Michael Benner
Michael Benner is an experienced strategist and industry expert in the bicycle and outdoor industry and co-founder of ally bc GmbH.
With more than two decades of experience, he has been instrumental in the development of leading international companies and has an outstanding industry network in Germany, Europe and Asia.
He started his career at Sport Import GmbH and Biria AG before becoming an independent consultant.
From 2005, Michael worked for almost 18 years in management positions at Internetstores, where he was responsible for purchasing, content, private labels and product development as Vice President Purchasing & Products.
With his 120-strong international team, he made a significant contribution to scaling the company from EUR 2 million to almost EUR 700 million in sales.
In 2023, Michael founded ally bc GmbH to contribute his expertise in the areas of strategy, brand and product development and purchasing.
He advises clients on strategic issues, helps to build networks, establishes contacts with producers and suppliers, takes on advisory board mandates and provides support in M&A processes.
His in-depth understanding of the industry, his many years of experience in corporate development and his focus on efficiency and sustainable value creation make him a valuable partner for companies.
Michael Benner is an experienced strategist and industry expert in the bicycle and outdoor industry and co-founder of ally bc GmbH.
With more than two decades of experience, he has been instrumental in the development of leading international companies and has an outstanding industry network in Germany, Europe and Asia.
He started his career at Sport Import GmbH and Biria AG before becoming an independent consultant.
From 2005, Michael worked for almost 18 years in management positions at Internetstores, where he was responsible for purchasing, content, private labels and product development as Vice President Purchasing & Products.
With his 120-strong international team, he made a significant contribution to scaling the company from EUR 2 million to almost EUR 700 million in sales.
In 2023, Michael founded ally bc GmbH to contribute his expertise in the areas of strategy, brand and product development and purchasing.
He advises clients on strategic issues, helps to build networks, establishes contacts with producers and suppliers, takes on advisory board mandates and provides support in M&A processes.
His in-depth understanding of the industry, his many years of experience in corporate development and his focus on efficiency and sustainable value creation make him a valuable partner for companies.
“Once the task and goal are clearly defined, make sure you get things done quickly. Most projects should be live and completed at 80%, as the last 20% usually kills the effort, time, cost and benefit ratio – get things done – fast!”
Some interesting facts about Michael
Henri Schwarz
Henri Schwarz is an industry expert with more than ten years of experience in the bicycle and outdoor industry.
Starting in operational purchasing at bike24, his career His next stop was at Internetstores, where he worked for almost ten years in key positions from Category Manager to Director Purchasing.
Henri was responsible for a purchasing volume of 350 million euros and managed over 500 brands and more than 250,000 SKUs with his teams.
He was instrumental in the development of ordering algorithms, pricing tools and supply chain processes.
In 2022, he took on the role of Vice President Category Management at FarmTiger, where he realized that procurement processes are all very similar across industries.
Since 2023, Henri has been contributing his expertise in purchasing optimization and data-driven procurement as co-founder of ally bc. He supports companies in process automation, strategy development and M&A processes and is an indispensable partner for sustainable efficiency improvements.
Henri Schwarz is a proven industry expert with more than ten years of experience in the bicycle and outdoor industry. After studying economics at Martin Luther University Halle-Wittenberg, he began his career at Bike24, where he gained his first insights into e-commerce and purchasing as an operational buyer.
His next station took him to Internetstores, where he worked for almost ten years in key positions from Category Manager to Director Purchasing. Henri was responsible for a purchasing volume of 350 million euros and managed over 500 brands and more than 250,000 SKUs with his teams. He was significantly involved in the development of ordering algorithms, pricing tools and supply chain processes.
In 2022, he took on the role of Vice President Category Management at FarmTiger, where he developed an automated pricing tool and standardized the listing process, among other things.
Since 2023, Henri has been contributing his expertise in purchasing optimization and data-driven procurement as co-founder of ally bc. He supports companies in process automation, strategy development and M&A processes and is an indispensable partner for sustainable efficiency improvements.
“Purchasing is the department that has to connect company goals with the possibilities of suppliers.
Sometimes with words and often with data.”
Some interesting facts about Henri
Sabine Zwick
Sabine Zwick is co-founder of ally bc GmbH and has over 20 years of experience in financial and process optimization. Her dual degree in business administration at the Stuttgart University of Cooperative Education laid the foundation for her career, which initially took her to Deloitte. There she specialized in auditing and gained valuable experience abroad in Shanghai. At the same time, she successfully passed the tax consultant exam.
In 2012, Sabine moved to Internetstores GmbH, where she built up the finance department from scratch and played a key role in developing it further to support the company’s growth from EUR 60 million to EUR 600 million in sales. Her expertise led her to the position of Vice President in 2021, where she set up a department for process management and automation.
After the IPO of Internetstores GmbH, she moved to New Flag GmbH as CFO before founding ally bc GmbH together with Henri Schwarz and Michael Benner at the end of 2023. At ally bc, Sabine is responsible for finance as well as process automation and optimization and uses her extensive experience to ensure sustainable efficiency gains in customer projects.
Sabine Zwick is co-founder of ally bc GmbH and has over 20 years of experience in finance and process optimization.
Her dual studies in business administration at the Stuttgart University of Cooperative Education laid the foundation for her career, which initially took her to Deloitte.
There she specialized in auditing and gained valuable experience abroad in Shanghai.
At the same time, she successfully passed the tax consultant exam.
In 2012, Sabine moved to Internetstores GmbH, where she built up the finance department from scratch and played a key role in helping the company grow from a turnover of 60 million euros to 600 million euros.
Her expertise led her to the position of Vice President in 2021, where she set up a department for process management and automation.
After the IPO of Internetstores GmbH, she moved to New Flag GmbH as CFO before founding ally bc GmbH together with Henri Schwarz and Michael Benner at the end of 2023.
At ally bc, Sabine is responsible for finance as well as process automation and optimization and uses her extensive experience to ensure sustainable efficiency gains in customer projects
“Routine tasks bore me immensely. That’s why I’ve always looked for ways to automate them and make them faster and more efficient.”