Michael H.-Interim Manager | Project & Transformation Manager | Agile Coach

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: building up Flight Levels practices within IT 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: reorganizing and supporting the ERP migration as a Project Manager; Phase 1 (financial accounting) live since October 2025

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

Integration: 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 for system engineering, security, stable operations and continuous improvement

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

As Interim Head of IT for a German medium-sized industrial distributor, I am responsible for 31 IT employees and lead the digital and organizational transformation, reporting directly to executive leadership. I took over an IT department with almost no basic structures – no clear roles, processes, documentation or ticket system – and with significant technical debt that tied up most of its capacity. Introduced agile principles and ways of working in the IT 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.

Aligned IT-internal planning across eight teams to three Flight Levels based on Klaus Leopold (strategy, coordination, team), laying the foundation for later company-wide portfolio management. Consolidated the backlog of more than 10 workstreams and prioritized it by business value and cost of delay. 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) including system engineering and security, Modern Workplace, Data Quality and integration initiatives. Worked closely with Agile Coaches to support team development, remove impediments, and continuously improve delivery effectiveness.

Acted as Interim Product Owner for the operation and enhancement of the existing ERP landscape while supporting the ERP migration as a Project Manager. Reorganized the project organization and had the already negotiated contract with the implementation partner realigned with a focus on approach and overall responsibility; Phase 1 (financial accounting) has been live since October 2025. 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.

Matko Cockpit – Mid-year planning: Workshop preparation and facilitation for the BMW digital team to plan the Matko Cockpit product delivery for the next six months.

Objectives:

• Team building
• Prepare Matko Cockpit product delivery roadmap

Tasks included:

• Stakeholder alignment
• Workshop design
• Preparation of the venue
• Managing the workshop agenda (time keeping)
• Look back and summary of previous workshop
• Identification of focus topics
• Topic Prioritization
• Teamwork
• Review of team sentiment
• Capturing impressions
• Identification, summary, and documentation of action items

Methodologies:

• Cost of Delay (Don Reinertsen)
• Ice Breaker
• Brainstorming
• Story Points
• Magic Estimation
• Hypothesis Statement
• Problem Statement
• How might we...
• Dot Voting
• Parking Lot

• Text-to-Speech – AI-based Project: Development of an AEM component to convert text into speech using Microsoft Azure, pioneering Munich RE's first AI-based voice implementation for improved accessibility and user engagement.

• Re-Connect: Managed a brownfield project to refactor and optimize messy AEM code, enhancing maintainability and performance, and ensuring compatibility with Azure DevOps pipelines.

• Cloud Migration of AEM: Led the migration of AEM systems to a cloud environment, utilizing Azure DevOps for tracking and pipeline automation.

• Broker Portal: Migration of an assurance broker portal to AEM.

• Managed budgets, timelines, and resources across key AEM projects, ensuring alignment with client goals and delivering on schedule, which secured additional business with Munich RE.

• Led risk assessments and stakeholder coordination to keep all project phases transparent and aligned with enterprise priorities.

• Oversaw agile processes and optimizing team performance.

• Delivered critical AEM migrations and enhancements with meticulous quality assurance, balancing technical requirements with client expectations to ensure smooth transitions and scalable results.

Project language: German / English

• Workshop preparation and facilitation for the BMW digital team to plan the Matko Cockpit product delivery for the second half of the year.

• Team building and preparation of the Matko Cockpit product delivery roadmap.

• Stakeholder alignment and workshop design.

• Managing the workshop agenda, identifying focus topics, and topic prioritization.

• Review of team sentiment and capturing impressions.

• Identification, summary, and documentation of action items.

• Methodologies used: Ice Breaker, Brain Storming, Story Points, Magic Estimation, Hypothesis Statement, Problem Statement, Dot Voting, and Parking Lot.