Daniel Topolanek

MD & Country Director Germany @ Butternut Box | B Corp

Berlin Metropolitan Area

About

Managing Director & Country Director Germany @ Butternut Box Experience in - building high-performing teams, as well as empowering them to own their goals & KPIs - all while focusing on a high eNPS - P&L ownership, with ability to optimise top-/bottom-line or both - scaling operations at double/triple digit weekly (!) growth rates - developing expansion blueprint models - leading high budget negotiations with internal / external stakeholders - managing multiple projects, work streams and stakeholders at once Graduate of - an MA in Strategy and International Management at University of St. Gallen (HSG) - an MBA focused on Marketing and Sustainability at INCAE Business School (Costa Rica) - a BA in Economics and Business at University College London (UCL) Additionally, I'm - a former Global Shaper, an organisation of the World Economic Forum - a former athlete (Lacrosse) for the Austrian national team - the Founder and first President of a student-led consultancy (180 Degrees Consulting) for charities and non-profits in London, which now consults up to 8 charities a year

Experience

  • Butternut Box | B Corp (Berlin, Germany · Hybrid)
    • MD & Country Director Germany
      Feb 2026 - Present · 5 mos

    • MD & Country Manager Germany
      Apr 2024 - Feb 2026 · 1 yr 11 mos

      As employee #1 for Germany my goal is to build a happy high performing team that lives our mission every day: to deliver health and happiness to dogs and their humans all over the world. Butternut Box is a fresh dog food subscription. Our meals are healthy, delicious and hypoallergenic. Perfectly-portioned and delivered directly to your door. www.butternutbox.com

  • Rex (Berlin, Germany · On-site)
    • VP Expansion
      Oct 2023 - Mar 2024 · 6 mos

      - Developed comprehensive data-driven expansion strategy to ensure each location hits profitability quickly - all practices launched profitable from 1st month - Sourcing real estate leads and negotiating rental contracts, with particular focus on construction cost subsidies, rent allocation for construction costs and rent-free periods - Negotiating and contracting general contractors, individual construction companies and smaller service providers - Comprehensive project management with internal and external stakeholders to ensure practice launch success - Construction supervision to ensure construction progress within timeline & budget - Managing real estate portfolio, including insurance and facility management contracts

    • Head of Operations & Expansion
      Jun 2022 - Sep 2023 · 1 yr 4 mos

      Leading Operations & Expansion efforts in order to build the most modern and pet-friendly veterinary practices - for pets and their human friends

  • Gorillas (Berlin, Germany)
    • Operations Lead Germany
      Sep 2021 - Apr 2022 · 8 mos

      - Led the conceptualisation and implementation of Operations projects & processes across Germany - Owned relevant tools used in Operations - Owned communication between other departments and Operations

    • Head of Strategy & Operations - Region East (Berlin, Leipzig & Dresden)
      Apr 2021 - Sep 2021 · 6 mos

      6 months of absolute madness - managed 2,000 people with mid-range 2-digit €mn ARR - grew double-digit % on a weekly basis and launched up to 2 new warehouses a month, as well as hired about 30 people per WH - handled multiple wildcat strikes, including conversations with local/Bundestag politicians, police and journalists

    • International Expansion Manager
      Mar 2021 - Apr 2021 · 2 mos

      Planned to launch Italy, but managed and scaled Munich (interim) first, before taking over responsibility for Berlin

  • Project Manager - Strategic Initiatives DACH at HelloFresh
    Dec 2019 - Mar 2021 · 1 yr 4 mos

    Certified Scrum Master responsible for managing strategic cross-functional projects for the DACH region. Additionally, I held the operational pricing responsibility for the region. Notable projects to date: - managing planning & design phase of construction of biggest and most technologically advanced production site in HelloFresh universe - introduction of new box type to increase TAM and retention - rethinking production process to reduce error rates and production times, as well as increase customer experience - implementing operational changes to increase production capacity and productivity at production site (5-weeks physical presence) - setup of new revenue channel which is expected to lead to a 5-figure profit contribution per calendar year

  • Research Consultant at VIVA - Vision y Valores
    May 2019 - Sep 2019 · 5 mos

    Analysing the Central American market for Impact Investing