Thomas Pacal
Leading global organizational change executive / digital transformation & post-merger integration
Experience
Change Manager / Sales Transformation
SEFE
- Organizational change management as part of a group-wide, supranational sales transformation, serving as the centerpiece of a comprehensive restructuring of mission-critical areas, with end-to-end control of the change process and sustainable anchoring to ensure the sales organization's future viability.
- Initiation and holistic management of the sales transformation program, including in-depth analysis to identify, assess, and strategically engage all relevant stakeholders, tactically leveraging their specific operational interests and influence.
- Conducting extensive, detailed change impact analyses to forecast organizational effects of the transformation, derive a tailored change strategy, and develop a change roadmap and change story as the core narrative for the campaign.
- Designing and implementing an integrated communication and action plan to ensure maximum transparency, effectively manage implicit expectations, and steer a change process that is understandable and energizing for all stakeholders.
- Actively managing all phases of the transformation, including setting up robust monitoring mechanisms for continuous progress analysis and forecasting, based on agreed and jointly defined KPIs.
- Establishing an agile analysis and adjustment cycle for continuous evaluation of the effectiveness of measures, early detection of challenges, and prompt fine-tuning of the change strategy.
- Performing precise gap analyses to identify skill deficits in the sales team in light of the new strategic direction, and deriving and developing targeted qualification strategies (e.g., coaching, training).
- Significantly reducing resistance to change by transforming opposing stakeholder mindsets into proactive change-driving change ambassadors.
- Deep and lasting realignment of sales structures and processes in full alignment with overarching corporate goals.
- Qualitative and quantitative improvement of sales efficiency and performance as a direct result of the implemented transformation initiatives and competency-building programs.
Change Manager / Product-Centric Transformation
Arlanxeo, Saudi Aramco Group
- Organizational change management as part of a group-wide transformation initiative focusing on restructuring into a product-centric organization (PCO) and simultaneously agile transformation of global IT (pilot area), including new ways of working and strengthening leadership skills.
- Strategic management of the transformation process towards a product-centric organization within global IT, creating a positive pull effect across the entire group beyond silos and cultural boundaries.
- Identifying and analyzing all key stakeholders in IT and interface areas; developing a tailored change roadmap for structured navigation through the change process.
- Continuously supporting implementation through progress monitoring and setting up a robust two-way feedback system using pulse-check surveys and one-on-one stakeholder discussions for ongoing evaluation and adaptation.
- Iteratively identifying critical skill gaps at the leadership level (e.g., prioritization, ownership, psychological safety, decision inertia) through analyses in one-on-one talks, executive regular meetings, and town halls.
- Designing and facilitating leadership off-sites (workshop) to strengthen reprioritization skills, cultivate an ownership mindset, and clarify responsibilities.
- Conducting executive leadership coaching sessions to promote psychological safety and build trust at the top two leadership levels.
- Ensuring continuous communication and real alignment throughout the process to foster transparency, acceptance, and maintain change momentum.
- Increasing leadership effectiveness by 68% through better prioritization skills and establishing a clear responsibility culture in global IT.
- Qualitatively improving organizational climate by 39% and raising psychological safety at the leadership level with top-down role modeling and a more open communication and feedback culture.
- Successfully anchoring transformation effects in global IT as a blueprint for the entire group.
Change Manager / Digital Transformation
Mann+Hummel
- Organizational change management for a strategic flagship digitization initiative to transform the group-wide PLM system end-to-end and build a multi-scenario forecasting-capable digital twin of all processes (design-to-cost approach with VR/AR support for product developers).
- Comprehensive stakeholder management at the executive level with step-by-step building of a dedicated change agent network to generate maximum leadership commitment.
- Planning and executing change communication campaigning and strategic internal communication management to ensure high acceptance before, during, and after go-live; measuring change acceptance and giving regular interactive presentations to the executive board.
- Agile change management support for the parallel agile transformation of the entire company, including the production plants that were initially most resistant to change worldwide.
- Developing the change strategy and crafting the change story as the core of the cross-functional communication strategy.
- Designing, preparing, and running leadership change workshops as a change roadshow to inform about the digitization program, changes, and new ways of working at leadership and operational levels in all affected plants.
- Implementing comprehensive training, communication, and engagement measures focused on operational execution and KPI-based success measurement.
- Achieving 100% acceptance rate through numerous personalized one-on-one stakeholder engagement meetings.
- Sustainable implementation of the new target operating model while improving internal communication and overcoming existing silos, especially in the plants.
- Building an agile mindset and a community-based, cross-silo work culture to prevent new silos from forming.
Change Manager / Digital Transformation & Scale-Up
RTBE
- Agile transformation of globally distributed business units while digitally transforming the core business model for frictionless scaling across three continents and establishing a new target operating model during ongoing operations.
- Full digitization of the core business model by building a digital twin of the entire process landscape, buildings, and building services, including designing, setting up, and deploying IoT for sensor data generation as a proof of concept for an MVP that became the flagship product (AR headset support for early corrective interventions and predictive scenarios).
- Preparing global expansion (EU → US → APAC) with rapid scaling to about 700% of the company size; ensuring controlled, healthy growth despite pandemic-driven staffing shortages and resistance to change, including securing strategic, administrative, regulatory, and operational aspects.
- Agile transformation of all business units based on DevOps to harmonize heterogeneous development processes and bridge existing silos and cultural boundaries, especially between physicists, technicians, and software engineers.
- Sustainable establishment of the new target operating model with significantly improved internal communication after overcoming evident silos.
- Significant increase in EBITDA despite early scaling phase and high expansion costs.
- Creating an agile, efficiency-enhancing sense of community and mindset as a critical success factor.
Change Manager / Digital Transformation
WRW
- Operational setup of a Digital Office as the central control platform for all digitalization projects of the corporate group and consolidation of continental market leadership by introducing a Scrum-based Digital Innovation Hub.
- Defining a comprehensive, clear, and interpretation-free digital governance impacting decision rights, processes, and procurement transparency (e.g., in PPPs), based on analyses of digital maturity, overlapping competencies, process delays, and digital bottlenecks at interfaces with municipal network partners.
- Setting up the Digital Office on personnel, physical, educational, and organizational levels, including recruiting, team composition, role distribution, infrastructure, workshops on change, innovation, Scrum, crisis communication, and de-escalation, embedding at the executive level, and creating a digital roadmap.
- Introducing a Digital Innovation Hub to generate, execute, and manage disruptive innovation measures, for example by greatly reducing the effort of disposition and administration via automated interaction with nearshoring partners through a Digital Contractor Platform.
- Integrating critical legacy systems together with Group IT, including reviewing non-functional components and planning and managing appropriate interfaces to support a market based on private sector conditions.
- Designing and implementing 27 projects and subprojects in preparation for turnkey handover to the CDO while ensuring up to nine months of leaderless self-sustaining operation of the Digital Office to minimize PR risks.
- Massive reduction of project lead times to a fraction of the original values with corresponding savings at the municipal level.
- Establishing the Digital Office and especially the Innovation Hub as the central innovation driver and contact point for digitization matters.
- Fail-safe setup of the Digital Office with buffer concept without immediate need for leadership in case of potential CDO absence.
Change Manager / Digital Transformation
Esperta
- Strategic realignment to enhance the competitiveness of an outdated business model through deep operational changes, organizational development, and project management for system integration and upgrade of core applications and technology platforms (Secure Translation Brokerage Platform).
- Conducted comprehensive fundamental analyses of the organizational structure, workflows, standards, critical processes, strategic partnerships (triage of a globally distributed, heterogeneous expert network), internal and external communication, go-to-market strategy, diversification efforts, competitive environment, market regulation, industry-specific standards, sourcing aspects, and legacy systems in use.
- Designed and implemented business process re-engineering measures, including repositioning from a translation service provider to a full-service translation agency focused on project management for more efficient use of onshore resources.
- Built a strategic competitive advantage by introducing disruptive innovations, especially radical cost reductions through efficient use of a global offshore contractor network across all time zones.
- Performed comprehensive technology analysis, redesign, and implementation of the entire ICT area with multi-stage, incremental, and cross-platform migration of the legacy enterprise software environment using agile methods (Scrum, Kanban).
- Integrated systems and upgraded all operating systems for all internal ICT components (notebooks, servers, backup systems, external data storage, cloud storage connections, audio and video telephony systems, mobile devices) while maintaining ongoing operations.
- Significantly reduced internal process complexity and shortened go-to-market cycles.
- Decreased qualitative and organizational heterogeneity to avoid further critical HR situations.
- Reduced project throughput times by about 80%.
Founder; Change Manager
Embrace
- Built a small, effective, highly flexible, globally operating consulting firm specializing in change management.
- Focused on digital transformation, strategic change management, innovation management, and crisis prevention, intervention, and company stabilization.
- Developed and executed projects in the core business areas of business transformation, innovation think-tanks, and transfer of business.
Change Manager; Senior Project- & Program Manager
Global Blue
- Crisis intervention, stabilization, and coordination of a large, intercontinental expert team, along with project and program management, system integration, and upgrade of core big data applications and technology platforms (tax-free shopping processing & real-time currency conversion).
- Immediate triage and intervention in a repeatedly failed, historically grown project tightly linked to the core business, involving many on-, near-, and offshore teams with an average of 2,000 experts.
- Stabilized massive turnover effects caused by leadership failures and psychological attachment issues, and merged fragmented teams to restore fast, efficient decision-making processes.
- Integrated legacy systems and prepared data from end-of-life systems for data warehousing, as well as replaced and homogenized divergent technology stacks (e.g., Microsoft .NET and IBM BPM).
- Defined an approach for seamless embedding of the newly created IBM BPM-based processes into the organization and continuous progress reporting at the executive board level.
- Program management in a highly dynamic, hybrid development environment (Scrum, Kanban, Waterfall) with ever-changing business requirements and acting as a bridge between business and IT.
- Mediated between team leads, eliminated toxic behaviors, dismantled bullying structures, and reduced silo thinking to restore interdisciplinary collaboration vertically, horizontally, and intercontinentally.
- Overall responsibility for designing and sustainably implementing a change management program within cost, time, and quality constraints.
Senior Consultant
IBM
- Project management, business analysis, presales, and use-case design in the big data field, specializing in data warehousing, business intelligence, content analytics, and business process re-engineering.
- Managed multiple projects for an average of 17 clients in industries such as banking/finance, oil & gas/energy, transportation & logistics/forwarding, and electronic engineering, across all project phases from initiation to rollout and stabilization, acting as a bridge between business and IT.
- Led a ten-person development team, coached and mentored a junior project manager, and managed external implementation partners.
- Served as a senior business analyst and lead DWH/BI solution architect for Raiffeisen Bank International, including analysis, re-engineering, transformation, integration, and migration of the cDWH-based core banking system to an eDWH-based comprehensive solution, and designed a master test plan for all bank divisions.
- Conducted a digital transformation project for a leading European machinery manufacturer (automotive, robotics), introducing real-time streaming sensor data analysis via a big data-enabled DWH and predictive analytics for machine failure forecasting and factory monitoring, including AR-based mobile monitoring.
- Analyzed, planned, and implemented management dashboards/cockpits in IBM Cognos to simplify presentation of complex relationships, trends, and patterns in heterogeneous information architectures.
- Provided presales support through use-case design, including analysis of potential clients' existing business processes and on-site presentations of concrete BI solutions.
- Additional specialization in BI for customer insight, market analytics, supply chain, and human resources.
Change Manager; Council Consultant
Gerson Lehrman Group
- Carried out numerous consulting projects in contactless/wireless/mobile payments, mobile banking, AML, KYC, and CRM for, with, and on behalf of companies in strategy, packaging, and investment banking.
- Advised strategy firms such as Bain & Company, Boston Consulting Group, McKinsey, and Ernst & Young.
- Supported packaging companies like MeadWestvaco.
- Advised investment banks and financial institutions such as Goldman Sachs, MFC Global Investment Management, Fir Tree Partners, and La Financière de l'Echiquier.
Head of Treasury BackOffice
DenizBank Financial Services, Dexia Group
- Restructuring of the entire Treasury BackOffice, including the securities settlement, international payments, and domestic payments departments.
- Planning and execution of treasury trading-specific tests, usability assessments, and professional evaluations as the final step before the full migration from the AS/400-based core banking system to a modern Windows-based system.
- Self-initiated analysis, design, planning, and execution of the integration of separately running banking applications (SWIFT, SEPA, Reuters, Bloomberg, Svenson, etc.) into the core banking system.
- Creation of a multi-part, fully illustrated manual for the setup and operation of Treasury and Treasury BackOffice, including special cases, worst-case scenarios, and troubleshooting, explicitly for quick onboarding of career changers.
Strategic Consultant
Petroleum, Oil and Gas Corporation of South Africa
- Implementation of a risk management system for the company.
- Conducting intensive, multi-level training for all staff in the trading department and the supply & logistics department on the new risk management approach.
- Creation of a manual on the functions, use cases, special variants, and specific scenarios in commodity trading and supply & logistics, including troubleshooting.
Strategic Consultant
HPCL - Hindustan Petroleum Corporation
- Implementation of a risk management system for the company.
- Conducting intensive, multi-level training for all staff in the trading department and the refineries department.
- Creation of a manual on the functions, special variants, and specific scenarios of commodity trading in the refinery environment, including troubleshooting.
Strategic Consultant
Essar Oil Ltd, Hutchison Group
- Co-introduction of a risk management system for oil and gas activities.
- Extensive, in-depth training of the risk management team on hedging strategies against physical cargo or freight loss for large oil tankers and offshore oil and gas platforms in the upstream areas of the Indian Ocean.
- Creation of a manual on the functions, options, special variants, and specific cases of risk management, including troubleshooting.
Change Manager
Galenika Fitofarmacija Serbia
- Introduction of comprehensive organizational development measures after evaluating all business areas with greenfield and blue ocean approaches to transform into an international player without internal friction.
- Organization-wide establishment of innovation teams (internal micro think tanks), including guiding the process with selected internal experts, mid-level managers, and plant staff; goal: rebranding as an innovation driver in the SEE region instead of low-cost differentiation.
- Restructuring, reformation, coaching, mentoring, and training of the sales executive team, including the General Director of Sales and 14 regional sales directors, to improve negotiation results with international, especially Western European, business partners.
- Design, planning, and execution of a multi-part intercultural training for the entire executive board to secure competitive market advantages over international competitors.
- Introduction of an open, less restrictive patriarchal communication culture to promote internal know-how transfer based on partnership and reciprocal trust-building in top management (inspired by Nash equilibrium).
Online & Wireless Marketing Manager
Universal Communication Platform Group
- Transformed all market communications into a permission marketing–based landscape, including introducing a multiple opt-in for electronic newsletters and mobile channels.
- Built a highly granular customer master data segmentation that enabled targeted direct marketing actions based on customer preferences instead of mass communication.
- Achieved high click-through rates and exceptionally strong ROI for clients by leveraging enhanced customer data after data-cleanup communication measures.
Project Manager Digital Transformation
Zurich Insurance Group
- Solely responsible for the primary digitization of all internal and external forms across the entire group.
- Completely eliminated the previously costly manual data entry.
- Enabled automated transfer of form data into internal ERP systems.
Senior Product Marketing Manager
Goldbach Media Group
- Introduced permission marketing in an environment where spam was still a common means to boost reach.
- Prepared for the merger with Goldbach Media, including marketing strategy and product-related groundwork.
Co-Founder; Head of Sales & Media Planning
Buongiorno Digital
- Co-founded the first company branch outside Italy.
- Strategically planned and prepared expansion into other European countries with a strong affinity for newsletter marketing.
- Executed the corporate roll-out in the UK, Switzerland, Austria, and Germany.
- Explored the US market in preparation for the later merger with Vitaminic to form Buongiorno Vitaminic (USA).
Project Manager Custody & Reconciliation/Treasury
Raiffeisen Service Center
- Developed and implemented a fast, precise, software-supported method for automated reconciliation of securities accounts.
- Improved efficiency and accuracy in the custody and reconciliation area of the treasury.
Project Manager; Trade Fair Coordinator
Wiener Messen & Kongresszentrum
- Concept, planning and implementation of a multi-day music trade show that drew 26,000 paying visitors despite a low advertising budget and tight deadlines.
- Repositioned and revived the struggling IFABO, then Austria's largest IT trade show, which was threatened by competitors.
Project Manager; Smart Grid Process Manager
One / Hutchison
- Comprehensive analysis of internal processes focusing on network optimization and integrative migration, as well as homogenization of decentralized legacy data into a central database.
- Digitalization and qualitative preparation of all planning data from legacy systems to visualize the network architecture and topology for all of Austria using Microsoft Visio.
- Designed a smart grid that met regional regulatory requirements by optimizing base transceiver station placement and required transmission power.
- Supported the first experimental proto-UMTS tests in Austria (lab/indoor) as a basis for license acquisition and grid upgrade decisions.
Marketing Manager / IoT
Evtacon Limited
- Solely responsible for analyzing, planning, developing, and implementing the market communication strategy for the EU and US markets to drive sales of a modular microprocessor (Universal Emulator) as a precursor to an IoT solution.
- Developed the company's first website, establishing Evtacon as one of the first microelectronics firms with an online presence.
- Created a unified corporate identity and design, consistently applied across print materials, website, press releases, giveaways, and trade show booths.
Jr Project Manager / Telemarketing Coordinator
BP
- Launched the Routex Billing & Fleet Management System in the Austrian B2B market.
- Expanded the telemarketing team by 250% to support the product launch.
- Reduced target costs to 33% by redefining and consolidating the target audience (fleet and truck operators, transport & logistics, later SMEs via trade associations).
Industry Experience
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Experienced in Professional Services, Information Technology, Banking and Finance, Manufacturing, Energy, and Transportation.
Business Area Experience
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Experienced in Strategy, Information Technology, Product Development, Project Management, Marketing, and Operations.
Summary
Thomas Pacal is an experienced change manager specializing in digital transformation, strategic change management, innovation management, crisis prevention, intervention, and company restabilization. With over 20 years of relevant professional experience, he founded EMBRACE in 2014 - a small, effective, highly flexible, and globally operating consultancy focused on change management. Core business areas: Business Transformation, Innovation Think-Tanks, and Transfer of Business.
VIDEO INTRO: youtube . com/watch?v=roCSEs-cZxk
Skills
Erp, Bpm/bpre, Pm, Bi, Dwh, Iot
- Epicor Iscala
- Sap Business Objects / Crystal Reports
- Microstrategy Analytics
- Ibm Cognos, Infosphere, Websphere
- Planview Enterprise One, Innotas, Projectplace, Leankit
- Microsoft Project, Crm, Sharepoint, Power Bi
- Atlassian Jira, Confluence
- Workday
- Aris
- Adonis
- Agile Methodologies: Scrum, Kanban, Devops, Dad (Disciplined Agile Delivery)
Financial
- Reuters
- Bloomberg
- Swift Alliance Server, Workstation, Web Platform Se
- Geos
- Internext
- Svenson
- Aml / Kyc / Crm Applications
Productivity
- Ms Office 365 (Word, Powerpoint, Excel, Outlook)
- Openoffice (Writer, Impress, Calc, Base, Etc.)
- Adobe Cc (Photoshop, Premiere, Indesign, After Effects, Audition)
- Conferencing: Cisco Webex, Zoom Video Communications, Google Meet, Ms Teams, Skype
- At&t Mobile Network Ops Suite
- Autocad
Coding / Languages
- Html5
- Xml
- Json
- Xhtml (Shtml/mhtml/dhtml Etc.)
- Wml
- Asp
- Css
- Cl For Ibm As/400
- Sql
- Sgml
Systems & Cloud Services
- Microsoft Windows 11, Microsoft Azure
- Apple Macos
- Unix, Linux, Aix, Solaris, Hp-ux
- Google Android, Google Cloud Platform
- Ibm Os/400
Languages
Education
Hult Business School
MBA
Open University Business School
BSc, major in Change Management
Certifications & licenses
ICF-accredited Diploma in Systemic Coaching
ISO/IEC 17024 Certification
Harvard University
ISO/PRF 20700 Certification
Statistics
Experience
Global Experience
Expertise
Qualifications
Profile
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