Thorsten Heintke - Agile Coach & Program Manager, 30 Years

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Cologne, Germany

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Experience

Jan 2025 - Dec 2025

1 year

Program Manager

Telecommunications sector

Program Manager for a strategically highly relevant compliance project in the enterprise segment (C4)
Management of 6 workstreams
Establishment of the project organization, communication structures, project and budget planning, risk management
Reporting to CIO
Moderation of steering committee meetings
Moderation of critical solution processes
Responsibility for adapting the operating model of the IT organizations in Germany, the EU and India, including planning and managing the relocation of affected employees

Jan 2024 - Dec 2024

1 year

Düsseldorf, Germany

Workstream Lead File Transfer & Scheduling

Vodafone Germany

Workstream Lead for File Transfer & Scheduling in a cloud migration program
Management of the central bottleneck function in a mission-critical project
Communication at all levels
Intercultural cooperation with offshore teams
All project goals were achieved and penalties avoided
The team exceeded its own expectations
Cooperation with all interfacing departments developed very well during the engagement
Tremendous recognition from top management in both Germany and India

Jan 2023 - Dec 2023

1 year

Leipzig, Germany

Lead Agile Coach

Senec GmbH

Coaching of executives (L-1)
Coaching of 5 IT operations teams
Training and coaching of Product Owners
Development of a scaled agile IT organization
Challenge: Extreme delivery pressure on the IT operations teams after several major incidents affecting end customers and receiving significant media attention
Result: High commitment among team members, greatly improved delivery capability, improved feedback from specialist retail partners

Jan 2022 - Dec 2022

1 year

Agile Coach

REWE Systems GmbH

Coaching of two product teams
Coaching of executives
Agile leadership training
Scaled Scrum environment based on SAFe (Scaled Agile Framework)
Creating awareness of the change among senior management
Alignment among approximately 80 internal and external Scrum Masters and Agile Coaches
Mentoring of several Junior Agile Coaches
Mentoring and coaching of a managing director of a foreign GmbH

Jan 2021 - Dec 2021

1 year

Moderator, Trainer, Coach

Palmer Hargreaves GmbH

Moderation of multi-day C-level off-sites
Coaching of C-level executives
Agile leadership training
Lead Coach for the agile transformation
OKR workshops for the leadership team
Development of a vision and strategy with the managing director / senior management
Development of an agile organization (organizational structure and business processes)
On-the-job agile training for >200 employees in the flowedoo Breakfast Club format

Jan 2021 - Dec 2021

1 year

Consultant

Stadtwerke Düsseldorf

Development of an agile framework for IT projects
Review of business processes
Sparring partner for the internal project manager on an SAP cloud migration project (EU tender)

Jan 2021 - Dec 2021

1 year

Agile Coach

Telefonica Deutschland

Coaching five teams on agility (agile mindset and agile methods)
Process analysis
Further development of the agile organization based on LeSS

Jan 2019 - Dec 2019

1 year

Development of the Basic Agile Master and Experienced Agile Master programs

INeKO Institute of the University of Cologne

Development of the Basic Agile Master and Experienced Agile Master programs on behalf of the INeKO Institute
Academic director: Prof. E. Stephan

Jan 2018 - Dec 2021

4 years

Managing Partner

flowedoo GmbH

Building and growing the agile consultancy based on “Humanistic Management”
Development of innovative business models and consulting products
Including training programs on Agile, OKR, and Flight Levels
Consulting revenue of €2 million per year
Recruiting, developing, and leading a team of 20 employees
Key challenges:
Bootstrapping an agile consultancy
Realignment during the COVID-19 pandemic
Creating alignment within the team

Jan 2017 - Dec 2017

1 year

Oldenburg, Germany

Agile Coach

EWE AG

Agile Coach for the eMobility project
Supporting a team as Scrum Master
Mentoring and coaching several Scrum Masters as well as Product Owners and Domain Product Owners
Coaching executives
Stakeholder management
Business process development (with various third parties)
Integrating two corporate cultures (start-up and corporation)
Collaboration in distributed teams and with external service providers

Jan 2017 - Dec 2017

1 year

Cologne, Germany

Agile Coach

Unitymedia GmbH

Agile Coach for the beta Office (Agile Transformation)
Agile Coach for the SmartHome project
Agile Coach for the White Spots project
Design and facilitation of workshops with management in the area of Digital Transformation
Process optimization using Value Stream Mapping
Development of agile metrics
Stakeholder management as part of the Agile Transformation
Modeling of cross-departmental business processes using different ways of working (integration of agile and traditional methods)

Jan 2016 - Dec 2016

1 year

Düsseldorf, Germany

Agile Coach

MediaCom

Agile Assessment
Facilitation of an initial retrospective
Facilitation of Kanban training sessions
Leadership coaching

Jan 2016 - Dec 2016

1 year

Cologne, Germany

Scrum Master / Agile Coach

Yello Strom GmbH

Scrum Master for a Scrum team ("M-Team")
Agile coaching for all involved parties in collaboration with several Agile Coaches
Stakeholder management for Yello and the EnBW Group
Establishment of a scaled Agile organizational structure (Squads, Tribes, Guilds)
Modeling and optimization of business processes (especially integration with the parent company)
Transition from the traditional organizational structure to a flexible structure for Yello Strom GmbH, taking the parent company's framework conditions into account

Mar 2015 - Present

11 years 7 months

Managing Partner

flowedoo GmbH / flowedoo SLU

Building and expanding the agile consultancy based on "Humanistic Management"
Development of innovative business models and consulting products
Training programs on Agile, OKR, and Flight Levels
Annual consulting revenue of €2 million
Recruiting, developing, and leading a team of 20 employees
Bootstrapping an agile consultancy
Realignment in response to the COVID-19 pandemic
Creating alignment within the team

Jan 2015 - Dec 2016

2 years

Leinfelden-Echterdingen, Germany

Agile Coach

Robert Bosch / Bosch Power Tools

Personal coaching of several Agile Professionals (Scrum Masters) as part of the Agile Working @ BOSCH program, based on SAFe (Scaled Agile Framework)
Planning and facilitation of workshops with the HR leadership team
Coaching the HR leadership team

Jan 2015 - Dec 2015

1 year

Scrum Coach

OTTO Group

Coaching teams in an agile mindset, principles and XP practices, and requirements engineering
Coaching the Scrum Master and Product Owner in their Scrum roles during the preparation phase and the first sprints
Further development of a B2B retailer portal
Acceptance of changed roles, cross-role thinking among team members, and team building
Result: The team made significant progress; coaching continues on demand and as needed

Jan 2015 - Dec 2015

1 year

Project Manager / Scrum Master / Agile Coach

Vaillant Group

Project manager acting as the interface between the matrix organization and the Scrum/Kanban teams
International stakeholder management
Agile coaching for all participants, especially during the preparation phase and on an ongoing basis
Recruiting a Scrum team
Scrum Master for a Scrum team
Further development of SAP software
Business analysis / requirements management
Challenges: Replacement of middle management shortly after the start; departure from the originally agile approach, increasing command and control, and micromanagement

Jan 2015 - Dec 2015

1 year

Interim Manager (Global Mobility Manager)

Yanfeng Automotive Interiors

Design and definition of standards for global mobility services and documentation
Device portfolio definition
Definition of subscription types – telephony and data
Vendor strategy and vendor selection
Rate plan structure definitions
Mobile inventory mechanism / database global spend tracking
Continuous improvement for services portfolio and cost
End user education to optimize spend and behavior
Keep up with mobile technology development and trends and refine best fit for the business - blueprint of global IT infrastructure landscape
Build mobility solutions along standards for highest integration, compatibility with other technologies, compatibility with applications and manageability
Drive and support the implementation of services for scalability, agility and performance experience
Follow ITIL methodology during service design, build, implementation and operations

Jan 2014 - Dec 2014

1 year

Scrum Coach / Scrum Master

ERGO Direkt

Agile transformation of the entire IT / IT communications department
Member of the ERGO Direkt Agile Transition Team in the role of Senior Agile Coach
The Transition Team consists of the IT/IT communications department heads, various line managers, and a team of four Senior Agile Coaches
Scaled environment (>15 Scrum and >3 Kanban teams)
Contributed to building a scaled agile organizational structure based on SAFe (Scaled Agile Framework), as well as to further developing the cross-functional composition of the teams, in particular
Contributed to creating a strategic Agile Roadmap
Helped shape an agile portfolio management process
Contributed to cross-team release planning events
Coaching and mentoring Scrum Masters, Product Owners and team leaders (including as part of the Scrum Master Community of Practice, Product Owner CoP, Leadership CoP, and 1:1 sessions)
Coaching teams with regard to joint deliveries and conducting cross-team Scrum events
Coaching teams on agile principles and XP practices and requirements management
Leading a team as ScrumMaster
Inspirer in the spirit of Lean Thinking, Systems Thinking, and Modern Ways of Working
Particular challenges:
Team structure was not optimal (system-oriented; 3 teams working on one system)
Legacy systems (mainframe; extensive dependencies)
Development processes (no test framework, no automation)
Results after coaching:
Coordination of improvement measures for the above-mentioned impediments and handover to internal Scrum Masters and coaches for gradual implementation

Jan 2014 - Dec 2014

1 year

Release Manager

ITERGO

Release manager for the target platforms Fat Client, Terminal Server, App-V, and VDI
Project ENEO (Windows 7 rollout)
Workflow optimization through the introduction of a Kanban system
Coordination of highly manual processes involving several hundred people
Result: Significant improvement in efficiency and transparency through the Kanban method; more harmonious collaboration

Jan 2013 - Dec 2013

1 year

Project Manager / Team Leader / Kanban Coach

Vodafone Group Services GmbH

Project and team leadership for the WIAM program (Workforce Identity & Access Management)
Functional leadership of the WIAM team (Workforce Identity & Access Management), responsible for operations and projects for global identity and access management (250,000 user accounts)
Overall responsibility for ongoing operations and the implementation of all changes to the global IDM system, from the demand phase through go-live
Management and coaching of the software supplier (Vodafone India)
Stakeholder management: Moderation of weekly video calls with the Business Process Owner, project participants and operations team (>20 people across all continents)
Management reporting (Vodafone Head of Global Applications)
Ongoing process optimization
Development of a Kanban concept and facilitation of Kaizen workshops
Gradual implementation of improvements to the demand process, requirements management, and development and testing processes
Development of metrics to measure success
Specific challenges:
Significant team overload due to simultaneous projects, maintenance, infrastructure changes and ongoing outsourcing activities
Problematic quality of internal group suppliers (software development and maintenance partners)
Ad hoc requirements
High employee turnover
Result: Harmonization of stakeholder expectations; introduction of Kanban including an electronic tool; quality improvements through training; significantly improved collaboration with internal group suppliers by creating awareness of intercultural differences and ongoing “socializing”

Jan 2012 - Dec 2012

1 year

Munich, Germany

Scrum Coach / Scrum Master

City of Munich

Strategic management consulting and coaching at department management level
Introduction of Scrum in the LiMux project
Process optimization (demand management, requirements management, development, testing and deployment processes)
Introduction of XP practices and metrics for delivery capability
Development of a customer-specific Scrum implementation concept
Result: Improved employee motivation; resolution of social conflicts; more effective ways of working through coaching and meaningful team reporting

Jan 2012 - Dec 2012

1 year

Scrum Coach / Scrum Master

Vodafone D2 GmbH

Consulting for Infosys Ltd. Germany during the delivery of several eCommerce releases
Optimization of requirements management as well as development and testing processes
Responsibility for all software deliveries to the test and production environments in terms of quality, deadlines and compliance with processes
Management of the entire acceptance process, including documentation (operating concepts, operating manuals)
Leadership of several task forces on critical topics during the project

Nov 2011 - Present

14 years 11 months

Freelance Product Owner, Project Manager, Agile Coach / Management Coach

Jan 2011 - Dec 2011

1 year

IT Enterprise Excellence Project Manager

Vodafone D2 GmbH

Responsibility for introducing software for customer segment- and priority-based case management for enterprise customers
Responsibility for introducing software for the mass activation of SIM cards for enterprise customers
Close coordination with the IT Operations and Vodafone Data Center departments

Jan 2011 - Dec 2011

1 year

Scrum Coach / Scrum Master

Vodafone D2 GmbH

Consulting Infosys Ltd. Germany during the transition of the eCommerce platform from CGI to Infosys
Coaching the Infosys team on Scrum, customer processes, corporate culture, and intercultural integration
Optimizing requirements management as well as development and testing processes
Business analysis of online shop features
Result: Constructive and efficient collaboration among all parties through comprehensive networking and coaching

Jan 2010 - Dec 2010

1 year

IT Project Manager, Task Force Lead

Vodafone D2 GmbH

Establishment of the new main department "Internet Solutions (TZ)"
Definition and coordination of a target operating model for TZ
Coordination of the migration of existing IT systems to TZ
Coordination of interfaces and SLAs with the Vodafone departments involved
Planning the migration of existing employees to the new main department

Jan 2010 - Dec 2010

1 year

IT Project Manager, iPhone 4 Launch

Vodafone D2 GmbH

Responsibility for developing and rolling out a web-based software solution for 120 Apple and Apple reseller shops within 6 weeks
Close coordination with IT Operations and the Vodafone data center

Jan 2008 - Dec 2009

2 years

IT Project Manager, IT Program Manager, Release Manager, Escalation Manager, Vendor Manager

Vodafone D2 GmbH

Several parallel top eCommerce projects in the Consumer, Enterprise, and Affiliates areas (Vodafone Online Shop and Mein Vodafone)
Leadership of a team of 17 employees in the Technology division
Interface role with the system integrator's 5 Scrum development teams
Budget responsibility for the entire Technology department
Responsibility for business analysis, requirements management, deployment, integration, testing, acceptance, and operations
Selection, procurement, and integration of an additional search engine (Exorbyte MatchMaker)
Management of an audit of the entire ATG/Oracle eCommerce platform
Conducting due diligence on potential suppliers

Jan 2007 - Dec 2007

1 year

IT Project Manager, Escalation Manager, Vendor Manager

Vodafone D2 GmbH

Online shop replatforming based on ATG/Oracle Commerce
Establishment of a completely new infrastructure (approx. 80 Solaris, Linux, and Windows machines) in the Vodafone data center
Leadership of a team of 17 employees in the Technology division
Redesign of content distribution processes
Introduction of Scrum and coaching of the Technology team and management
Successfully communicating the vision and the need for change
Result: All project objectives achieved; the reputation of the Technology division significantly improved

Jan 2007 - Dec 2007

1 year

Process Designer, Project Manager, Release Manager

Vodafone D2 GmbH

Set up the entire release and configuration management for ePOS (POS software for Vodafone shops and partners)
Independently developed the operating concept
Introduced requirements management, release management, and configuration management processes
Introduced a risk-based portfolio matrix as a management control tool
Single point of contact for vendor HP and the Vodafone data center

Jan 2006 - Dec 2006

1 year

IT Operations Project Manager

Vodafone D2 GmbH

Introduced VKM (Enterprise CRM) for Vodafone's Sales division serving medium-sized businesses and major customers
Independently developed the operating concept
Responsible for coordinating and implementing all operational processes (Service Transition / Service Operation)
Responsible for the deployment, integration, testing, acceptance, and operational rollout of all changes

Jan 2005 - Dec 2005

1 year

IT Operations Project Manager

Vodafone D2 GmbH

Introduced BSP (Business Service Portal) for Vodafone's Sales division
Supported the business case and budget approval
Independently developed the operating concept
Responsible for coordinating and implementing all operational processes
Responsible for deployment, integration, testing, acceptance, and operational rollout

Jan 2004 - Dec 2004

1 year

IT Operations Project Manager

Vodafone D2 GmbH

Implemented an EAI platform based on TIBCO Rendezvous
Supported the business case and budget approval
Independently developed the operating concept
Responsible for coordinating and implementing all operational processes
Responsible for deployment, integration, testing, acceptance, and operational rollout

Jan 2003 - Dec 2003

1 year

IT Operations Project Manager

Vodafone D2 GmbH

Introduced a campaign management system for Vodafone's Telemarketing division
Independently developed the operating concept
Responsible for coordinating and implementing all operational processes
Responsible for deployment, integration, testing, acceptance, and operational rollout

May 2001 - Oct 2011

10 years 6 months

Düsseldorf, Germany

Senior Project Manager IT

Vodafone D2 GmbH

May 2001 - Dec 2002

1 year 8 months

Project Manager

Vodafone D2 GmbH

Preparation of the business case and budget approval
Analysis and implementation of an IT order management system (based on BMC Remedy Action Request System)
Stakeholder management, business analysis, and solution design
Vendor management, acceptance, rollout, and end-user training

Nov 2000 - Apr 2001

6 months

Cologne, Germany

Head of Sales

GUS Computer Services GmbH

Jan 1999 - Oct 2000

1 year 10 months

Owner

TH Consulting

Feb 1990 - Dec 1998

8 years 11 months

Owner

Agency for Information Transfer

Jan 1988 - Jan 1990

2 years 1 month

Wuppertal, Germany

Head of IT

Heintke GmbH & Co.

Jun 1985 - Dec 1987

2 years 7 months

Wuppertal, Germany

Business Process Reengineering Project Manager

Heintke GmbH & Co.

Business Process Reengineering project management for a transport and logistics company

Aug 1983 - Jun 1985

1 year 11 months

Kempen, Germany

Vocational training to become an office clerk

Schönmackers Umweltdienste GmbH

Industry experience

See where this freelancer has spent most of their professional time.

Experienced in Telecommunication, Professional Services, Information Technology, Utilities, Energy, and Transportation.

Telecommunication

Professional Services

Information Technology

Utilities

Energy

Transportation

Business area experience

See which departments and functions this freelancer has contributed to most.

Experienced in Project Management, Information Technology, Product Development, Strategy, Human Resources, and Operations.

Project Management

Information Technology

Product Development

Strategy

Human Resources

Operations

Summary

Focus areas: IT projects, Lean / Agile & business coaching, training, leadership coaching, digital transformations, organizational development, intercultural team development, business process development
Trainer
Moderator
Coach
Mentor
Innovator
Inspirator
Entrepreneur for > 30 years
Appraiser
Experience and network contacts in the following sectors:
Transportation and logistics
Telecommunications
Energy
Insurance
Retail
Industry / Production
Public administration

Skills

Scrum, Less, Safe (Scaled Agile Framework)
Microsoft Office Suite
Common Itsm It Service Management Systems Such As Bmc Remedy
Jira, Confluence, Miro, Trello, Slack
Content Management Systems (Cms)
Sap
Salesforce
Experienced User Of Ai Tools Such As Chatgpt, Claude, Perplexity
All It Applications Found In Corporate Groups

Languages

German

Native

English

Advanced

Catalan

Elementary

Spanish

Elementary

French

Elementary

...and 1 more

Education

Sep 1987 - Dec 1990

Academy of Public Administration and Business of the Technical Academy Wuppertal

Business Information Systems Specialist (VWA) · Computer Science · Wuppertal, Germany

Sep 1985 - Apr 1987

Bochum University of Applied Sciences

Business Administration · Bochum, Germany

Aug 1983 - Jun 1985

Schönmackers Umweltdienste GmbH

Office Administrator · Office Administrator

...and 1 more

Certifications & licenses

Lean Management

Mari Furukawa-Caspary

SAP SuccessFactors Certification

ServiceNow Certification as Certified Implementation Specialist (CIS)

ServiceNow

VSM Value Stream Mapping

Flight Levels Flow Design

Specification by Example From User Stories to Acceptance Tests

LKU

Enterprise Architect and UML

Statistics

Experience

Total positions 43

Experience in Telecommunication 16.5 y

Avg length 2 y 1 m

Longest experience 14 y 10 m

Global experience

Countries worked in 1 (Germany)

Primary country Germany

Expertise

Recent roles Program Manager, Workstream Lead File Transfer & Scheduling, Lead Agile Coach

Main industries Telecommunication, Professional Services, Information Technology

Main business areas Project Management, Information Technology, Product Development

Qualifications

Certifications earned 17

Profile

Member since

January 2026

Last update

September 2026

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Frequently asked questions

Have questions? Find more information here.

Thorsten is based in Cologne, Germany.

Thorsten speaks the following languages: German (Native), English (Advanced), Catalan (Elementary), Spanish (Elementary), French (Elementary), Italian (Elementary).

Thorsten has at least 43 years of experience. During this time, Thorsten has worked in at least 30 different roles and for 28 different companies. The average length of individual experience is 1 year. Note that Thorsten may not have shared all experience and actually has more experience.

Based on recent experience, Thorsten would be well-suited for roles such as: Program Manager, Workstream Lead File Transfer & Scheduling, Lead Agile Coach.

Thorsten's most recent position is Program Manager at Telecommunications sector.

In recent years, Thorsten has worked for Telecommunications sector, Vodafone Germany, Senec GmbH, REWE Systems GmbH, and Palmer Hargreaves GmbH.

Thorsten is most experienced in industries like Professional Services, Telecommunication, and Information Technology. Thorsten also has some experience in Utilities, Energy, and Transportation.

Thorsten is most experienced in business areas like Project Management, Information Technology, and Product Development. Thorsten also has some experience in Strategy, Human Resources, and Operations.

Thorsten has recently worked in industries like Professional Services, Telecommunication, and Energy.

Thorsten has recently worked in business areas like Project Management, Product Development, and Strategy.

Thorsten attended Academy of Public Administration and Business of the Technical Academy Wuppertal for Computer Science.

Thorsten has 17 certificates. Among them, these include: Lean Management, IREB Requirements Engineering – Foundation Level (CPRE-FL), and SAP SuccessFactors Certification.

The availability of Thorsten needs to be confirmed.

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Daily rate avg. 887 €

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Median rate 840 €

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Calculated based on our freelancers’ daily rates as of 26 Sep 2026. Actual rates may vary depending on seniority level, experience, skill specialization, project complexity, and engagement length.