Project Manager in Dusseldorf

Project: Consulting & Concept Development Programmatic Print / Donor Communication

Tasks:

• Analysis of existing print advertising materials and donor communication
• Development of a new thank-you letter and dialogue marketing concept
• Advice on emotional and target-group-specific communication with donors
• Concept development for a cross-channel on- and offline marketing mix
• Coordination of print, email, and CRM communication as part of new marketing processes
• Support in introducing new communication workflows around the future email software
• Creation of briefing materials and campaign approaches for different target groups
• Research, selection, and management of suitable print and production service providers
• Advice on personalization and automation options in the programmatic print environment

Technical implementation:

• Coordination of print and digital processes
• Management of external service providers and print providers
• Support in integrating new marketing and communication processes

Reporting:

• Analysis of existing response mechanisms
• Assessment of optimization potential in donor communication
• Recommendations to improve impact, personalization, and efficiency Markets: Germany [link]

Project focus: overall responsibility for 360-degree communications at the Cologne location

Range of responsibilities:

Launch & premiere management: strategic planning and seamless coordination of the communications launch for two metropolitan areas (Cologne & Berlin), including adapting global brand guidelines to the German market

Budget responsibility & controlling: independent budget planning and ongoing cost control of all marketing and PR activities for both locations

Integrated campaign management: operational management of creative, media, and digital agencies to deliver an emotional, experience-driven consumer campaign

Press and public relations: building regional and national media buzz around the interactive experience museum, responding to media inquiries, and placing trend stories on the topics of “immersion and experience museums”

VIP & journalist support on site: highly flexible support for press representatives, bloggers, artists, and cooperation partners during the opening events and during ongoing exhibition operations (including weekends and evenings)

Project scope: Supported the establishment, scaling and continuous improvement of project management and support processes by modernizing governance, processes, documentation, deliverables tracking, training content and tool-supported ways of working across a complex energy project environment.

Key contributions

• Supported the build-up and maturation of the PMO department, including governance structures, operational frameworks, project management processes, templates and deliverables tracking mechanisms.
• Conducted As-Is analysis of existing processes and their documentation, including process inventory, interface mapping, problem identification and creation of visualizations and white papers to improve shared understanding.
• Reviewed and improved project management documentation, templates and work instructions, including support for a project document master list to strengthen standardization and control.
• Designed and supported rollout of a lessons learned process and related system/application, including pilot preparation, coordination and implementation support.
• Mapped and supported implementation of a new resource management process connected to the rollout of a resource planning tool.
• Led and supported adoption of agile ways of working and Atlassian tools, including Jira and Confluence team boards, plans/roadmaps, dashboards, sprint planning and retrospectives.
• Acted as key user for continuous usage improvements in PMO tools and collaboration practices.
• Developed training curricula, instructional videos, supporting materials and PMO Open Doors sessions to improve capability transfer and provide a recurring forum for updates and information sharing.
• Developed a skills matrix concept and supported rollout as a basis for structured capability management and training demand analysis.
• Supported preparation of department offsites, implementation of a new Integrated Management System (IMS), creation of a SharePoint-based PMO website and department integration after restructuring.

Results / business impact

• Improved project management & PMO structure, processes and their documentation
• Enhanced transparency and standardization across processes, documentation, governance routines and project deliverables tracking.
• Enhanced information flow and knowledge transfer through SharePoint-based communication, PMO forums, training curricula and instructional videos.
• Strengthened lessons learned, resource planning, agile collaboration, capability management and post-restructure department integration.

• -- ENGLISH Version (Deutsche Version unten) ---

Experience

• Ex-BCG Platinion: 14 years as Manager & Chief IT Architect, leading large-scale IT transformations in complex group structures
• 20+ years of C-level consulting across AI/IT strategy, enterprise architecture, IT organization, transformation, M&A due diligence, project recovery, and interim management
• IT leadership experience with cross-functional, intercultural teams of up to 100+ people
• Hands-on background in software engineering, IT architecture, and project management
• Fortune Europe 500 focus; numerous international projects; SME and start-up experience

Core services:

• IT strategy, enterprise architecture (EAM), target architectures and roadmaps
• PE/M&A/carve-out IT/tech due diligence, asset valuation, cost estimation
• GenAI transformation, process automation, and AI governance
• IT reorganization, target operating model (TOM), agile transformation
• IT governance, development and ITSM process optimization (BizDevOps, SAFe)
• Review and recovery of critical large-scale IT programs
• Planning and steering of transformation programs and IT project portfolios
• IT vendor and platform selection (RfI / RfP)
• Coaching & Interim management

Industries (selection): Insurance, financial services & banking, energy & utilities, telecommunications, retail & consumer goods, logistics, media, industry & engineering, healthcare, professional services

Projects (selection):

• M&A Buy-side IT/Tech Due Diligence of an Acquisition in the Energy Sector (Utility, Smart Home) — AI-augmented with Anthropic Claude

• AI Initiative for LLM-Based Optimisation and Automation of Sales and Billing Processes

• Interim management Enterprise Architecture & group target architecture/roadmap development (METRO)

• Reorganization: Design and introduction of agile IT target operating model at international wholesale group (METRO)

• Design and implementation of agile BizDevOps target operating model (E.ON Grid Solutions)

• Platform/vendor selection for renewal of core insurance solution of start-up (ELEMENT Insurance)

• Establishment of project assurance capability and review/recovery of critical transformation projects (ERGO)

• Enterprise architecture management and development of divisional/solution architectures (Deutsche Post DHL)

• Strategic pricing architecture decisions in digital sales application landscape (E.ON Energie)

• IT due diligence: Architecture evaluation and monetary valuation of IT assets (ProSiebenSAT.1 Media)

• Interim management of group-wide security/compliance programme (ERGO)

• Enabling an application landscape for different sales organizations and product structures (E.ON Energie)

• Realignment of business/IT strategy and InsurTech platform selection (RfI, RfP) (nexible, ERGO Digital Ventures)

• Stabilization/optimization of an agile/SAFe business/IT DevOps landscape transformation (Lufthansa AirPlus)

• Process optimization and design/management of digitization and robotics introduction in power plants (RWE Nuclear)

• BSS target architecture development for fixed/mobile networks convergence (Deutsche Telekom)

• Optimization of IT organization model and methodology in application development and testing (Deutsche Telekom)

• Evaluation of fulfillment of a general contractor agreement for run-off/migration of contract portfolios (ERGO)

• -- DEUTSCHE Version (English version above) ---

Experience

• Ex-BCG Platinion: 14 years of strategy and implementation of large-scale IT transformations in complex corporate structures (Manager & Chief IT Architect)
• 20+ years of C-level-adjacent IT consulting: IT strategy, enterprise architecture, IT organization, transformation, due diligence, project recovery, and interim management
• IT leadership responsibility for cross-functional, intercultural teams of up to 100+ people
• Solid hands-on experience in software development, IT architecture, and project management
• Focus on Fortune Europe 500, numerous international projects; SME and start-up experience

Industries: insurance · financial services & banking · energy · telecommunications · retail & consumer goods · industry & engineering · logistics · media · healthcare

Services (focus areas):

• IT strategy, enterprise architecture (EAM), IT landscape target visions and roadmaps
• M&A/carve-out IT/tech due diligence, asset valuation, and cost estimation
• GenAI transformation, process automation, and AI governance
• IT reorganization, target operating model (TOM), agile transformation
• IT governance, development and ITSM processes (BizDevOps, SAFe)
• Review and recovery of critical large-scale IT projects
• Planning/steering of transformation programs and IT project portfolios
• IT service provider/platform selection (RfI, RfP)
• IT project management (agile, classic, hybrid)
• Coaching & interim management

Projects (selection):

• M&A buyer-side IT/tech due diligence of an acquisition in the energy sector (utility, smart home) — AI-augmented with Anthropic Claude
• AI initiative for LLM-supported optimization and automation of sales and billing processes
• Interim management of Enterprise Architecture and development of group target architecture in wholesale (METRO)
• Reorganization: design and introduction of an agile IT target operating model (TOM) at an international wholesale group (METRO)
• IT reorganization: introduction of an agile BizDevOps target operating model (TOM) at an energy group (E.ON Grid Solutions)
• Platform selection / vendor selection for renewal of the core insurance solution of a B2B2C start-up (ELEMENT Insurance)
• Process optimization, digitalization, and introduction of robotics in power plants (RWE Nuclear)
• Assessment of fulfillment of a general contractor agreement for run-off/migration of life insurance portfolios (ERGO)
• Business/IT strategy and InsurTech platform selection for a digital insurer/start-up (nexible, ERGO Digital Ventures)
• Enabling an energy application landscape for multiple sales units (E.ON Energie)
• Strategic architecture decisions in price management of a digital sales application landscape at an energy group (E.ON Energie)
• Stabilization/optimization of an agile DevOps IT transformation in business travel and payment management (Lufthansa AirPlus)
• Interim management in a group-wide security and compliance program of a global insurer (ERGO)
• Building project assurance capability as well as review and optimization/recovery of critical IT projects in an insurance group (ERGO)
• Building enterprise architecture management and development of domain and solution architectures for a logistics group (Deutsche Post DHL)
• M&A IT due diligence – evaluation and valuation of IT assets in the media sector (ProSiebenSAT.1 Media)
• Development of BSS target architecture and roadmap for fixed/mobile convergence (Deutsche Telekom)
• Optimization of IT governance/organization and methodology in application development and testing at a telecommunications group (Deutsche Telekom)

• Overall project planning for resources, budget, costs, license and service contracts, cost optimization and negotiations
• Leading and managing the project team and achieving the project goals
• Leading digitalization projects and their phases such as concept, planning, change and requirements management, configuration, implementation, testing, interfaces, communication and approval
• Conducting planning meetings
• Organizing, planning and conducting team, customer and requirements workshops with up to 50 participants at operational and management level
• Main contact for technical and functional topics as well as project coordination
• Recording and maintaining backlogs (user stories and EPICs) in Jira and turning requirements into user stories and prioritizing them
• Approval and publication of online services in the Wirtschafts-Service-Portal.NRW (WSP.NRW)
• Creating and maintaining project documentation
• Planning and designing the nationwide rollout/reuse as part of the once-for-all principle via WSP/FIT-Connect
• Communication between stakeholders, customers, authorities and the Ministry of Economic Affairs, Industry, Climate Protection and Energy (MWIKE)
• Work according to the SCRUM method

Project: Concept and implementation of an AI product for four business use cases

Project management of an AI project at a leading provider of large-scale catering and food services, where a production-ready AI product for four use cases was implemented together with an external development partner: automated briefings from CRM and document data, voice-based capture and structuring of reports, detection and merging of duplicates in master data, and data-based market analysis. A central focus was a privacy-compliant architecture that passed the internal IT security review and enabled productive use.

• Translating business requirements into clearly defined AI use cases with a clear product scope and clear value proposition
• Selecting and evaluating models and architecture options for text extraction, speech-to-text and context enrichment from business systems, including LLM integration, function calling and retrieval
• Designing and enforcing an architecture with European hosting, data minimization and masking of personal data as a prerequisite for approval
• Managing the interfaces between business, IT, IT security and the external development partner under restrictive data access conditions
• Coordinating with CIO and executive management on data access, risk assessment and approval decisions
• Preparing the transition into productive use

• Transition of Microsoft Azure operations to BTC AG
• Responsibility: budget of €60k
• Staff: leadership of 5 people
• Tools: Office 365, JIRA, Confluence

• Internationalization of brand processes and communication for Alpecin, Bioniq, Linola, Plantur, Vagisan
• Innovation project for market entry into a completely new segment
• Development of brand content: UGC, visual brand story for hair care
• Implementation of AI tools, consumer insight systems, and a customer centricity mindset

Project management for the development, launch, and company-wide implementation of the strategic realignment of the brand based on the new corporate vision (CEO-driven transformation project).

Key responsibilities:

• Designing, enhancing, and implementing the global brand and communication strategy (internal and external) to strengthen strategic positioning, including follow-up concepts for internal identification with the new corporate vision (cross-country implementation with over 60k employees) and external activation.
• Developing and executing new global campaigns across owned and paid channels, including channel strategy, (social) media strategy, and creative concepts.
• Developing and implementing a data-driven approach to manage and optimize brand communication.
• Managing internal communication on strategic topics, including internal events.
• Leading interdisciplinary project teams and collaborating with stakeholders across various functions and hierarchy levels.
• Budget responsibility and managing and integrating external agencies and service providers.
• Driving the integration of AI into brand management and communication.
• Acting as a strategic sparring partner for organization design and the further development of the division strategy and project roadmap in corporate branding. Result: Implemented the global brand and communication strategy and established data-driven and AI-supported foundations for future-ready brand management, strengthened internal anchoring of the corporate vision, and significantly advanced the transformation of corporate branding; awarded the CEO Award.

• Content responsibility for two areas (careers and continuing education, as well as school, training and studies) and coordination with specialist departments
• Topic research and content planning for the online portal
• Web-friendly creation of target-group-relevant and SEO-optimized content for the online portal
• Building and maintaining multimedia content in the online portal CMS (Drupal)
• Monitoring the content of the online portal using Google Search Console and Matomo
• Ensuring the quality of the online portal through tests and analyses
• PowerPoint presentation of work results in topic conferences with BA specialist departments
• Supporting the existing online presence and analyzing and fixing errors

I advise the board of a fund company. Analysis of the IT structure with a view to the use/replacement of on-premise VDI solutions with managed services and the use of artificial intelligence

• Creating interfaces between the legacy platform and the new container solution
• Coordinating required contributions from line units
• Moderating regular status meetings with the software vendor
• Minimally invasive conversion of TWS scheduling from the old to the new platform
• Environment: IBM Mainframe, DB2, CICS, MQ, Red Hat Linux, Oracle, Kubernetes, Kafka, Helm, GitLab, Jenkins

• Responsible for driving digital transformation and aligning country organizations with the Rhenus platform model

• Initiated the digital transformation roadmap for five countries, ensuring alignment with global group strategy

• Built and led a high-performing digital transformation consulting team, expanding delivery capacity from one to three value streams and thereby fast tracking the roadmap from 3 to 2 years

• Acted as strategic advocate for 5 country organizations, ensuring group-wide cross-functional alignment

• Redefined business analysis into an agile approach, reducing time-to-value for platform harmonization by 50%

• Service owner of the receivables management platform Ikarus
• Management and coordination of external 1st-level service providers
• Team leadership and building ITIL-compliant support structures
• Managing the handover to 3rd-level support (internal & external, incl. vendor/development)
• Stakeholder management between the business unit, IT, and external partners
• Jira ticket automations and maintenance of Confluence documentation