Transformation Managers in Germany

• Acting as project controller for the STEAM sub-project within Iqony's long-term modernisation programme for an industrial water demineralisation plant at the BP refinery site in Gelsenkirchen-Scholven alongside the parallel WATER sub-project
• Managing cost control, SAP PS data integrity and project tracking in a challenging data environment

• Project management and consulting services with a focus on IT interim management: digitalization of corporate management, including processes and applications
• Assessment of the entire IT infrastructure, including applications, core processes and contracts, including cost optimization
• Evaluation and implementation of solutions to promote digitalization in the company in the areas of property management, CRM, invoice review and approval processes, smart metering, DMS and time tracking
• Digitization of file folders and introduction of SharePoint and Microsoft Teams as central document and communication platforms
• Design and delivery of an AI workshop, including the rollout of AI tools to increase efficiency and transparency in key business processes
• Preparation of training materials and delivery of user training for newly introduced digital processes and solutions

Transformation mandate: IT operating model and governance

• Managed the operationalization of a new IT operating model for a service- and customer-oriented organization in the managed services and Microsoft 365 environment.
• Translated the organizational target vision into concrete roles, responsibilities, organizational elements, decision-making paths and collaboration principles.
• Designed and operationalized a layered model with autonomous delivery teams, supporting units and clearly defined governance functions.
• Designed governance for Service Delivery Management, People Leads, Global Service Owner (GSO), operational teams, clusters and management committees.
• Structured the transformation rollout into ramp-up, implementation, stabilization and operations, and developed kick-off, communication and feedback formats.
• Further developed PMO and office structures as well as portfolio and workforce management to create transparency on resources, risks, dependencies and decision-making needs.
• Facilitated cross-functional workshops and decision-making meetings and translated different stakeholder interests into implementable principles, rules and actions.

Interim mandate: IT service and operations management

• Took over operational responsibility for Citrix and AD/Access, including incident, escalation, transition and quality management in day-to-day operations.
• Clarified operational interfaces and clearly defined responsibilities between internal units, Service Delivery Management and external service providers.
• Conducted structured GAP analyses of existing service descriptions, prepared make-or-buy decisions and clarified roles with KPI integration.
• Managed conflicting objectives, dependencies and escalations in complex customer, operations and transformation situations.

Selected results

• The transformation target vision was translated into practically applicable roles, governance rules, organizational elements and rollout formats.
• Decision-making paths, responsibilities and interfaces between operational delivery, supporting functions and management were described transparently and bindingly.
• The foundations for self-managed teams, standardized service descriptions and reliable portfolio, resource and management transparency were established.

Methods: Operating model design, governance design, RACI, GAP analysis, stakeholder analysis, workshop facilitation, change communication, risk and escalation management, KPI and service management

• Introduction of a new digital product to the Chinese market as part of a global growth strategy.

• Point of contact and coordinating interface between central product management, local Chinese teams and international stakeholders.

• Management of the entire program to coordinate complex digital projects.

• Successful market launch of a digital product in China (including successful certification for the Chinese market).

• Balancing local requirements with global priorities while taking tax and regulatory requirements into account.

• Introduction of a new way of working to improve collaboration and coordination across locations.

• Development and implementation of a scaling strategy for the digital business model in China.

• Use of Jira, Confluence, Miro, Scrum, agile working, SAFe.

• Project language: English.

• Functional requirements management for DIVID, the Umweltbundesamt platform for administering the single-use plastics fund. Focus: entitled parties, sub-entitled parties, and benefit reports.
• Consolidation and analysis of specifications, Jira, Confluence, functional concepts, and UX designs. Independent structuring and delimitation of requirements, as well as identification of contradictions, gaps, and dependencies.
• Creation and quality assurance of implementable user stories with clear, testable acceptance criteria. Preparation of decision alternatives and coordination with business, development, UX, and QA through team refinement.
• Conducting manual and technically assisted accessibility tests. Coordinating findings with QA and the Product Owner for further planning and implementation.
• Result: more consistent requirements, clearly defined processes and stories, and transparent open decisions. Separation of assumptions from confirmed requirements; better basis for implementation, refinements, and QA test cases.

Tools used: Jira, Confluence

• Advise B2B technology and mid-market companies on commercial strategy, sales effectiveness, operating model design, and scalable growth.
• Coach senior sales leaders and executive teams on GTM choices, leadership effectiveness, accountability, and execution.
• Support market entry and growth planning through structured assessment of customer segments, value propositions, channel options, coverage models, investment priorities, KPIs, and risks.
• Facilitate peer-level strategy sparring and translate strategic decisions into measurable commercial initiatives.
• Combine systemic coaching, sales leadership experience, and change management practice to ensure decisions are practical and adopted.

• E-Tech, manufacturer of customised solutions in the automation control sector, +60 employees
• Reporting line: Directly to the Managing Director/owner
• Development of vision, values and mission statement
• Establishment of communication structures
• Establishment of HRM – search, selection and hiring of the HR Manager
• Development of the sales strategy
• Development of the product strategy
• Analysis and improvement of production processes
• Holistic organisational development — HRBP ad interim
• Teambuilding for the management team
• Vision, values and mission statement development - cultural change
• Identification of requirements, creation of job requirements, employer branding
• Selection, conducting interviews and hiring of the new HR Manager

In-house consulting provider and driver of transformation within the group, multi-stakeholder environment and C-level.

Realignment and stabilization of a cross-functional transformation and scaling program within the group. Sharpening the target picture, priorities, and set of measures, as well as building reliable governance, planning, and steering structures. Structuring roles, responsibilities, and strategic initiatives while including AI and IT automation ideas.

• Designed program realignment and project portfolio management

• Developed strategy model and target picture for IT projects

• Structured portfolio, roadmap, and priorities

• Established governance and regular meetings

• Worked out operating model for flagship projects

• Assessed AI and automation ideas

• Clarified roles and responsibilities

• Implemented change measures

• Developed, moderated, and evaluated workshops

• Transformed 17 initiatives into a steering model

• Increased transparency and decision-making ability

• Strengthened commitment in steering

• Sharpened the operating model structurally

• Integrated three top-5 institutes

• Involved over 80% of stakeholders

• Governance

• Portfolio steering (PPM)

• Change management

• Artificial intelligence

• Workflow automation

• AI use case assessment

• Confluence

• Jira

• Stakeholder management

Context: Corporate transformation - Establishment of a central unit for Corporate Management & Transformation

• ▪ Established and managed the newly created Corporate Management & Transformation department on an interim basis
• ▪ Defined the Target Operating Model as well as the tasks, responsibilities and governance structures of the new unit
• ▪ Established company-wide project portfolio management for the transparent prioritization and management of strategic projects and initiatives
• ▪ Developed governance, decision-making and escalation processes for transformation and change initiatives
• ▪ Designed company-wide process management with an end-to-end process map, defined process responsibilities and consistent process governance
• ▪ Further developed standards and methods for project management, change management and organizational development
• ▪ Managed and supported strategic transformation, digitalization and organizational projects across the company
• ▪ Established systematic benefits realization to measure and track the benefits of change initiatives
• ▪ Advised the management on the prioritization, governance and organizational integration of company-wide change initiatives---

• Designed and implemented comprehensive business processes, leading cross-functional teams to increase customer satisfaction and reduce costs
• Provided training and ensured benefits realization through end-to-end workflow development
• Contributed to the “Generate Insights from Hidden Knowledge” initiative by developing and deploying AI-driven workflow automation solutions using Large Language Models (LLMs) and low-code/no-code platforms
• Designed multi-agentic workflows integrating OpenAI, LangChain, Haystack, and n8n to automate document review, data extraction, and knowledge summarization processes
• Led the orchestration of AI and automation frameworks to enhance medical and business review processes, ensuring compliance, explainability, and transparency
• Collaborated cross-functionally to translate complex business requirements into AI-enabled automation prototypes aligned with enterprise compliance and data privacy standards
• Applied Power Automate, UiPath, Nintex, and ServiceNow to deliver rapid, scalable, and secure automation solutions within validated operational environments
• Leveraged Lean Six Sigma, Agile/SAFe, and ITIL principles to structure AI development pipelines ensuring measurable impact, auditability, and sustainable governance
• Managed cross-departmental collaboration to standardize workflows, reducing errors and enhancing task management. Established governance frameworks to ensure the sustainability of automation solutions

The program supports the comprehensive realignment of the German Consumer Panel Services business. It combines a significant panel boost with the reprocessing of historical data and the integration of new receipt data. By significantly expanding and stabilizing the panel with the involvement of external partners, the aim is to improve the validity of the data base and create a reliable foundation for methodology, weighting and customer reporting. At the same time, historically grown processes for data delivery, OCR, matching, item QC, methodology and reporting are being harmonized, further developed technologically and reorganized. The goal is a scalable end-to-end landscape with higher data quality, clear responsibilities, reliable governance and sustainably manageable operational processes.

• Overall management of the restatement program, including the integrated roadmap as well as milestones, dependencies, risks and management decisions.
• Coordination of the panel boost and alignment of the required data deliveries, quality requirements and prerequisites for methodology, weighting and reporting.
• Alignment of business, product, data science, technology, operations and external partners around a shared target picture, aligned priorities and an integrated approach.
• Design of the organizational change triggered by the fundamental realignment of the data base, methodology and management logic, which has a lasting impact on established decision-making and collaboration patterns.
• Establishment and further development of governance, reporting and escalation structures as well as program-wide monitoring and operational processes for reliable management and sustainable handover.
• Management of critical data, technology and provider dependencies, including reprocessing, OCR transition and the timely synchronization of delivery, testing, methodology and reporting.
• Orchestration of international collaboration with teams and stakeholders in Germany, the United Kingdom, Portugal and Romania, as well as with external suppliers in Germany and Austria.

Impact Areas and Expertise: Program & Delivery Leadership, Business & Technology Alignment, Organization & Transformation, Governance & Sustainable Operations, Strategy & Target, Methodic Leadership, Transformation & Change Leadership, Executive Advisory

• After several S/4 go-lives, Finance and IT lacked structure, clarity of roles and decisions; governance mechanisms, priority logic and responsibilities were not sufficiently defined.

• Unclear interfaces, high coordination effort and inconsistent ways of working led to organizational instability and limited leadership and management capability.

• The existing operating model between Finance, Controlling and IT was not functional, affecting transparency, collaboration and decision-making paths.

• Designed the transformation and organizational architecture for Finance and clarified roles, decision-making paths and priorities.

• Diagnosed and structured the Finance and IT organizations (DE/UK/PL), including collaboration, responsibilities and interfaces.

• Redesigned the Finance–IT Operating Model with a focus on governance, management routines and cross-functional collaboration.

• Enabled leaders and teams, especially Global Process Owners, Key Users and Finance Leads (systemic OD / Leadership).

• Managed the transformation portfolio, including clarity on risks, dependencies and cross-functional decision-making processes.

• Restored structural management capability by clearly defining and anchoring roles, decision-making paths and priorities throughout the organization.

• Systemically strengthened governance and cross-functional collaboration – Finance, Controlling and IT again worked in consistent, aligned structures; friction was measurably reduced.

• Harmonized working and communication processes, making coordination faster, more transparent and less conflict-prone.

• Established sustainable organizational capability, including by building a strong Key User / Process Owner community and clearly defined management routines.

• Made the transformation manageable in a structured way – prioritized initiatives, clear risk and progress logic as well as consistent decision-making formats increased execution speed.

VALUE ADDED:

The structured analysis and further development of business requirements and processes is driving the modernization of contract administration in a focused manner. Complex business matters and dependencies are made transparent, optimization potential is identified, and transferred into scalable solution approaches that enable as much straight-through processing as possible. This creates clearer and more efficient processes as well as reliable decision-making and implementation foundations for business departments, architecture, and development.

• Development of business requirements and processes for the further development and modernization of contract administration
• Creation and further development of business concepts, process descriptions, and decision-making documents for implementing new and optimized processes
• Analysis of existing processes and identification of optimization potential to simplify and scale processes
• Structuring of complex business matters in a dynamic project environment to ensure transparency and traceability for all involved
• Identification and clarification of business dependencies and interfaces, especially in interaction with adjacent systems and departments
• Contribution to business target models and development of solution approaches for new, scalable processes that also enable straight-through processing
• Leadership and moderation of business workshops to coordinate and further develop requirements with internal stakeholders from business departments, architecture, and development
• Prioritization of business topics and requirements for targeted implementation
• Support with testing, reviews, and quality assurance, including the creation and coordination of business test cases to verify the implemented solutions
• Use of SharePoint and Kanban to document and manage tasks