Interim Managers in Frankfurt

• Head of the group-wide, international, and cross-functional IT Governance & IAM department within the central IT division of a large French-German private banking group. Disciplinary management of around 30 employees at five different locations within the group (Frankfurt, Paris, Tunis, Saarbrücken, Düsseldorf). Head of IT committees and key role in direct communication with management, the supervisory board, external stakeholders, and regulators.
• Definition and establishment of a state-of-the-art IT strategy process and related IT governance structures for the group's IT department with more than 600 employees (testified by the German Federal Financial Supervisory Authority and the ACPR) and successful process run.
• Establishment of a new future-oriented process framework for IT and necessary governance structures (process squads) for the continuous improvement of IT processes with regard to new regulatory requirements (including DORA, EU AI Act, etc.).
• Establishment of stringent processes to close a historical backlog of findings (> 100 IT findings, 40 overdue findings in 2022) from internal and external auditors (WP, ACPR, BaFin). Successful reduction of stock of overdue findings to 0 at the end of 2025.
• Supporting more than 20 IT audits per year and establishment of regulatory monitoring processes. Introduction of ServiceNow to revolutionize regulatory change and IT compliance processes with advanced AI functionalities.
• Realignment of IT control processes in conjunction with the newly established ICT risk function under DORA and the three lines of defense concept using the TopEase GRC solution.
• Reduction of the application landscape, by systematically analysing the purpose with application and business owners, identifying duplicates while implementing a One-Tool Strategy throughout the group. Successful reduction of one third of the application landscape within the CMDB.
• Onboarding of all group applications into One Identity's group-wide IAM solution, as well as operation and further development of the solution in connection with segregation of duties (SoD), role-based access management (RBAC), etc.

I founded Nick's Advisory to make HR management, HR project delivery, and AI expertise available to companies on a temporary basis when internal capacity or experience is lacking.

Services:

• HR interim management: taking over the HR business partner or HR manager role during restructuring, growth, or a vacant leadership position, on a daily or hourly basis
• HR consulting: projects around reorganization, talent acquisition, separation processes, and building HR structures
• AI consulting for HR teams: selection, introduction, and use of AI tools in HR processes

• Conceptual design and implementation of modular AI assistants for sales and business processes in the Microsoft ecosystem (Agentic AI, Copilot extensions)
• Frontend architecture and development with React + TypeScript for embedded chat and assistant surfaces (streaming UI, hooks, React Query, OpenAPI clients)
• Enterprise-level agent development: reusable skill/agent library, MCP server, review and compliance gates
• LLM integration into the user experience: Anthropic (Claude), OpenAI, tool use, RAG pipelines, prompt engineering, guardrails
• Architecture and code review consulting as well as mentoring in the AI development team
• Integration with Microsoft Graph, Power Platform, and Azure services
• Technologies: React, TypeScript, Anthropic Claude, OpenAI, MCP, RAG, Microsoft Graph, Power Platform, Azure

• Delivery of various end-customer projects in server and network infrastructure on time, in quality, and within budget.
• Project 1: Firewall renewal, replacement of an ASA firewall with a Fortinet firewall at an automotive supplier.
• Project 2: Migration of file services from dedicated servers at 5 branch locations into a central managed file service, including DHCP, directory, and print services, as well as decommissioning of the old domain controllers.
• Project 3: Renewal of the network infrastructure at the headquarters and branch locations of a logistics company and transition of the LAN, WLAN, and firewall environments into a managed network service.
• Project 4: Network renewal, replacement of the core and access switches at the headquarters of a medical technology company and transition into a managed network service.
• Project 5: Firewall renewal, replacement of an ASA firewall with a Fortinet firewall for a city.
• Environment: ASA and Fortinet firewalls, Cisco network components, ITSM Heat/Ivanti, Confluence.

• Business area: Automotive / exteriors
• Lead recruiter for all plant areas (technicians, operators, engineers - blue and white collar)
• Supporting central talent acquisition for manager and back-office positions
• IT/HR systems: SuccessFactors, SAP HCM
• Creating reports on recruiting activities and maintaining and customizing the applicant management system (ATS/HRIS)
• Conducting telephone and virtual interviews to make an initial assessment of candidates
• Creating and publishing job ads on internal and external platforms to attract candidates
• Managing candidates from application to contract drafting
• Actively sourcing and recruiting candidates through various business platforms (e.g., LinkedIn, XING, Stack Overflow)
• Supporting department heads in selecting suitable candidates and optimizing interview processes
• Employer branding and personnel marketing
• Advising HR management on all matters related to the recruiting process and strategic talent acquisition
• Reviewing and evaluating applications as well as organizing and moderating interviews with departments

Lead project manager for live seminars and hybrid implementation. Creation of the run-of-show, definition of all on-site designs in line with corporate identity, and optimization of the digital setup. On-site show direction.

• Interim responsibility for the affiliate marketing activities of MediaMarkt and Saturn
• Planning and execution of Q3 activities with a focus on Black Friday preparation
• Management and development of existing partner programs through EasyMarketing
• Expansion and activation of publisher and partner networks
• Project and account management, as well as campaign control and reporting
• Analysis and optimization of performance to increase revenue and efficiency
• Ensuring a smooth handover to internal teams

• timely payroll processing including all ancillary tasks
• time tracking and personnel administration
• point of contact for management, executives, works council, and employees as well as external clients, e.g., tax office, health insurance companies, etc.
• personnel controlling including account reconciliation
• operational and strategic HR work
• support management in budget planning
• monthly, quarterly, and annual financial statements according to HGB
• financial, accounts receivable and payable accounting
• tax pre-registrations
• liquidity and budget planning, forecasts
• statistics, analyses, and reporting
• employee support and advising management and executives on all labor, social, constitutional, and disciplinary issues
• optimization of cost center and cost unit accounting

• General CTO responsibilities (architectural design, operational setup, external runtime product evaluation, investor buy-in, regulatory compliance).
• Software development oversight (implementation on deep-dive-in) plus workflow design.
• Product co-ownership.
• Tech/tools/frameworks: proprietary software (Java, JavaScript), Kubernetes, Postgres, MiniIO, Ollama (internal), several xAI API (external), OpenTofu (Terraform), Keycloak, Kafka, Prometheus, ELK Stack, GitHub, GitHub Workflows, Argo CD, ISO 27001, BSI-ISM, EU AI Act.

• Quality service provider for the automotive industry, €350 Mio. sales
• Rebuilt global finance and controlling organizations to meet private equity standards
• Functioned as interim CFO during periods of transition under 3i ownership
• Member of the supervisory board and Chair of audit committee

• Supporting brands, people and organizations in growth and change processes with a clear brand focus and a digital mindset
• Interim management in strategic brand, marketing and transformation projects

• Continued tasks after the departure of a long-term employee and training a new staff member
• Preparation of the profit and loss statement as part of the weekly forecast, in cooperation with operational departments, and presentation in management meetings
• Regular analyses using Qlik Sense
• Preparation of monthly and quarterly closing
• Support for the plant manager
• Leading a team of four employees
• Conducting ad-hoc analyses for management