This part of our “Leadership Unplugged” series features Dr. Thomas Stoffmehl, CEO of Vorwerk Group. Dr. Stoffmehl joined Vorwerk in 2019. He has been the Chief Executive Officer since January 2026.
Could you tell us about your education?
With my entrepreneurial family background, I studied law in Germany, completing both state examinations in Düsseldorf and later earning a PhD in European antitrust law. What fascinated me about law was learning how to navigate complexity: understanding different perspectives, identifying what really matters and ultimately coming to a clear decision. That way of thinking has stayed with me throughout my career – even though my professional path soon took me far beyond the legal world.
What was your childhood dream?
To travel around the world. I’ve always been curious about other countries, cultures and people – and fortunately, that is a dream I’ve been able to live to a large extent.
What were your past experiences before your current role?
After studying law, I briefly worked at a law firm and then took a very different path: in 1999, I founded my own start-up. Being early in the e-commerce world, it was my first real experience of what it means to build a business, take responsibility and make decisions yourself.
But the experience that really shaped my career came when I joined bofrost* in 2001, a direct selling company for frozen food. I thought I was joining as a strategic assistant to the CEO. Instead, he sent me straight into the field – acquiring customers, making deliveries and working with sales teams. At the time, that wasn’t quite what I had expected. Looking back, it was probably the best introduction to direct selling I could have had.
It taught me very early that this business starts with people and is only about people, not about headquarters, structures or PowerPoint presentations. You have to understand what motivates customers, salespeople and teams before you can lead the business. I later moved into management and took on broader leadership responsibilities, but that lesson stayed with me. And it is probably one of the main reasons why I have stayed in direct selling ever since: there are very few business models where people, relationships and leadership are so fundamental to success and building strong USPs.
What do you consider the main factor behind your career success?
I’ve always believed in focusing on people’s strengths rather than their weaknesses. That’s something I learned early on, and it still defines how I lead. If you help people grow where they are already good, you unlock potential that benefits everyone: the individual and the company.
At the same time, leadership has to be credible. You have to be a role model, a clear communicator, walk the talk and be very clear about attitude and values – including when you hire and, if necessary, when you part ways with people. For me, leadership also means developing a compelling vision and translating it into something tangible: strategy, priorities, budgets and ultimately daily execution. I strongly believe that believing is achieving – but only if you can inspire people around a shared ambition and then mobilize the organization to turn that ambition into results.
What has been your most inspiring moment?
There wasn’t one single moment, but a realization: that leading people isn’t about giving orders, it’s about creating an environment where they can be successful. When you see that working, when people take ownership and develop beyond what they thought possible, that’s deeply satisfying.
Your hobbies?
Spending time with friends and family – and travelling around the world whenever I get the chance. I’ve always loved discovering new places, meeting people and experiencing different cultures. For me, travelling is the perfect way to recharge, stay curious and get a fresh perspective on things.
How would you describe being a direct selling executive to an outsider?
It’s a business that is closer to people than any other. You can’t lead from behind a desk; you have to understand what drives your community. In our case that includes our advisors and customers as well as our employees. Our community is at the center of everything we do, and we get their immediate feedback every day – which also means that success and failure of leadership are directly measurable. That’s demanding, but also very honest.
One of the particular leadership challenges in direct selling is keeping the entire corporate organization consistently focused on the business model. Every function – from product development and digital to marketing, finance or operations – has to understand that its role is ultimately to support the direct sales model, our advisors and the customer experience. That requires constant focus and the discipline to think from the business model backwards, rather than from internal structures outwards.
What is your biggest achievement in your current position?
Everything we have achieved as a business has been a group effort – and I’m really proud to be part of this amazing international team.
Since joining the Vorwerk Executive Board in 2021, and now in my role as CEO, I have had the opportunity to help shape an important period of growth and transformation for Vorwerk. Building on Strategy 2025, we more than doubled our advisor community between 2019 and the end of last year, while continuing to develop our direct selling model by combining personal relations with strong product ecosystems and digital services. By the end of 2025, more than 129,400 advisors were working with Vorwerk worldwide – more than ever before – and we achieved record revenue of EUR 3.6 billion.
What I am particularly proud of is that we have achieved this growth without losing sight of what makes Vorwerk different. Direct selling remains at the heart of our business. Personal relationships, product experience and a strong community continue to be fundamental to our success.
Strategy 2030 builds directly on that foundation. 2025 was the first visible year of its implementation, and the results give us confidence that we are on the right path towards our ambition of becoming the world’s most attractive direct selling company by 2030.
And your biggest challenge in a direct selling company executive role?
Keeping the entire organization consistently aligned with the strategy and with the realities of a direct selling business. Direct selling requires focus – and then more focus. It is very easy for organizations to become occupied with internal processes, structures and priorities. My job is to keep bringing the organization back to the fundamental question: Does what we are doing strengthen our advisors, our product ecosystems and ultimately the customer experience? Strategy only becomes relevant when the entire organization translates it into everyday decisions and execution.
What would be your best advice to those who are thinking of joining a direct sales company in a corporate position?
Be curious, live your passion, share your motivation – and stay close to the business. Spend time in the field, talk to the people who sell and who buy the products. Only then will you understand what direct selling really means. If you enjoy working with people and seeing results directly, it’s one of the most rewarding industries there is.
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Photo credits: Vorwerk, Klaus Weddig
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