Matthias Sauer-Rank-Interim Manager IT & Software | Delivery, Operations & Service
Check rate
Experience
Lecturer Software Management, 10%
FH Graubünden
- Design and delivery of the university module "Software Management" in the Bachelor's program Artificial Intelligence in Software Engineering
- Teaching software project management, project organization, stakeholder management, risk and quality management, as well as agile and hybrid project steering
- Covering release planning, cut-over, go-live, handover to operations, and the operational impact of technical decisions
- Developing a case study across the semester for practical application of the methods taught
- Designing lectures, group work, risk and decision workshops, and practice-oriented assessments
- Combining methodological fundamentals with experience from software development, customer projects, delivery, release, testing, and IT operations
- Use of AI in software and project management
Methods and tools: Software project management, HERMES, PRINCE2, Scrum, Kanban, hybrid delivery models, requirements engineering, risk and quality management, release management, test management, Moodle
Interim Manager
Muraun GmbH
- Independent interim manager for temporary operational leadership responsibility in IT and software organizations
- Taking on line, project, or transition responsibility during leadership shortages, vacancies, reorganizations, and stressful implementation phases
- Stabilizing delivery, service, operations, support, project, and release organizations
Product Manager Managed Services
aXcelerate Solutions AG
- Product management for managed services in the areas of IT infrastructure, hosting, cloud, and digital workplace
- Responsibility for further developing the aXc-Cloud and aXc-One offerings and turning them into a scalable product and operations organization
- Capturing, evaluating, and prioritizing requirements from customer projects, operations, support, and technical development
- Coordination between customers, account management, technology, operations, external development partners, and management
- Planning and steering of releases, changes, tests, and operational handovers
- Building binding project, product, and decision processes for implementing customer requirements
- Resource and capacity planning for parallel product, project, and operations tasks
- Project management and account management for Swiss municipalities and administration-related organizations
- Managing a nearshoring partner in Hungary and coordinating collaboration with internal teams
- Further development of managed services with a focus on standardization, operational capability, and reliable service delivery
Methods and technologies: Managed services, IT infrastructure, hosting, cloud services, digital workplace, Microsoft Office integration, product management, requirements engineering, release management, change management, test management, project management, resource planning, nearshoring, supplier and stakeholder management
Head of Delivery & Operations
Vitodata AG
- Led the Delivery & Operations area with around 30 employees in six teams at three locations
- Overall responsibility for customer projects, software rollouts, service organization, support, technical services, and customer-facing operational tasks
- Leading and developing team leads and clarifying responsibilities between projects, service, support, operations, and customer organization
- Managing utilization, resources, priorities, quality, and profitability of the area
- Stabilizing a distributed operational organization with different teams, task profiles, and customer requirements
- Building and introducing standardized project, leadership, and steering processes
- Improving reliability in project planning, service delivery, handovers, and customer communication
- Increasing billability and quality through clearer resource management, more consistent processes, and more transparent responsibilities
- Managing critical customer projects and escalations, and coordinating with executive management, product development, sales, and internal delivery areas
- Ensuring a reliable interaction between customer operations, software rollouts, support, service, and further development
- Building transparent metrics and regular leadership formats to manage performance, risks, and capacity
- Further developing the project and delivery organization with a focus on operational stability, customer satisfaction, and solid execution
Methods and expertise: Delivery Management, Operations Management, Service Delivery Management, IT Project Management, Resource and Capacity Planning, KPI Steering, Quality Management, Customer and Escalation Management, Process Standardization, Change Management, Software Rollout, Health IT, Leading Distributed Teams
Regional Manager North and East Switzerland
Vitodata AG
- Led the North and East Switzerland region with around 20 employees and responsibility for operational leadership, organization, and customer stability
- Led sales, projects, technology, training, and back office teams
- Stabilized and reorganized the regional organization after several leadership changes
- Clarified roles, responsibilities, and decision paths within the region
- Built a reliable leadership and collaboration structure across different functions
- Managed customer projects, resources, priorities, and operational escalations
- Responsible for regional customer relationships and coordination with central product, service, and leadership areas
- Restored reliability in leadership, project execution, and customer communication
- Developed employees and strengthened collaboration between sales, project management, and technical teams
- Ensured ongoing customer operations during organizational stabilization
Methods and expertise: Regional leadership, turnaround management, operational leadership, change management, customer management, sales management, project management, resource planning, escalation management, organizational development, leading interdisciplinary teams, Health IT
Flight Instructor | Chief Theoretical Knowledge Instructor CTKI | former Chief Flight Instructor CFI
Winterthur
- Practical and theoretical training of pilots from the start of training up to exam readiness
- Planning, running and documenting training, check flights, and proficiency flights
- Responsibility for the theoretical training with nine subject areas, around 22 evening classes, and a team of external subject experts
- Assessment of the training progress, practical skills, and exam readiness of the participants
- Two years as Chief Flight Instructor with responsibility for training planning, standardization, supervision, and quality assurance
- Introduction and operation of Moodle for learning materials, online tests, progress tracking, and internal pre-exams
- Coordination of training and exam registrations with the Swiss Federal Office of Civil Aviation FOCA
- Support in the recertification and further development of the flight school as a Declared Training Organisation
- Ongoing risk and safety assessment as well as responsibility for sound training decisions in flight operations
Head of Release Management
Vitodata AG
- Building and leading release management for software products and managed services with a team of four employees
- Overall responsibility for planning, coordinating, and approving software releases
- Aligning releases between product management, development, testing, customer projects, support, and IT operations
- Introducing binding release, testing, acceptance, and approval processes
- Building transparent release plans, decision paths, and go/no-go criteria
- Managing technical and organizational dependencies across several products, customer projects, and operating environments
- Coordinating tests, bug fixing, acceptance, rollouts, and go-lives
- Ensuring stable handovers to support, operations, and customer organizations
- Assessing and managing release risks and escalating critical quality or schedule deviations
- Improving the collaboration between development, project organization, operations, and customer support
- Supporting the move from the waterfall model to Scrum and adapting release processes to agile development cycles
- Standardizing the release organization with the aim of improving quality, reliability, and planning security
- Release and go-live management in the health IT environment with high requirements for availability, data protection, and quality
- Technical coordination of interfaces and integrations, including in the area of HL7, FHIR, and DICOM
Methods and expertise: Release Management, Release Planning, Test Management, Quality Management, Change Management, Deployment, Rollout, Cut-over, Go-live, Operational Handover, Go/No-Go Decisions, Scrum, Waterfall Model, Health IT, HL7, FHIR, DICOM, Risk and Escalation Management
IT Project Manager Managed Services
aXcelerate Solutions AG
- Overall responsibility for planning, managing, and delivering IT and managed services projects for public administration customers
- Leading infrastructure, hosting, operations, and migration projects from requirements gathering through to handover into operations
- Creating project plans, effort estimates, schedules, and resource plans
- Coordinating internal departments, technical specialists, external suppliers, and customer contacts
- Gathering and structuring business, technical, and operational requirements
- Managing risks, dependencies, changes, and open decisions
- Aligning solution design, implementation, testing, acceptance, and go-live
- Ensuring clear handovers to support, service organization, and ongoing operations
- Supporting customers through technical and organizational change
- Managing customer communication, status reports, and escalations
- Connecting project goals with operational readiness, service quality, and long-term maintainability
- Carrying out acceptance testing and follow-up of projects until stable regular operation
Methods and expertise: IT Project Management, Managed Services, IT Infrastructure, Hosting, Migration, Rollout, Requirements Engineering, Resource Planning, Risk and Change Management, Supplier Management, Testing, Acceptance, Go-live, Operational Handover, Public Administration
Business Unit Head Campus Management
CREALOGIX AG
- Leading the Campus Management business unit with around 15 employees and responsibility for the CLX.Evento software solution
- Overall responsibility for organization, customer projects, product development, quality, and operational service delivery of the unit
- Leading interdisciplinary teams from project management, development, consulting, and customer-facing functions
- Overall project management for the introduction of campus management software at Swiss universities and public educational institutions
- Managing customer requirements, product development, rollout, quality assurance, and later operations
- Prioritizing business and technical requirements between customers, project teams, and product development
- Key account management for the Canton of Bern, Swiss universities of applied sciences, and German universities
- Responsibility for project planning, resource management, schedules, budgets, risks, and escalations
- Building and further developing binding project, quality, and delivery processes
- Responsibility for the quality management system of the business unit
- Requirements engineering for software functions close to the business area
- Coordination between university administration, departments, IT, development, project team, and internal delivery functions
- Preparing and managing acceptances, rollouts, migrations, and operational handovers
- Ensuring a reliable link between customer requirements, product standards, and a workable project solution
- Further developing the business model and the organizational direction of the business unit
Methods and expertise: Business Unit Leadership, Software Product Management, IT Project Management, Campus Management, University Software, Requirements Engineering, Key Account Management, Quality Management, Resource and Budget Management, Stakeholder Management, Software Introduction, Migration, Testing, Acceptance, Go-live, Public Administration and Education
IT Project Manager
CREALOGIX AG
- Overall responsibility for planning, managing, and delivering IT and software projects for public administration customers and in the education sector
- Leading introduction and development projects from requirements gathering through to acceptance and go-live
- Creating project plans, effort estimates, and schedule and resource plans
- Requirements engineering for software functions close to the business area and administrative processes
- Structuring and prioritizing business requirements together with customers, departments, and internal product owners
- Translating customer requirements into workable specifications for development and testing
- Coordinating between customers, project team, software development, quality assurance, and internal delivery functions
- Managing schedules, budgets, risks, dependencies, and change requests
- Preparing and moderating project, decision, and alignment meetings
- Managing tests, acceptances, migrations, rollouts, and operational handovers
- Responsibility for customer communication, status reports, and escalations
- Ensuring a reliable link between business needs, technical product standards, and realistic implementation
- Supporting customer organizations in introducing new software and adapted workflows
Methods and expertise: IT Project Management, Software Introduction, Requirements Engineering, Business Analysis, Stakeholder Management, Risk and Change Management, Project Controlling, Testing, Acceptance, Migration, Go-live, Operational Handover, Public Administration, Education, HERMES
Industry Experience
See where this freelancer has spent most of their professional time.
Experienced in Information Technology, Healthcare, Government and Administration, Aerospace and Defense, and Education.
Business Area Experience
See which departments and functions this freelancer has contributed to most.
Experienced in Information Technology, Project Management, Quality Assurance, Operations, Product Development, and Sales.
Summary
I take on temporary leadership responsibility when IT and software organizations come under pressure, leadership capacity is missing, or day-to-day execution is not moving forward. I bring 15 years of experience in leading delivery, service, project, release, and software organizations with teams of up to 30 employees. My focus is where operations, customer projects, product development, and continuous improvement all need to be managed reliably at the same time. I am looking for interim mandates in operational leadership, delivery, service, IT, and project roles, especially in cases of vacancies, reorganizations, stressful transitions, or critical implementation phases.
Skills
My Focus Is On The Operational Leadership Of It And Software Organizations As Well As On Managing Complex Delivery, Customer, And Operational Responsibility. I Take On Temporary Line, Project, Or Program Responsibility When Leadership Capacity Is Missing, Operational Areas Are Under Pressure, Or Critical Initiatives Need To Be Delivered Reliably.
Operational Leadership And Organization I Have Led Delivery, Service, Support, Project, And Release Organizations With Up To 30 Employees And Several Teams Across Different Locations. This Includes Leading And Developing Team Leads, Clarifying Roles And Responsibilities, Resource And Capacity Planning, Prioritization, And Managing Quality, Profitability, And Execution.
Typical Areas Of Work Are:
- Interim Leadership Of It, Ict, Delivery, Operations, Or Service Areas
- Leadership During Vacancies, Staff Changes, And Reorganizations
- Stabilizing Stressed Teams And Operational Organizations
- Building Solid Leadership, Project, And Steering Processes
- Leading Distributed And Cross-Functional Teams
- Clarifying Responsibilities And Decision Paths
- Resource, Capacity, And Priority Management
- Escalation Management With Customers, Internal Areas, And Suppliers
Delivery, Service, And It Operations I Combine Customer, Project, And Operational Responsibility And Know The Demands Of Organizations Where Ongoing Service, Customer Projects, And Technical Development All Need To Be Managed At The Same Time.
My Experience Includes:
- Delivery Management
- Service Delivery Management
- It Service Management And Service Organization
- Managed Services
- Support And Operations Organizations
- Service Desk And Technical Support Processes
- Customer And Escalation Management
- Service Quality, Sla-Based Management, And Operational Stability
- Supplier And Partner Management
- Hosting, Cloud, And Infrastructure Services
- Handover Of Projects And Releases Into Operations
- Management Of Internal And External Service Providers
Project And Program Management I Have Many Years Of Experience In Overall Leadership Of Demanding It And Software Projects - From Requirements Analysis And Planning To Rollout And Handover Into Operations. I Work With Traditional, Agile, And Hybrid Delivery Models.
My Skills Include:
- It Project Management And Overall Project Responsibility
- Program And Multiproject Management
- Project Organization And Governance
- Project Planning, Resource Planning, And Progress Tracking
- Stakeholder Management
- Risk, Quality, And Change Management
- Requirements Management And Requirements Engineering
- Decision And Escalation Management
- Project Controlling And Management Reporting
- Tendering, Supplier, And Customer Management
- Introduction Of Software And Managed Service Solutions
- Cut-Over, Go-Live, And Handover To Operations
- Hermes, Scrum, Kanban, And Hybrid Project Models
Software, Product, And Release Organization I Have Led Software Organizations Where Product Development, Customer Requirements, Rollout Projects, Releases, Support, And Operations Were Closely Linked. My Focus Is Not On Isolated Product Strategy, But On Reliably Turning Requirements And Priorities Into Practical Decisions.
My Experience Includes:
- Leading B2b Software And Saas Organizations
- Product Management For Software And Managed Service Offerings
- Prioritizing Customer, Product, And Operational Requirements
- Coordination Between Product Management, Development, Project Management, Support, And Operations
- Release Planning And Release Management
- Building Standardized Release, Testing, And Acceptance Processes
- Quality Assurance And Test Management
- Release Readiness And Go/No-Go Decisions
- Rollout And Introduction Management
- Transition From Waterfall To Scrum
- Clarifying Technical And Organizational Dependencies
- Stabilizing Critical Releases And Rollouts
Quality, Testing, And Process Management I Have Built And Further Developed Quality Management Systems As Well As Binding Project, Testing, Release, And Delivery Processes. For Me, The Key Point Is Not Process Documentation, But Its Real Impact In Day-To-Day Work.
This Includes:
- Quality Management In Software And It Organizations
- Test Strategy And Test Management
- Acceptance And Release Processes
- Definition Of Done And Quality Criteria
- Quality Gates And Go/No-Go Decisions
- Incident, Problem, And Change Processes
- Process Standardization
- Continuous Improvement Of Operational Processes
- Root Cause Analysis For Quality And Execution Issues
- Building Transparent Leadership And Steering Metrics
Healthcare And Regulated Environments Through My Many Years In Health It, I Know The Requirements Of Regulated And Business-Critical Customer Environments. I Have Led Software Rollouts, Releases, Testing, Operations, And Customer Projects For Outpatient Healthcare Organizations.
Professional And Technical Fit Is Especially Strong In:
- Health It And Practice Software
- Medical Information And Communication Systems
- Hl7
- Fhir
- Dicom
- Interfaces And Data Exchange Between Medical Systems
- Software Rollout And Migration In Healthcare Organizations
- Testing, Release, And Launch Of Business-Critical Applications
- Data Protection, Quality, And Availability Requirements
- Collaboration With Medical Departments, Software Development, And Operations
Public Administration And Education Environment I Have Led Numerous It And Software Projects For Municipalities, Cantons, Universities, And Other Public Institutions. This Means I Know The Demands Of Decision Paths, Tenders, Stakeholder Communication, And Cooperation Between Specialist Departments, It, Service Providers, And Political Or Administrative Structures.
This Includes:
- It Projects For Public Administration
- Municipal And Administration-Related It Organizations
- University And Campus Management Systems
- Business Applications
- Digitalization And Rollout Projects
- Management Of External It Service Providers
- Requirements Engineering With Specialist Departments
- Procurement, Decision, And Acceptance Processes
- Operations, Support, And Further Development Of Administration-Related Software Solutions
Technical Fit I Am Not A Developer Or System Engineer, But I Can Assess Technical Topics Down To Specification, Interface, And Operational Level And Act As A Bridge Between Business, Development, Architecture, Operations, Support, And Management.
Experience And Fit Exist In, Among Other Areas:
- Software Architecture And Technical Dependencies
- Cloud, Hosting, And Managed Service Environments
- It Infrastructure And Operating Models
- Microsoft And Workplace-Related Services
- Interfaces, Integration, And Data Flows
- Apis And System Integration
- Databases And Business-Related Data Models
- Release, Deployment, And Rollout Processes
- Monitoring, Service Operations, And Support
- It Security And Data Protection In An Organizational Context
- Nearshoring And Cooperation With External Development Teams
I Do Not Only Use Generative Ai As A User, But Also Have Hands-On Experience With Integrating Llms Into Technical And Operational Workflows. My Focus Is On Making Sensible Use Of Them Within Software, Project, And Analysis Processes, And On Results That Are Understandable And Controllable.
Experience And Fit Exist Especially In The Following Areas:
- Generative Ai And Large Language Models (Llm)
- Openai Api And Integration Of Llm Services
- Prompt Engineering And Context Engineering
- Structured Llm Outputs And Machine-Readable Result Formats
- Preparing And Providing Data For Llm Applications
- Ai-Supported Workflows For Analysis, Research, And Automation
- Validation Of Llm Results And Plausibility Checks
- Guardrails And Rule-Based Limits For Ai-Supported Decisions
- Use Of Ai In Software And Project Management
- Critical Assessment Of Ai Results In Terms Of Assumptions, Risks, And Professional Soundness
Methods And Way Of Working
- Hermes 5 Advanced
- Hermes Swiss Project Team Professional
- Scrum
- Kanban
- Traditional And Hybrid Project Models
- Okr As A Leadership And Steering Framework
- Risk And Stakeholder Management
- Change, Release, Service, And Operations Management
- Structured Workshop And Decision Facilitation
- Management Reporting And Kpi-Based Steering
- Lecturer In Software Management At Fh GraubüNden From Autumn Semester 2026; Teaching Project Management, Risk And Quality Management, Agile Steering, Release, And Handover To Operations
What Sets Me Apart I Combine Operational Leadership Experience With An Understanding Of Projects, Software, Customers, And Operations. This Allows Me To Take Responsibility Even Where Problems Cannot Be Clearly Assigned To A Single Function.
I Work In A Structured, Fact-Based, And Execution-Oriented Way. I Can Quickly Get Up To Speed In New Organizations And Complex Situations, Make Priorities Visible, And Drive Decisions Forward. In Doing So, I Take Responsibility Not Only For Concepts, But For Their Implementation In Ongoing Operations.
Mandates Sought
I Am Looking For Temporary Leadership, Project, And Transition Mandates In It And Software Organizations, Especially As:
- Interim Cio Or Head Of It / Ict
- Interim Head Of Delivery, Operations, Or Service
- Interim Head Of A Software, Support, Or Operations Organization
- Service Delivery Manager
- It Project Or Program Manager
- Head Of Release Management Or Release Lead
- Responsible For Operational Stabilization, Migration, Rollout, Or Rollout Introduction
- Operational Leadership Relief During Vacancy, Reorganization, Or Escalation Pressure
Situations Are Especially A Good Fit Where Ongoing Operations, Customer Needs, Projects, And Further Development All Need To Be Managed Reliably At The Same Time.
Languages
Education
University of Duisburg-Essen
State examination · Teacher training for secondary schools in mathematics and technology · Germany
University of Duisburg-Essen
Electrical engineering · Germany
Certifications & licenses
HERMES 5 Advanced
TÜV Süd · Bern, Switzerland
HERMES Swiss Project Team Professional
SQS
Statistics
Experience
Global Experience
Expertise
Qualifications
Profile
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