Former Magento Lead Evangelist Ben Marks joins Shopware as Director

SCHÖPPINGEN/ISLE OF PALMS, March 9, 2021 – Shopware, one of Europe's leading providers of ecommerce solutions, has announced another major step in its international growth strategy: former Magento Lead Evangelist Ben Marks has joined the Shopware team to quickly drive expansion of the international sector as Director Global Market Development. Ben Marks had been directly involved with the Magento ecosystem as an educator, facilitator, and strategic advisor since 2011, representing the company and its ecosystem from his home in Isle of Palms, South Carolina, USA.

"Tremendous opportunity"

With his move to Shopware, Ben is taking on new challenges even as he relies on his decade of experience building and nurturing software communities. "With Shopware I am continuing my journey in the world of open source commerce, which began when I taught myself PHP in 2003. Shopware and its ecosystem have a tremendous opportunity to address current and future needs of small/medium businesses and the midmarket, which are underserved when it comes to truly customisable commerce. My new leadership role as Director Global Market Development allows me to help drive innovation and engagement by doing what I do best - engaging and connecting people and businesses the world over," says Ben Marks.

According to Marks the foundation for the future is well underway, noting that "Shopware as an ecommerce solution delivers substantial flexibility with less complexity, and thus deserves a worldwide community of agencies, developers, and merchants in control of their own stories and relationship with their consumers." Marks also notes that "merchants deserve to be in full control of the customer experience and of the data used to build those experiences. Nimble, customisation-based platforms have always pushed ecommerce forward. Shopware 6´s Symfony-based architecture is ideal for this."

Shopware is leading the change

Ben Marks' change to one of Magento's largest competitors in Europe happens at a time when the fast-evolving ecommerce industry finds itself at the crossroads and is waiting for the next generation of commerce. "How you shop today is very different from a year ago, two years ago, five years ago. The 'discover, shop, buy' journey changes so rapidly - we want to be the ones leading that change, driving innovation - rather than keeping up with or adapting to change.

"Commerce journeys are increasingly about meeting customers where they are and introducing shoppable moments seamlessly & meaningfully. This doesn't replace the 'classic' virtual store experience, but it does mean that the various sources, channels, and checkout expectations must all be accounted for and innovated for. Platforms must adapt to this reality and drive this change - and Shopware perfectly meets these requirements."

Ben Marks will officially be introduced to the Shopware ecosystem and partner network at this year's virtual Shopware Partner Day, taking place on March 23, and he is already looking forward to it: "I'm excited to see familiar faces and to meet many Shopware businesses for the first time. 2021 will be transformative for Shopware's business - but the transformation can only happen by strengthening and growing the Shopware network worldwide."

More information on Ben Marks and his future role at Shopware can be found in the Shopware blog: https://www.shopware.com/en/news/ and https://www.shopware.com/en/news/ben-marks-former-magento-lead-evangelist-joins-shopware-as-director/

About Shopware

Shopware is a leading ecommerce system and used by some of the largest European brands, retailers and manufacturers across B2C and B2B industries. As a trendsetting open source solution, Shopware gives retailers the freedom to quickly and easily realise their growth potential - with more flexibility and less complexity. Today, more than 100,000 companies rely on a Shopware solution, with all retailers – from start-ups to enterprise – generating a combined turnover of 12 billion Euro in 2020.

From its headquarters in Schöppingen, Germany, Shopware employs 250 people and relies on a global network of 1,200 sales, technology and solution partners. A community with hundreds of thousands of members gives customers access to over 4,000 extensions and certified professional support. 100% equity-financed, Shopware is completely independent and through high investments in research and development, is the leading driver of innovation in European ecommerce.