Intelligent CXO Issue 29 | Page 63

GET TO KNOW

KAREL SCHINDLER , FOUNDER AND CEO

AT ROI HUNTER

ROI Hunter aims to make retailers more efficient , their employees more successful and their marketing more inspiring . CEO , Karel Schindler , explains how a three-year programme at Harvard Business School turned the company ’ s fortunes around . He also speaks about the company ’ s mission and how he believes a key part of his role is to coach others and inspire .

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Describe your current job role .
I ’ ve been the CEO of ROI Hunter since 2014 , where I lead the business in improving e-commerce profitability on a global scale . My role as CEO is to help retailers discover the benefits of product
performance data , highlighting the insights they need but didn ' t know they could get . As a part of my role , I get the opportunity to work with top retailers , helping them navigate the vision for their e-commerce strategies .
What would you describe as your most memorable achievement ?
Five years into my time as CEO , in 2019 , I was inspired by an investor to enrol in a three-year CEO programme at Harvard Business School . Making the move while running my business full time was a big decision – and I ’ m sure it had its doubters ! But I was lucky enough to be accepted in as the youngest person in the class . These learnings helped me to essentially reset our business model – focusing on product performance management and how it can benefit retail . It ’ s our proudest achievement because this enabled a turnaround in the company ’ s fortunes . We became profitable and able to self-fund our growth . concept of hiring for potential . This idea comes from the finding that individual performance is not necessarily transferable across companies .
Perhaps someone ’ s high performance was due to the processes the previous company had in place , or any number of other factors . With this in mind , it ’ s better to hire people based on high potential , as opposed to previous performance . Look for people who are eager to learn , engaged , driven to improve and are determined to succeed .
Part of our company ’ s mission is based around unlocking the potential of our employees . We place as much focus on the potential of our employees as our customers . In interviews with new hires , we assess the
THIS IDEA COMES FROM THE FINDING THAT INDIVIDUAL PERFORMANCE IS NOT NECESSARILY TRANSFERABLE ACROSS COMPANIES .
What style of management philosophy do you employ with your current position ?
One of my professors at Harvard Business School , Boris Groysberg , inspired me with the
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