Ruben Vrinzen
Verified Expert in Project Management
Project Manager
Utrecht, Netherlands
Toptal member since April 9, 2019
Ruben is a project manager and product owner helping eCommerce companies, startups, and SMEs execute digital projects. Through Toptal and independent consulting work, he leads website launches, product initiatives, and digital improvements. Ruben coordinates remote cross-functional teams across product, design, development, and marketing, working closely with founders to move ideas from discovery through delivery.
Expertise
- Discovery Workshops
- Kanban
- Management
- People Management
- Shopify
- Startups
- Strategy
- eCommerce
Work Experience
Fractional COO
NightOwling.com
- Partnered with the founder to define product direction, priorities, and roadmap for a startup focused on solutions for night workers and organizations.
- Introduced lean startup frameworks to structure product discovery, validation, and early-stage business development.
- Established early operational structure and strategic priorities to support product development, partnerships, and investor discussions.
- Advised leadership on positioning, partnerships, and ecosystem strategy for a platform addressing fatigue and shift-work challenges.
Digital Project Manager | Product Consultant
Onwords
- Advised Ethnotek on digital strategy, eCommerce architecture, and growth optimization, helping strengthen their global direct-to-consumer business.
- Led strategy and digital execution for CeGe Global’s entry into online printing, supporting the launch of their eCommerce platform and early market traction.
- Managed the design and development of a new training platform for Nuts & Bolts Speed Training, assembling and leading UX and development teams from concept to launch.
- Introduced Kanban workflows at Top Car AutoReisen, enabling more structured product development and continuous improvement of their eCommerce platform.
- Led the launch of a new digital business and financial model for Forte Violen, coordinating UX, development, and early marketing initiatives.
- Founded the eCommerce brand Chibuntu, developing products, brand positioning, and scalable digital marketing foundations.
WordPress Project Manager
Automattic Inc.
- Managed a portfolio of 12 client website launches for Automattic (WordPress.com), coordinating designers, developers, and client stakeholders in a fully remote environment.
- Led multiple concurrent digital projects, guiding clients from discovery and planning through development and launch.
- Audited complex WordPress websites and defined improvement roadmaps across UX, performance, and content structure.
- Coordinated cross-functional teams across design, development, and content production to deliver high-quality website builds.
- Improved remote and asynchronous project workflows, helping streamline communication between distributed teams and clients.
Agile Project Manager | Scrum Master
MZN
- Led the discovery and early build phase of a website and eCommerce builder platform designed for small businesses in the Middle East.
- Defined product scope, priorities, and roadmap in collaboration with founders, designers, and engineering teams.
- Coordinated UX, product, and development teams to translate platform concepts into a functional product architecture.
- Structured project workflows and delivery milestones to support rapid iteration during early-stage product development.
- Aligned product vision, user experience, and technical feasibility to deliver a simplified website creation experience for small businesses.
Founder and CEO
Chasing Spaces
- Managed technical development of the marketplace, building an MVP to go to market as fast as possible.
- Served big customers like adidas and Unilever and local heroes like BOHO Amsterdam and Rose & Nine.
- Led the successful application to join the Rockstart Accelerator, Amsterdam. Only 10 startups get selected out of hundreds of applications worldwide.
- Implemented the Kanban way of working across the different departments of the startup.
- Led the complete startup team from hiring to peak performance.
- Managed the P&L, legal, and accounting of the startup.
Sales Manager
Best Buy Europe/Carphone Warehouse
- Managed the people and P&L of 20 Phone House stores within the area of the Hague, Leiden, and Haarlem (around 75 FTE). The region was in need of an immediate turnaround, both financially and culturally.
- Achieved financial uplift in the margin of 22.3% like-for-like while lowering headcount by 10%.
- Implemented Scrum rhythm and rituals in a sales environment, which was the main driver for success.
Program Manager
Best Buy Europe/Carphone Warehouse
- Developed and launched a new shop-in-shop concept, resulting in six trial stores between two established retailers. The trial led to a long-term partnership agreement between Carphone Warehouse and MediaMarkt Saturn Holding.
- Led key strategic business projects and programs within Phone House Netherlands, managing a team of project managers and store openers to achieve strategic direction and new business.
- Oversaw the implementation of a time and attendance system across all stores using agile philosophies before industrializing the roll-out.
- Collaborated with the CEO to finalize the details of the agreement and term sheet.
- Headed stakeholder management within both companies.
Head of Store Formats
Best Buy Europe/Carphone Warehouse
- Drove new business through the Wireless Store Formats program for the German, Dutch, and Spanish markets. Most significant capital investment in 2011.
- Managed teams in the Netherlands, Germany, and Spain remote with incidental visits.
- Worked in partnership with each market's board of directors, sponsor, and project teams to ensure effective and efficient delivery of the vision.
- Initiated and implemented agile project management philosophy within the pan-European team.
- Achieved the roll-out of over 300 stores within a year.
Project Manager Belgium and the Netherlands
Best Buy Europe/Carphone Warehouse
- Implemented and rolled-out of a European program, improving the way we go to market.
- Managed project managers in both countries, both remote and locally.
- Used the Kanban technique for continuous management of commercial initiatives.
- Launched the new Wireless World store concept in the Netherlands.
- Managed the financial side of projects with investments over 3 million euros.
Project Management consultant
Conclusion Implementation
- Led the development and implementation of the financial business model and administration for a new department delivering a service-oriented infrastructure to the Amsterdam local government.
- Managed the development and implementation of project management support containing the development of, among others, capacity management, Wiki and Jira.
- Managed and organized a Seminar Lean Management from concept to realization resulting in leads and new business.
- Served as scrum master for technical development in absence of senior scrum master facilitating all scrum meetings.
- Oversaw stakeholders management of the scrum project within Amsterdam local government.
Project Manager
De Lage Landen/Rabobank Group
- Managed the set-up of a customer service desk for a customer base of 55,000 clients worth over €700 million.
- Managed the change of back-end systems due to change in Spanish legislation.
- Analyzed, improved, and implemented new dunning strategy for operations department using the Kanban technique.
- Managed project teams in Spanish working at HQ Madrid, Spain.
- Worked closely with the board of directors to strategize the roll-out of multiple projects.
Education
Master's Degree in Business Administration, Management & Strategy
University of Maastricht - Maastricht, the Netherlands
Bachelor's Degree in Business Administration, Marketing
Universidad Autónoma de Madrid - Madrid, Spain
Bachelor's Degree in Business Administration, Management & Strategy
University of Maastricht - Maastricht, the Netherlands
Certifications
Certified Scrum Product Owner (CSPO)
Scrum Alliance
Google Adwords Certification
Certified Scrum Master
Scrum Alliance
PRINCE2
APM Group
Skills
Tools
Asana, Google Docs, Google Slides, Basecamp, Trello, Google Sheets, Miro, Jira, Salesforce, Slack, Zoom
Paradigms
Kanban, Change Management, Management, Team Development, Agile Project Management, Agile Workflow, B2C, Agile Product Management, PRINCE2, Scrum, Conversion Rate Optimization (CRO), Agile
Platforms
Shopify, WordPress, Google Ads, WooCommerce, iOS, Android
Industry Expertise
Call Centers, Retail & Wholesale, Digital Marketing, New Business Ventures, Social Enterprise, Financial Services, Venture Capital, Logistics, Fashion, Sales & Marketing
Other
Stakeholder Management, Project Management, Time Management, Discovery Workshops, Agile Coaching, Minimum Viable Product (MVP), Key Performance Indicators (KPIs), Coaching, Client Relations, Communication, Startups, eCommerce, Strategy, Remote Work, People Management, Leadership, Entrepreneurship, Intrapreneurship, Google, eCommerce Management, Business, Digital Strategy, Strategy Planning, Business Strategy, Company Strategy, Planning, Project Planning, Product Owner, Business Development, Business Advisory, Turnaround, Team Mentoring, Team Leadership, Change Leadership, Project Leadership, Hiring, Hiring Process Development, Business Models, Business Model Canvas, Sales Operations, Sales Management, Program Management, Sales Planning, Startup Consulting, Drop Shipping, Project Coordination, Agency, Clients, Retail Management, Budgeting, Project Delivery, Project Timelines, Project Tracking, Cross-functional Team Leadership, Business Processes, Facilitation, Client Services, PMO, Project Management Office (PMO), Operations, Process Improvement, Customer Service, Business to Consumer (B2C), Product Vision, Facebook, ActiveCampaign, Sales, Product Strategy, Google Shopping Ads, Product Ownership, Certified Scrum Product Owner (CSPO), Business Research, Business Planning, Leadership Strategy, Thought Leadership, New Business Development, Online Sales, Channel Sales, Conversion, Social Media, Account Management, Web Project Management, Resource Management, Business Delivery Management, Backlog Management, User Stories, Product Discovery, Branding, Marketing Platforms, Project Discovery, Content Management Systems (CMS), Project Reporting, Capacity Planning, AI Tools, User Experience (UX), Facebook Ads, WordPress Plugins, Squarespace, Online Course Design, Product Roadmaps, Google Tag Manager, Google SEO, Creative Strategy, Product Planning, Product Management, Private Equity, Social Networks, Marketplaces, Instagram Ads, Email Marketing, Process Optimization, Team Management, Supply Chain, Scrum Product Owner, Scrum Master, Lean Startups, COO, Artificial Intelligence (AI), Mergers & Acquisitions (M&A)
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