Loitering munition: Stark appoints former Zalando manager Martin Rost as Chief Operating Officer

Stark, a German manufacturer of loitering munition, has appointed two new members of its management board: Martin Rost takes over as Chief Operating Officer (COO), Jan-Patrick Helmsen as Chief Sales Officer (CSO). According to a recently issued press release, the two are to “contribute decisively to the next phase of growth”.

From technology group to loitering munition manufacturer

Until now, Rost worked at Zalando, Europe's leading technology group. As Senior Vice President, he was responsible for leading and scaling the company's largest business unit. That unit comprised more than 2,000 employees in 27 markets and more than 4,000 suppliers; its revenue amounted to around 10 billion euros.

In total, Rost looks back on more than 16 years at Zalando, during which the company grew in a phase of hypergrowth from a small start-up into a European DAX 40 group. At Stark, his task as COO is now to scale operational business processes and production – at the sites in Ukraine, the United Kingdom and Germany.

According to the press release, what he brings with him is to “contribute decisively to transferring new Stark technologies quickly and reliably into mass production of unmanned systems while increasing the resilience of supply chains and production”.

Uwe Horstmann, who heads Stark as CEO, commented on the appointments: “We are delighted to welcome Jan-Patrick and Martin to Stark. With them, we gain two outstanding leaders with a deep understanding of strategic growth and operational excellence. And much more importantly: we share the conviction that Europe must quickly build its own capabilities for credible deterrence. I am pleased that both are now part of Stark's mission.”

Rost himself says of his move: “I am very pleased to join Stark at this exciting and decisive stage. The task of fundamentally strengthening Europe's defence capability through successful local companies has never been greater. At Zalando, over 16 years, I was able to help build a European market leader that, from Europe and for Europe, has taken a leading position in its markets. I see Stark in a unique position to contribute decisively to a worthy deterrent through highly scalable, resilient production capacities distributed across the whole of Europe. Our highest priority is to make our contribution to European security as a reliable partner.”