which 100% are women of colour.”
Otrium: Digital fashion outlet
Founded by Max Klijnstra and Milan Daniels in 2015, Otrium is a technology platform via which fashion brands can sell their leftover stocks at a discount.
The Dutch company’s full-service marketplace allows fashion brands to open an online outlet with minimal effort and all the advantages. Through their platform, fashion houses can sell both outlet collections and previous collections while retaining full control over pricing, merchandising, and visibility of their excess inventory.
The company uses machine learning and proprietary technology to determine merchandising and surface product discovery. The fashion e-commerce firm currently offers over 300 fashion brands on its platform.
Klijnstra will drive Otrium’s marketing strategy and sustainability goals, further embedding its mission across the business.
“Globally, an estimated 92M tonnes of textile waste is created each year and ends up in landfills. Otrium was founded to help reverse this trend. We envision a future where every piece of clothing produced is worn. As Otrium’s business grows, we will continue to help decrease the number of garments ending up in landfills. I want to keep personally driving this type of change forward for Otrium and for the industry,” adds Klijnstra.
Daniels will continue to scale and foster the platform’s global brand partnerships, including Tommy Hilfger, Donna Karan New York, Filippa K, Scotch & Soda.
Daniels says, “Max taking on the role of Chief Sustainability & Growth Officer will enable us to bring these topics more into focus across the entire business. Combined with Zuhairah – who is an exceptional leader, one that shares mine and Max’s ambitions for Otrium – taking the role of CEO, and each of us assuming our dedicated roles, the executive team has never been better placed to make Otrium one of the world’s leading end-to-end outlet fashion platforms.”
The Dutch firm serves over 20 markets across Europe and the US from three logistics hubs in the Netherlands, United Kingdom, and the United States. At the heart of the company’s success is a diverse and global team, representing over 30 nationalities.
Read the orginal article: https://siliconcanals.com/news/startups/otrium-new-ceo-zuhairah-washington/
