SAFe Product Owner/Product Manager (POPM)

• Agile Transformation – introducing agile principles and transforming traditional IT departments into Scrum and Kanban teams

• IT Operating Model – redesigning the IT organization and introducing modern delivery structures and roles

• Flight Levels – implementing Flight Levels to align strategy, coordination and operational execution

• Leadership & Coaching – recruiting Agile Coaches and coaching Scrum Masters and IT leaders

• ERP Operations – acting as Interim Product Owner for the existing ERP landscape and ensuring business continuity

• ERP Transformation – supporting the migration from Microsoft Dynamics NAV to Microsoft Dynamics 365 Business Central as a Project Manager

• Operational Core (ERP) – establishing dedicated teams for ERP Support, Feature Development, and ERP Migration

• Modern Workplace – initiating the transition towards a Microsoft 365-based cloud workplace environment

• ConnectHub – establishing a dedicated team to drive integration and connectivity initiatives

• Warehouse Operations – building a cross-functional team to support logistics and warehouse-related capabilities

• Maintenance & Operations (M&O) – introducing a dedicated team focused on stable operations and continuous improvement

• AI Initiatives – identifying and promoting practical Artificial Intelligence use cases across the IT department

• As Interim Chief Digital Officer (CDO) for a leading industrial supplier with a strong e-commerce focus (often described as 'the Amazon for industrial goods') responsible for leading the digital and organizational transformation while reporting directly to executive leadership.

• Introduced agile principles and ways of working across the organization and transformed the traditionally structured IT department into cross-functional Scrum and Kanban teams focused on transparency, collaboration, and customer value delivery.

• Redesigned the entire IT organization by establishing a modern operating model, introducing new roles such as Product Owner, Scrum Master and Solution Architect and strengthening the organization through strategic hiring and targeted capability development.

• Recruited and onboarded Agile Coaches to accelerate the transformation and personally managed and coached Scrum Masters as well as IT department leaders to foster servant leadership, self-management and a culture of continuous improvement.

• Implemented Flight Levels practices based on Klaus Leopold to align strategic objectives, cross-functional coordination and operational execution across the organization.

• Introduced a ticketing system to increase transparency and enable data-driven decision-making, flow-based work management, and greater accountability at all levels.

• Established and supported multiple cross-functional teams, including the Operational Core (ERP) domain with dedicated streams for Support, Feature Development and ERP Migration, as well as teams responsible for Warehouse Operations, Maintenance & Operations (M&O), Modern Workspace and ConnectHub.

• Acted as Interim Product Owner for the operation and enhancement of the existing ERP landscape while supporting the migration from Microsoft Dynamics NAV to Microsoft Dynamics 365 Business Central as a Project Manager.

• Collaborated with the selected implementation partner to design and establish the project organization and target operating model for the ERP transformation, introducing agile delivery structures and ways of working.

• Facilitated the alignment between business, IT and the external vendor and played a key role in negotiating the contractual framework and delivery model to ensure a sustainable foundation for the transformation program.

• Initiated the strategic modernization of the workplace environment through the adoption of Microsoft 365 cloud capabilities, establishing the foundation for enhanced collaboration, scalability and future digital services.

• Launched AI initiatives to identify practical business use cases and promote the responsible adoption of Artificial Intelligence across the IT department.

• Encouraged self-management and empowered teams to take ownership of decisions, delivery and continuous improvement.

Project language: German

Analysis and structuring of business and technical requirements for the further development of the LS One checkout system. Designing solution proposals and translating them into precise implementation tasks for international development teams. Prioritizing and coordinating requirements from a functional perspective, taking business and legal requirements into account. Quality assurance through reviewing, testing and evaluating the implementation based on defined acceptance criteria. Functional support for international deployments and rollouts, as well as analysis of feedback from locations for release planning.

Additionally: Supporting the integration of Anybill to provide digital receipts, as well as coordinating business and technical requirements within the existing POS environment.

• End-to-end analysis and optimization of existing processes in campaign management, contract management and district heating construction/construction coordination
• Development of automated contract management and transformation scenarios, including software selection and integration
• Analysis of ERP, chat, RCS messaging, consent management and tracking
• Preparation of recommendations, decision proposals and presentations for the executive board
• Use of AI for process optimization
• Tools: Apple Office, Microsoft 365, Teams, Claude, ChatGPT

Outcome: Implementation of an APS solution (Eyelit) across multiple international production sites, including definition of target planning processes, integration architecture (SAP – APS via middleware), and alignment of complex manufacturing requirements (e.g. autoclave planning, alternative routings). Establishment of governance structures, steering formats and decision frameworks to manage scope, cost and timeline across multiple stakeholders. Successful handover of project leadership to internal successor, ensuring continuity and sustained project delivery.

Role in Project: Project Lead / Program Manager

Main Tasks in Project:

• Led APS implementation across multiple plants (Germany, Canada, France, US) with focus on end-to-end planning & scheduling processes and system integration
• Acted as central interface between business stakeholders (plants, operations), IT (SAP/middleware) and vendor (Eyelit)
• Drove requirements engineering, including consolidation of plant-specific requirements and steering of sign-off process
• Managed vendor (Eyelit) performance, including scope clarification, effort discussions and commercial alignment
• Identified and challenged gaps between standard APS functionality and complex manufacturing requirements (e.g. autoclave planning, batch optimization, alternative routings)
• Defined and implemented project governance structures, including Steering Committees, risk reporting and decision frameworks
• Led escalation management on cost overruns, scope deviations and delivery transparency
• Coordinated integration strategy (decision for custom middleware vs. standard connector) and alignment with SAP landscape
• Improved project transparency and way of working, including definition of reporting structures, tracking logic and communication cadence
• Facilitated alignment between global and local stakeholders to ensure feasible timelines, resource planning and plant readiness
• Prepared and delivered SteerCo updates and executive decision documents
• Managed structured project handover to internal project lead, including knowledge transfer, documentation alignment and stakeholder transition.

• Led global automation projects in Hybrid Cloud, focusing on process standardization and service delivery optimization across international teams.
• Managed the product roadmap, prioritized backlogs, and aligned business goals with technical inputs using Jira.
• Fostered cross-functional collaboration to define project objectives and ensure alignment with strategic goals across departments.
• Defined and documented user stories and acceptance criteria with stakeholders.

• Owned requirements management for a connected mobile app integrating live vehicle hardware and embedded systems, from analysis through implementation (Requirements Management). App has grown to 500,000+ Google Play downloads and 5,800+ App Store ratings (4.4/5), ranking #170 in Germany's Navigation category.
• Steered digitalization and process optimization projects, coordinating between specialist departments, development teams, and external partners.
• Formulated requirements as user stories and acceptance criteria, accompanying implementation through testing and release.
• Applied genuine, practical AI Fluency to identify automation opportunities and accelerate delivery work. Applied SAFe and PRINCE2 methodologies; earned SAFe® 6 POPM and PRINCE2® Foundation certifications while in this role. Certified in Anthropic's AI Fluency framework.

• Agile coach and scrum master in property insurance/underwriting for Allianz Technology
• Team 1: Kanban/Scrumban team in DevOps mode – new features, distributed monolith to microservices, reduction of technical debt & refactoring, implementation of CI/CD, expansion of automated testing
• Team 2: SAFe team – greenfield service for global software and German adaptation, AI integration (Cythora)
• Scrum trainings, scrum manuals in Confluence, all ceremonies, establishment of an experimental just culture, team replacement and scaling from 7 to 20
• Requirements engineering, prioritization via business value for product owners, risk identification
• Project budget management, JIRA monitoring and automation, steering committee support, test strategy
• SAFe integration, PI planning, flight levels and road mapping

Responsible for the strategic and operational coordination of app development for Landkreis Hameln-Pyrmont

• Development and implementation of the digitalization strategy for citizen-oriented mobile services and the optimization of internal administrative processes
• Requirements engineering: systematic capture of complex administrative requirements and conversion into structured user stories
• Stakeholder management: coordination between departments, citizens, administrative levels, and external service providers within multi-level committee structures
• Prioritization and management of the Product Backlog, taking compliance requirements and regulatory specifications into account
• Participation in agile ceremonies and coordination meetings for continuous product improvement
• Integration of GDPR requirements and administration-specific security standards into the development process
• Citizen participation: coordination of feedback processes and user-oriented tests to increase digital citizen satisfaction

• Development of an AI-supported personality analysis based on the institute's SDWA4: online survey, AI-supported and automated evaluation, and email delivery
• Requirements analysis, prototype development, evaluation, derivation of a simplified SDWA4-light analysis, continuous improvement, design, Make automation, deployment

• Introduction of Agile-CCPM in an IT project agency with a focus on PHP-based content management systems.
• Preparation and facilitation of workshops to establish a cross-agency multi-project management system.
• Coordination and support of the agency partners.
• Coaching of the methodological framework.
• Collection, evaluation, and use of organizational metrics to plan next steps.
• Environment: OKR, CCPM, Agile Coaching, Agile Planning, Agile Metrics, Workshops, Facilitation, Change Management, JIRA, Zoom, Slack, Miro.

• Managing the project team for the rollout of an e-invoice solution in more than a dozen countries
• Carrying out the needs analysis as well as the analysis of the current status (technical, organizational, legal)
• Coordination with all country organizations
• Selection and implementation of the e-invoice tool
• Ensuring the project stays on time and on budget

• Development and further development of e-invoicing solutions, interfaces for invoice processing, and implementation of regulatory requirements

Technology & methods: XRechnung, ZUGFeRD, EN 16931, XML, API integration, backend development, cloud services, automation, compliance, AI-supported document analysis

• Support in fit-gap analysis for three RM-CA systems focusing on sub-ledger reconciliation, dunning, and collections processes.
• Stakeholder management in international teams (business colleagues, IT colleagues, and external partners).
• Escalation and risk management (PM).
• Cost and budget calculation (PM).
• Support in shaping the strategic direction of the global collections system.
• Resolving technical challenges for the central collections system (multi-company operation).
• High-level design of the central AR system with focus on scalability and process harmonization.