Cristian van Tienhoven

CEO / COO | P&L Leader | Scaling Global E-commerce, Marketplace & SaaS Platforms | Fintech & Cross-Border Commerce | Board-Level Operator | Ex-Amazon, eBay

London, England, United Kingdom

About

I’m a senior operating executive with 20+ years of experience leading large, complex, technology-enabled businesses across global e-commerce, marketplaces, payments, fintech, and SaaS. My focus as a leader is on building durable operating systems — translating strategic ambition into repeatable commercial, organisational, and executional models that perform under pressure. I place particular emphasis on clear accountability, disciplined operating cadence, analytics-led decision making, and leadership structures that enable genuine delegation in complex organisations. I am most effective in environments that combine scale, operational complexity, and high expectations, where growth depends on aligning authority, accountability, and execution — not individual heroics. Currently, I’m CEO of Global-e Europe, with full P&L responsibility for a $350M+ international business growing at 20% YoY. I work closely with boards and global leadership on profitable growth, commercial optimisation, cross-border expansion, and long-term value creation. Previously, as COO of eBay UK, I led critical horizontal functions spanning pricing, seller services, logistics, financial services, and commercial analytics — balancing growth, margin, and customer experience at scale. Before that, I spent eight years at Amazon in senior general management roles across payments, fulfilment, and marketplaces, including launching new businesses and delivering multiple $1B+ growth initiatives. I began my career in top-tier consulting (PwC Strategy, L.E.K.), advising boards, executives, and private equity clients, before moving into operating roles where execution defines outcomes.

Experience

  • CEO of Global-e Europe at Global-e
    Feb 2024 - Present · 2 yrs 5 mos

    • Full P&L ownership for Global-e’s European business (~$350M+ revenue, ~19% YoY growth) across multiple international markets • Lead a global SaaS and fintech-enabled cross-border commerce platform serving enterprise merchants • Drive profitable growth through pricing strategy, commercial optimisation, international expansion, and operating leverage • Partner with board and executive leadership on strategy, performance management, and long-term value creation • Build and scale senior leadership teams; establish KPIs, operating cadence, and execution discipline

  • COO at eBay UK at eBay
    Sep 2021 - Feb 2024 · 2 yrs 6 mos

    • COO for eBay UK, a multi-billion-dollar marketplace business within a public, global organisation • Owned core growth and profitability levers across pricing & fees, seller services, logistics, financial services, and commercial analytics • Delivered sustained GMV and revenue growth through fee optimisation, promotions, and seller performance programs • Improved delivery speed and customer experience through increased seller compliance and logistics effectiveness • Led large, cross-functional teams in a highly matrixed, public-company environment

  • Amazon (8 yrs 2 mos)
    • General Manager (and employee 1) of Amazon 4-star Europe
      Aug 2019 - Sep 2021 · 2 yrs 2 mos

      • First employee and General Manager for Amazon 4-Star Europe • Led market opportunity assessment and secured senior executive investment approval (2 SVP) • Built founding team and designed operating model, launch strategy, and commercial plan • Owned end-to-end execution through pre-launch; exited role four months prior to launch

    • Head of Business, Fulfilment by Amazon (FBA)
      Aug 2016 - Aug 2019 · 3 yrs 1 mo

      • Led global business programs for FBA, Amazon’s largest and fastest-growing third-party fulfilment platform • Delivered multiple "S-Team" goals and managed multidisciplinary teams across product management, data, engineering, and operations • Delivered billions of dollars in top-line growth through analytics-led insights and new global initiatives • Created, piloted, and scaled programs including Amazon Outlet

    • Head of Pay with Amazon UK
      Jan 2014 - Aug 2016 · 2 yrs 8 mos

      • Full P&L ownership for Amazon Pay UK; later expanded to pan-European leadership (~80 FTEs) • Built and led direct sales, indirect sales, account management, marketing, and partnerships teams • Delivered consistent triple-digit annual revenue growth • Launched flagship products and secured lighthouse enterprise partnerships

  • Advisor at Taggstar
    Jan 2013 - Aug 2014 · 1 yr 8 mos

    • Advised CEO and founder on growth strategy, commercial positioning, and scaling priorities

  • Principal at L.E.K. Consulting
    Nov 2010 - Jul 2013 · 2 yrs 9 mos

    • Senior leader in Retail & Consumer practice serving corporate and private equity clients • Led growth, turnaround, and value-creation strategy engagements • Managed multi-workstream projects and developed long-term C-suite relationships