about Alioth

Meet the Team

Michiel Ebbing

Founder

Michiel was born and raised in the Netherlands, where he studied Business (BSc) and Finance (MSc) at Erasmus University Rotterdam.

Alongside his academic career, he studied Chinese and lived in Beijing, Shanghai, Chengdu, and Chongqing developing a deep understanding of Chinese language, culture, and business dynamics.

Michiel began his career at the European Union Chamber of Commerce in China, later joining the Industrial & Commercial Bank of China (ICBC). These roles gave him a front-row seat to one of the world’s most influential and complex trade relationships: China and Europe. He saw both the vast potential for collaboration and the frequent roadblocks caused by miscommunication, assumptions, and structural differences.

These experiences laid the foundation for Alioth. Global growth should be grounded in trust, cultural fluency, and strategic partnership. Alioth enables its partners to create lasting value across borders on both sides of the table.

When Michiel is not bridging continents, he is lobbying for a new Olympic sport that combines all disciplines. This is his best shot at a medal, as a devoted fan and practitioner of nearly every single sport.

Alen Stjepanovic

Co-Founder

Alen has a background in Law and began his career in various commercial roles within the IT sector. He thrives in dynamic, fast-growing environments where energy, ambition, and shared values drive success. Alen enjoys collaborating with talented teams that are focused on making an impact and scaling with purpose.

Alioth is expanding its footprint in European B2B e-commerce and continues to create value for companies with international ambitions. This mission strongly aligns with Alen’s personal drive: helping businesses unlock their strengths and achieve sustainable growth.

Wendie Firmin

Customer Success

Born and raised in France, Wendie moved to the Netherlands a few years ago to push her limits, learn English, and embrace new perspectives.

wendie Firmin alioth partners

At Alioth Partners, she’s the main point of contact for our Walloon clients making sure they feel supported, understood, and fully equipped to succeed on Alibaba.com. But her role doesn’t stop there. With a solid background in digital marketing and a head full of ideas, Wendie also helps businesses grow their brand, improve their online presence, and make sense of their data. She’s hands-on, creative, and always thinking a few steps ahead.

Since joining Alioth, she’s helped reshape the company inside and out from a complete rebranding to building smarter ways of working as a team. She brings energy, structure, and just the right amount of French stubbornness to keep things moving forward.

Outside of work, she’s probably cooking, listening to music, or walking her dog Mockie around the canals still wondering why good bread is so hard to find.

Sophie Kaikatsishvili

Customer Success

Sophie was born in Georgia and moved to the UK as a child, where she grew up between cultures and languages. Later, she relocated to the Netherlands for university - initially for the degree, but stayed for everything else. With a background in communication, she’s always been drawn to the way people work together across languages, perspectives, and expectations.

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Combined with her experience in online marketing, this makes her a natural fit at Alioth, where she helps clients grow across borders - with clarity and empathy.

When she’s not working, you’ll likely find her somewhere in the music world.

Kelly Hezemans

Customer Success

Kelly has worked for eight years in China where she has learned the ropes of e-commerce. Her main role in China was communicating with brands and helping them stand out in the crowded marketplaces.
She is a data analyst and e-commerce manager with over a decade of experience helping international companies grow their online presence.

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She specialises in building sustainable, data-driven strategies that empower businesses to scale with confidence. Combined with her experience in online marketing, this makes her a natural fit at Alioth, where she helps clients grow across borders - with clarity and empathy.

Kelly has been working at Alioth since 2022, creating marketing strategies for Alibaba.com clients and as customer success manager. Known for her hands-on approach, she works closely with founders to turn raw data into real-world results. Whether launching new brands or optimising existing operations, she loves solving complex challenges with clarity and precision.

Outside of her work, Kelly lectures at AIT University in Bangkok, where she shares practical e-commerce insights with the next generation of industry leaders.