Stefan Hesse

CEO

Hale, England, United Kingdom

About

Entrepreneur, Investor and C-Level Executive with a career spanning over 25 years in retail / wholesale / FMCG / SaaS / XR industries and a wide range of leadership experiences in different strategic and functional contexts from big Corporations and Startups with a diverse multi-national background.

Experience

  • Avatour (Full-time · 5 yrs)
    • CEO
      Oct 2025 - Present · 9 mos

      Avatour is the remote collaboration platform for site visits. Avatour's real-time 360° capture makes it possible to share the full context of a location between on-site personnel and remote users. Avatour gets the job done without travel - be on site globally at the click of a button - in a factory, warehouse, laboratory, retail store or any place which is important for your business. Look around as if you were there and talk to other on-site and remote stakeholders in real-time.

    • CRO & MD EMEA
      Nov 2024 - Sep 2025 · 11 mos

    • Managing Director EMEA
      Jul 2021 - Oct 2024 · 3 yrs 4 mos

  • GS1 (18 yrs 8 mos)
    • GS1 UK - Honorary Lifetime Member
      Mar 2016 - Present · 10 yrs 4 mos

    • GS1 Global Data Excellence Inc. - Board Member
      Feb 2018 - Jul 2021 · 3 yrs 6 mos

      Providing governance and direction to GS1 globally together with representatives from retailers (e.g. WalMart, Ahold Delhaize), brands (e.g. Nestlé, P&G), GS1 Countries (e.g. CEOs from GS1 US, Australia) and Datapools (e.g. Alkemics, 1WorldSync) for the Global Data Synchronisation Network (GDSN) with over 51,000 user organisations trading over 28m products in FMCG and Healthcare. Advancing development and adoption of GDSN-standards regarding brand accurate extended product information for business-to-business (B2B) and business-to-consumer (B2C) use. (https://www.gs1.org/about/data-excellence-board)

    • GS1 UK - Member Supervisory Board & Chair Audit & Risk Com. (2007-2017), Honorary Lifetime Member
      Nov 2007 - Feb 2016 · 8 yrs 4 mos

      Strategic guidance and governance framework for GS1 UK with its 40,000 member companies. Board members from UK retailers (e.g. Tesco, Sainsbury's, John Lewis), manufacturers (e.g. Unilever, Nestlé) and the NHS.

  • Alkemics (6 yrs 2 mos)
    • Strategic Advisor
      Nov 2018 - Mar 2022 · 3 yrs 5 mos

      Alkemics was sold to Salsify in 2021.

    • CFO & UK Managing Director
      Feb 2016 - Oct 2018 · 2 yrs 9 mos

      Alkemics - the leading SaaS-based collaboration platform and global B2B marketplace for Retailers (e.g. Carrefour, Auchan, Tesco, Ocado) and Brands (e.g. Nestlé, Unilever, P&G and over 4,000 SMBs) providing a single place for all product information and a new, disruptive way of sourcing, listing, e-Commerce and many more value creating retailer-supplier interactions.

  • METRO AG (16 yrs 7 mos)
    • makro Cash & Carry UK - CFO / Director Finance, IT, SCM & E-Commerce
      May 2005 - Sep 2012 · 7 yrs 5 mos

      Acquisition integration into METRO Group with focus on Finance, IT and SCM. Strategic repositioning and business transformation.

    • Vice President Financial Planning & Analysis
      Apr 2003 - Apr 2005 · 2 yrs 1 mo

      In charge of FP&A for the DAX 30 listed METRO Group with €67bn turnover across five divisions (METRO / Makro Cash & Carry, Media Markt / Saturn Consumer Electronics, real/extra hyper- and supermarkets, Praktiker DIY and department stores Galeria Kaufhof), 30 countries and 283,000 employees.

    • makro Cash & Carry Netherlands - CFO / Director Finance , IT and Legal
      Sep 2001 - Mar 2003 · 1 yr 7 mos

      Acquisition integration into METRO Group with focus on Finance, BI and IT.

  • Consultant Management Information Systems at BAYER de Espana
    Jul 1995 - Mar 1996 · 9 mos