Embracing Vulnerability as a Tech Leader

Rebekka Beels, Head of Engineering at Zalando, joins Janine Matos for a wide-ranging conversation covering leadership, vulnerability, and what’s required to build inclusive, high-performing teams in tech.

Rebekka shares her perspective on what it takes to lead engineering at scale; aligning technical strategy with company goals while fostering a culture of personal ownership and team support. The conversation explores the tech platforms that Zalando uses to deliver customer needs, what leadership looks like in 2025,  and why showing vulnerability is a strength, not a weakness.

Rebekka’s three “Pieces of Me” highlight the evolving tech landscape, especially for women in engineering, the influence of her family and the power of understanding one’s own unique strengths.

To learn more about careers like Rebekka’s at Zalando, visit jobs.zalando.com

Transcript

Speaker 01 0:00

My advice would be, dare to show your vulnerability. So not dare to be vulnerable because, in fact, we're all vulnerable because we're human, but actually show it. Because that creates, on the one hand, the ability to overcome your own mistakes or your fears. On the other hand, it creates trust.

Unknown 0:22

Thank you.

Speaker 00 0:23

Hi, my name is Janine Matos and I'm the host of the Pieces of Me podcast by Zalando. Career development advice, industry insights and stories from leaders at Zalando to supercharge your career in fashion and lifestyle e-commerce. Today I have Rebecca Wills with me, Head of Engineering. Hi Rebecca. Hey Janine. Thank you for being today with me at Pieces of Me and we finally can talk a little bit more about... what you do as a head of engineering.

Speaker 01 0:52

Thanks, Janine, so much for the invitation. I'm very thrilled and also preparing for this. I listen to a lot of the pieces of the podcast and it's such a rich resource and getting to know people that I don't know and understanding what they do in the company is very exciting. So great job.

Speaker 00 1:12

So I saw you brought three pieces. I did. But before we actually dig into the pieces, I want to know, you are head of engineering, front end, back end, both, which team? I mean, I know which team, but tell us a little bit more or tell me a little bit more.

Speaker 01 1:28

Yeah, so I've been with Solano for nine years now. So a few people here on the podcast said they call themselves dinosaurs and it's the same. But I also feel like it's not such a long time because so much is changing constantly. And so the role of the head of engineering I have, I think, since 2020. And even across that time, a lot has changed. And the team that we lovingly call POP is actually called the Product Offer Platform. And it's composed of backend teams. So you asked about frontend and backend teams. And we sit in the Zalando Commerce platform. So the Zalando Commerce platform is basically the central place where we enable all the customer experience tailored for markets and also for propositions, business propositions, and providing capabilities that make it easy for markets and propositions to expand or add new features. And the product offer platform So I try to explain it in a nutshell because it's quite complex. So when you go on the website and you interact with the products. So you see a sneaker. You can see it either on the homepage, teasered as part of a campaign. You can see it on the product detail page. You might search for something and see it in the catalog. And you see this as a product. But we actually don't understand this as a product. We understand it as an offer. And Composing this offer is the core of our domain. And so now you're wondering, what does that mean? Okay, offer product, what's the difference? So an offer always has to have a price. It has to have all the necessary product information. So which brand, what's the name of the sneaker, photos, whatever attributes for this product. And you need to have the information on stock. about the stock. So is this in stock, this size, if I want to buy it? And this composition is one of our core capabilities. And before it becomes available to certain customer groups or markets, so certain products are not available in certain countries, certain categories are not even available, we calculate the the availability status. So as a head of engineering, I mean, in a nutshell, I'm responsible for making sure that we have an excellent technical engineering department. And so what does that mean? So that means that we have high performing teams. And in order to have high performing teams, you also need to make sure that they know what they're doing and why they're doing it. So A big core of my responsibility is making sure that our technical strategy aligns with Zalando's strategy so that we actually enable markets and propositions to scale for the needs that Zalando gives direction for. So we need to evolve our platform, right? So we have to simplify our architecture, make sure that the systems are reliable and stable. Yeah, it's very important. And also... the second core part. And I think that's, that's also the, I mean, if I, if I could bring my team as a core piece of my heart, then I would bring them. You

Speaker 00 5:08

could. I was like sending everyone around. How many people are on your team? 20. Yeah. So it would fill

Speaker 01 5:14

up here, the room a little bit. Yes. It's a wonderful team. And yeah, A wonderful team also means having a wonderful culture, so an engineering culture. And that is not just focusing on technical excellence, although that's a core part, but also making sure that everyone in the team feels like they are valued, they have a place to grow, they feel mentored, and they, as I said, understand how they can create impact. And you can create impact if you understand the why behind something

Speaker 00 5:45

you're

Speaker 01 5:45

doing. I

Speaker 00 5:46

really admire you, and I have been working with you all I think it was three, four years ago that we had the project together, how you were really able to focus on so many topics and being able to kind of make sure that everything's handled on the right time, but never without losing your sympathy. So I never, I mean, maybe there is a different Rebecca, I don't know. Never say never. Never, yeah. But you always... were amazing to work with. And it was always a really good way of communication. And then also explaining how and why or why not things can work and when, and also giving the reason for it. Sometimes you have, of course, leads or engineering men ahead of it, like, who just say like, well, not now. Or like, but you always took those extra five minutes to really give that explanation so that I would go out and say, okay, it makes sense why I have to come back in four weeks. Not happy that I have to come back in four weeks, but it was more understandable. Thank you so much, Anine.

Speaker 01 6:48

I mean, the thing is that a lot has changed since then. I think maybe it was 2021. And that's also, as I said, the interesting part of being in my role that you need to prepare your teams for this change. And being at Zalando, I've seen so many different periods. I mean, 2021 was a very rapid growth period where we needed to invest in speed. So really deliver fast and also changed our whole team setup to become more dynamic at Zalando. the cost of ownership for the components that the teams take care of. And there was also then a painful phase that we went through in, I would say it started in 2022 and 2023, where the health of our assistants just was not well anymore. So it was a mix between knowledge loss from jumping across different components and not having enough time to clean up. And I think over the past, two years and I'm very proud of my teams. We've achieved a lot with regards to being operational excellent and with that comes also the ability to enable our stakeholders much more to build on top of our platform so in in a case that you're referring to a project for our plus experience back at the time there's a lot more that the teams now can steer themselves and and they don't need to rely on our capacity and that's that's the beauty of building a platform that really enables that

Speaker 00 8:26

you are head of engineering and engineering is of course an area that is still until today a lot of times very male driven a

Speaker 01 8:35

little bit of a history lesson and about my career. So because it's interesting how the perception changes of what I see as relevant being a woman in tech. And when I went to university, I was one out of four women in a big group of men studying computer science. And So it was something that on the one hand, it was easy to create a bit of a sisterhood. So I really like this word. And on the other hand, because, of course, I was in my early 20s, there was a lot of assimilation process happening. So you would try to fit in and just try to think like men or behave like this bigger group, but also maybe enjoying a bit of the special status that you had. Over the years, I've realized, and that I think comes with my role as a mother as well, and I'm not saying that you have to be a mother or a father to dive into those aspects of your gender, of your being. I realized much more where my core strengths lie. I don't like to focus so much on gender because I think it's a lot about feminine traits or male traits, and you can find both. Within you, and no matter which gender you have, and understanding, okay, which come more easily to me, and which traits maybe I need to practice because they are very helpful in certain situations, but still staying authentic to what is the core of you, and also really diving into that feminine part and understanding that feminine power. And in a context of Zalando... I never feel like this is an odd role or I'm in a minority. Of course, there are meetings where I might be the only woman in the room, and still there is so much respect at Zalando and understanding of the uniqueness of all of us and all the different perspectives that we have. And, I mean, we do deliver a product to the biggest... The biggest target group is women. So I think everybody understands that it's relevant. But learning and inspiring each other with our different traits and our different perspectives, I feel like this is absolutely possible.

Speaker 00 11:17

So I guess that close to your heart piece is the picture that you brought with your family. Yes.

Speaker 01 11:25

It's my husband and my three children. which are the most wonderful human beings on this planet, if I may say so. Of

Speaker 00 11:33

course. I

Speaker 01 11:35

mean, that's why you were with them. Yeah, and they're my biggest teachers. And when I thought about what to bring, what's close to my heart, I mean, it's the most obvious thing and also the most... typical thing, but it's the only thing that made sense for me because family is a huge value of mine. This picture was actually taken in Michigan. So I met my husband when I was living in San Francisco and studying and working there. And we eventually moved to Germany and started our family there. And I can't even call them kids anymore because my oldest is 18. And this photo is two years old. They're all taller than me. And I just love... to watch how they grow, how they interact with each other. And I also love what it does to me in my mother role and how I learn so much patience. The patience part, isn't it? And so many communication skills and conflict resolution. So

Speaker 00 12:45

three teenagers.

Speaker 01 12:47

Yes, 13, 16 and 18. Wow. Yeah, yeah. Amazing. The hormones, yes. And for teenagers, the one advice I have is really when their window opens up to communicate with you, you got to be ready. No matter if you're tired or not. It might be at 11 p.m. and you just have to be there.

Speaker 00 13:06

So and now we have two other pieces. We have a stone and a mini Rebecca Lego. Which one is your career piece? Yeah, so both of them could work,

Speaker 01 13:16

right? But I brought the stone. Okay. And I'm going to hold it because that already shows what this serves. So I love people. I think I may have brought that across. But I also love stones. Okay. I know you think, okay, what's the commonality between people and stones? But I might get to that. So for me, this is a stone from Croatia. I really like it because it sits very nicely in my hand. And it has... a very unique purpose, it reminds me of being mindful. So being mindful in my work is, I think, my number one career advice. So about the choices you make, understanding in which situations you need to prioritize what, because there is always a lot of things that come to my plate and I need to juggle that, and calming my nervous system. So that's what the stone serves. On the other hand, I think... It also reminds me of my uniqueness. So, of course, this is stone. It has some, and that's what I find fascinating, some history inside of it and some composition that is very unique to this stone. And understanding what is my unique strength or maybe strengths and what do I... How do I drive my career forward? And of course, you can get inspired by there's so many great people at Zalando where you just like, oh, this career, this is amazing. And I should follow that. But you have to understand what is my core, what's my composition, and how do I shape my own career? So it will be unique. Not one career is the same. And of course, going further, I could also connect the stones, all the beautiful stones in my team that come from different places and still fit together like a puzzle and a big mosaic. And we deliver great impact together. So shaping each other. This stone is very shaped, right? It got rubbed off and round. and learning from each other and trying to sometimes fit in, but sometimes also see the differences between us.

Speaker 00 15:39

So let's move on to Mini Rebecca Lego. Lego Rebecca, tell me. Yeah, so

Speaker 01 15:44

this little Mini Me keychain was given to me after I gave a talk at a conference. And for me, why it is my Zalando piece is because it represents what Zalando stands for. A place that evolves and grows itself, yeah, very amazingly, but also allows a lot of growth for everyone who wants to have impact and who wants to grow. So the story behind it is that I think 2019, 2020, no, it was before COVID, so it was 2019. We changed the way we set up our teams, which was a bit more unique, trying to serve the needs at the time. And my lead at the time suggested that I would present this setup at a conference. And I have to also share that I think like 70% of the people, I have a lot of fear of speaking in front of people. So it's not something that I enjoy or do naturally. So my first Instinct was no conference. I cannot do that. And the second one was like, what do you mean? Share about how we just organically set up our teams. I mean, I don't have a scientific paper for that. How can I share that story? But he really encouraged me. And it was a kind of a key moment for me to understand. I need to step out of my comfort zone. I have to push myself. And I have a voice. I have something to share. I don't need to compare it to anything else. I just share something that could be valuable. And it was very rewarding. Actually, following that conference talk, we got invited to two or three more places at the time because it was quite interesting for a lot of people in the industry. So, yeah, that's why I brought my little mini Rebecca.

Speaker 00 17:46

Yeah. Before we wrap up, Rebecca, it has been amazing having you here. Thank you so much. But I do ask all the guests before they leave to share with the audience a dare to. What should people dare to do more? So my advice would

Speaker 01 18:06

be dare to show your vulnerability. So not dare to be vulnerable because, in fact, we're all vulnerable because we're human, but actually show it. Because that creates, on the one hand, the ability to overcome your own mistakes or your fears. On the other hand, it creates trust. Be willing to share and show vulnerability.

Speaker 00 18:30

Thank you. That was a really great wrapping words. And yeah, it's something that a lot of people should be more mindful about and not just show the stone side, but actually showing all of you. Thank you for being my guest today. Thank you, Janine. It was a pleasure and honor, actually. Thank you. Thank you all so much for listening. If you'd like to know more about careers at Zalando, go to jobs.zalando.de. You'll find that link in the show notes or check out our Instagram page, Inside Zalando. Our next episode is coming in two weeks and I'll be talking to another guest from Zalando about life inside the fashion and tech retail industry. And of course, there are three pieces of me.