Gelato welcomes Tellef Thorleifsson as its new Chair of the Board
Gelato, the global software company with the world’s largest network for local production of customized products on demand, announces Tellef Thorleifsson, CEO of Norfund and co-founder of the venture capital firm Northzone, as Gelato’s new Chair of the Board.
“Gelato is at the forefront of disrupting global manufacturing. As a software company, Gelato has connected to production facilities and carriers around the whole world. Their business model is enabling local production for individuals and the ecommerce industry. Moving away from centralized mass production to local production of personalized products is a more sustainable way of manufacturing. I have been following Gelato for many years and look forward to working together with the team on this next phase of their growth journey,” says Thorleifsson.
Gelato’s revenue from the creator economy more than tripled between 2021 and 2022 and lifted Gelato’s total revenue to exceed €107 million. 25,000 new ecommerce sellers ordered their products through Gelato last year, and more than 4 million orders were delivered to customers in 184 countries. 87% of these were fulfilled in the same country as where the end customer is located, slashing both delivery times and carbon emissions. Last year, 34 new partners were added to the network, bringing the total number of production partners to 130, across 32 countries.
“I am very excited to have Tellef Thorleifsson as the Chair of Gelato’s board. He has a unique hands-on experience as an investor in some of the world’s most successful global tech companies, including Spotify. Tellef’s engagement and personal motivation to invest his time in transformative innovation that drives global change are very much aligned with Gelato’s values,” says Gelato Founder and CEO Henrik Müller-Hansen.
“I also want to thank John Hepburn, who has been Gelato’s Chair of the Board for the past 7 years. John has generously shared his business experience and global network with Gelato’s team. John has helped accelerate this company into hyper-growth modus. We are grateful that he has accepted to stay on Gelato’s board.”
Thorleifsson is joined on the Gelato board of directors by John Hepburn,Adam Berger, Nicole Vanderbilt, and Norman Fiore, as well as Gelato Founder and CEO Henrik Müller-Hansen.
About Gelato
Gelato is a software company on a mission to redefine global manufacturing for people and the planet. Through its network of 150+ local production partners in 32 countries, Gelato provides the operating system for local manufacturing,
GelatoConnect. It consolidates every element of digital print production into a single platform, driving profitable growth, efficiency and control.
GelatoCreate, empowers creators and ecommerce entrepreneurs to reach customers anywhere in the world without the burden of inventory, upfront costs, or long-haul shipping. Orders are automatically routed to local production hubs, ensuring products are made closer to the end customer, reducing costs, transportation distances, and waste caused by overproduction. The result is a more streamlined supply chain and new way of manufacturing and distributing products—better for people and the planet.
Gelato was founded by CEO Henrik Müller-Hansen in 2007 and consists of GelatoConnect, GelatoCreate, and GelatoConsumer, operating under the Optimalprint brand. Backed by Insight Partners, Dawn Capital, SoftBank, and Goldman Sachs Asset Management, Gelato is headquartered in Oslo, Norway, with 16 offices worldwide, including in the Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Germany, Pakistan, Singapore, Spain, Sweden, the UK, the US, and Vietnam.
To learn more about Gelato, visit Gelato.com. For career opportunities, visit Gelato’s careers page.
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