“I want to devote more time to my growing family,” Ritter said in a statement after more than 11 years in Zalando. “My wife and I have agreed that her career ambitions will take priority in the coming years,” he added.
The statement did not give further details about Ritter’s wife or her career. The company did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Ritter has led Zalando Corporation along with two other chief executives – Robert Gentz and David Schneider – since 2010.
In the United States, the number of women in top positions is increasing, according to the annual Women in the Workplace report published by McKinsey & Company and LeanIn.Org. But women are three times more likely to take on the majority of housework and childcare, and worry more about the effect this will have on their performance at work, according to the report.
Zalando, which has about 36 million active customers and operates in 17 countries across Europe, generated nearly € 1.85 billion ($ 2.2 billion) in revenue for the three months ending September.
Hanna Zayadi contributed to this report.
