Sven Krahn-Interim CTO / CTPO (Software-, Cloud- & AI-Transformation)

Assessment of the product, delivery, and AI organization with a realignment of operational excellence, target architecture, and AI-first operating model

Situation: The product and delivery organization showed structural weaknesses in efficiency, control, and collaboration. In addition, there was no clear target architecture for AI-driven product and organizational development. At leadership level, there was limited transparency regarding roles, responsibilities, and operational performance.

Responsibility & approach:

• Analysis of the existing product, delivery, and organizational structures in terms of processes, governance, and controllability
• Evaluation of architecture and platform with regard to scalability, future readiness, and AI integration
• Development of a target picture for an AI-first product and delivery operating model
• Derivation of concrete measures to improve operational excellence and collaboration
• Sparring with the leadership team on structured organizational development

Results & impact:

• Creation of transparency regarding structural bottlenecks, performance, and decision-making logic
• Development of a target structure for a scalable AI-first product and delivery setup
• Improvement of decision-making capability and control at leadership level
• Creation of a solid basis for downstream transformation measures
• Definition of concrete levers to improve efficiency, collaboration, and time-to-market

Consolidation and build-up of a cloud & managed services platform organization

Situation: After the establishment of the business unit "Application Platforms," there was no unified product portfolio, no clear go-to-market structure, and no defined technology and platform strategy. In addition, there was organizational fragmentation between private cloud, public cloud, and data center & network, as well as a lack of standardized cloud and managed service offerings.

Responsibility & approach:

• Consolidation and restructuring of the private cloud, public cloud, and data center & network areas
• Leadership and performance management of a team of around 120 employees
• Development of a unified product and service portfolio across all platform areas
• Definition of the technology stack and management of technology partnerships and technical implementation
• Development and implementation of go-to-market strategies incl. sales enablement and organizational training

Results & impact:

• Build-up of a unified cloud and managed services platform organization
• Introduction of a standardized service and product portfolio across public and private cloud services
• Transformation from a classic systems house to an IT-as-a-Service model
• Increase in recurring revenue share through cloud and managed services
• Improvement in scalability and controllability of the platform and services business

Situation: Private equity investors and deal teams need reliable assessments of technology, architecture, delivery capability, and organization before transactions. Transparency about scalability, technical risks, tech debt, and necessary transformation measures is often missing. In addition, there is strong pressure to quickly translate technology risks into solid investment and implementation decisions.

Responsibility and approach:

• Execution of technical due diligence mandates in software, SaaS, and platform companies
• Analysis of architecture, infrastructure, data, security, delivery capability, and engineering organization
• Evaluation of scalability, tech debt, governance, and operating model structures
• Translation of technical findings into investor-ready decision and prioritization logic
• Derivation of concrete risks, measures, and transformation implications for post-deal phases

Results & impact:

• Creation of transparent and prioritized decision bases for investors and deal teams
• Clear assessment of technology risks, scalability, and organizational maturity levels
• Reduction of investment and transformation risks through structured analysis and recommendations for action
• Strong alignment with operational transformation and post-deal mandates
• Connection of technical due diligence with operational transformation and implementation logic

• Strategic and operational responsibility for the enterprise cloud platform of 1&1 IONOS CLOUD
• Budget and personnel responsibility for around 140 employees in development, IT operations, office IT, and customer support
• Steering international data center, infrastructure, and third-party technology environments
• Responsibility for IT roadmap, governance, as well as technology decisions and innovation management
• Ensuring operational stability, scalability, and operational excellence of the cloud platform

• Budget and personnel responsibility for more than 600 employees in shared services, business process management, software development, infrastructure, and IT operations at seven locations
• Responsibility for IT strategy, technology decisions, and enterprise architecture management
• Steering turnaround management and restructuring of the IT organization
• Introduction of performance management as well as restructuring of inefficient organizational and location structures
• Improving technical availability through the introduction of continuous deployment and application monitoring, and preparing the business unit for due diligence and sales processes

• Member of the European management team with responsibility for infrastructure and technology processes in the European customer service organization
• Led 75 employees and held budget responsibility of USD 10.7 million
• Managed infrastructure and technology programs to support global CRM, workforce management, and content management systems
• Introduced Lean Six Sigma, ITIL, and process management standards to improve service and operations processes
• Carried out transformation and rationalization measures to improve efficiency, customer satisfaction, and operational control