Jira Expert

In-house consulting provider and transformation driver within the group, in a multi-stakeholder environment and working with C-level leaders.

Realigned and stabilized a cross-functional transformation and scaling program across the group. Refined the vision, priorities, and portfolio of initiatives, and established robust governance, planning, and management structures. Structured roles, responsibilities, and strategic initiatives, incorporating AI and IT automation opportunities.

• Designed program realignment and project portfolio management

• Developed a strategy model and vision for IT projects

• Structured the portfolio, roadmap, and priorities

• Established governance and regular meetings

• Developed an operating model for flagship projects

• Assessed AI and automation opportunities

• Clarified roles and responsibilities

• Implemented change initiatives

• Designed, facilitated, and evaluated workshops

• Brought 17 initiatives into a management framework

• Improved transparency and decision-making

• Strengthened accountability in program management

• Sharpened the operating model

• Integrated three top-5 institutions

• Engaged over 80% of stakeholders

• Governance

• Portfolio management (PPM)

• Change Management

• Artificial intelligence

• Workflow automation

• AI use case assessment

• Confluence

• Jira

• Stakeholder management

Background Construction of the Super-FRS, a research facility over 200 meters long for the separation of atomic nuclei. Quality tasks had largely been delegated to work package owners, work package leaders, assembly leads and production planning; the required quality expertise and coordinated implementation needed further development.

Responsibility Responsible for Quality Control from incoming goods through NCR and problem-solving management to quality handover for Commissioning. Further developed the quality skills of operational leads; coordinated closely with GSI quality colleagues for development and Supply Chain Management.

Actions Defined quality milestones, inspection requirements and inspection procedures with the responsible functions and supported their implementation. Managed deviations at component and assembly interfaces that only became apparent during installation through NCR and problem-solving management; coordinated and followed up on technical clarification, corrective actions and verifiable quality records.

Result Strengthened quality expertise and independent quality practices within operational functions; established clear inspection requirements and NCR procedures. Ensured quality-assured assembly within the project scope and helped shape the quality culture. Assignment expected to end early in October/November 2026 as part of project-wide budget consolidation.

• Redesign of the company’s BI infrastructure: replacement of a fragmented landscape of manually maintained Excel solutions and CSV imports with a centralized Power BI environment using a unified data model as the company-wide single source of truth
• Consolidation of previously isolated reporting logic in a central semantic model – elimination of redundant files, manual data transfers and inconsistent metrics across departments
• Forecasting & Planning: Design and implementation of company-wide liquidity planning in Power BI – from business logic to a fully automated, data-source-driven planning model replacing the previous manual Excel process; enabling rolling forecasts and continuously up-to-date cash flow transparency for management
• Optimization of existing Power BI dashboards in terms of performance, structure and analytical value using an AI-native approach
• Analysis and improvement of the data model, including data quality analyses, data cleansing and consistent modeling using Star Schema, DAX and Power Query
• Incident & Anomaly Analysis: Identification, investigation and explanation of data anomalies, including root-cause analysis and specific recommendations for action
• AI Solution Architecture: Connecting Business Central and Power BI to LangDock via MCP (Model Context Protocol) for AI-supported data usage
• Development of a historical data layer as a basis for trend and time-series analyses
• AI-supported automation: Design and development of AI skills, agents, loops and processes for the automated analysis and interpretation of reports
• Automated reporting workflow: Setup of scheduled, automated email delivery of AI-generated analyses and recommendations to stakeholders
• Gathering and documentation of business requirements and coordination with business departments and IT as part of requirements engineering / product owner activities
• Breaking down overall requirements into clearly defined work packages and tasks
• Definition, prioritization and management of milestones throughout the entire project lifecycle

Tools: POWER BI, M365, Copilot Studio, MIRO, Microsoft Business Central, Microsoft Fabric, Claude AI, ChatGPT, LangDock, MS VS Code

• Launched a new digital product in the Chinese market as part of a global growth strategy.

• Served as the link and coordinating interface between central product management, local Chinese teams and international stakeholders.

• Managed the overall program to coordinate complex digital projects.

• Successfully launched a digital product in China (including successful certification for the Chinese market).

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

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

• Developed and implemented a scaling strategy for the digital business model in China.

• Used Jira, Confluence, Miro, Scrum, Agile ways of working, SAFe.

• Project language: English.

• Merging several systems, consulting for SAP Finance / Controlling overall, FI/CO, DRC, F2R, R2R, incoming and outgoing invoice mapping and target postings of contracts and BP from source systems. CAMt53, creation of the technical concept for the migration of various business areas, creation of migration templates and FMD Files, support with data migration, consolidations and data entry, test management for the SAP part, test support, training of end users in all FI and CO areas, FI-AA

Financial reporting as an MVP. Follow-up assignment.

• Reports on profit and loss, balance sheet and cash flow
• Budget and personnel metrics (FTE)
• Implementation as an MVP with a fixed scope

• Fixed a broken “ScrumBan” process, then established a pure Kanban system; increased output in the Kanban flow by 22 % in four weeks

• Increased team autonomy and decision-making ability by implementing new decision-making strategies, resulting in up to 25 % better outcomes

• Redesigned retrospectives (including through one-on-one coaching and workshops), leading to consistent implementation of the resulting action items

• Intensive coaching of Product Owners (POs) to develop and promote “Empowered Teams,” alongside leadership development to provide a realistic perspective (“disillusionment”) on agile frameworks and methods

• Supported change management processes to promote an agile company culture among management and teams, while improving internal communication to increase transparency and effectiveness in agile processes

• Founder of CheironX: AI-supported GRC management (ISO 27001, BSI IT-Grundschutz, TISAX, DORA)
• Strategic focus on Agentic AI and GenAI for modern IT Governance, Risk & Compliance Management
• IT interim management and strategic consulting

Agile Transformation: introducing agile principles and transforming traditional IT departments into Scrum and Kanban teams

IT Operating Model: redesigning the IT organization and introducing modern delivery structures and roles

Flight Levels: building up Flight Levels practices within IT to align strategy, coordination and operational execution

Leadership & Coaching: recruiting Agile Coaches and coaching Scrum Masters and IT leaders

ERP Operations: acting as Interim Product Owner for the existing ERP landscape and ensuring business continuity

ERP Transformation: reorganizing and supporting the ERP migration as a Project Manager; Phase 1 (financial accounting) live since October 2025

Operational Core (ERP): establishing dedicated teams for ERP Support, Feature Development, and ERP Migration

Modern Workplace: initiating the transition towards a Microsoft 365-based cloud workplace environment

Integration: establishing a dedicated team to drive integration and connectivity initiatives

Warehouse Operations: building a cross-functional team to support logistics and warehouse-related capabilities

Maintenance & Operations (M&O): introducing a dedicated team for system engineering, security, stable operations and continuous improvement

AI Initiatives: identifying and promoting practical Artificial Intelligence use cases across the IT department

As Interim Head of IT for a German medium-sized industrial distributor, I am responsible for 31 IT employees and lead the digital and organizational transformation, reporting directly to executive leadership. I took over an IT department with almost no basic structures – no clear roles, processes, documentation or ticket system – and with significant technical debt that tied up most of its capacity. Introduced agile principles and ways of working in the IT organization and transformed the traditionally structured IT department into cross-functional Scrum and Kanban teams focused on transparency, collaboration, and customer value delivery.

Redesigned the entire IT organization by establishing a modern operating model, introducing new roles such as Product Owner, Scrum Master and Solution Architect and strengthening the organization through strategic hiring and targeted capability development. Recruited and onboarded Agile Coaches to accelerate the transformation and personally managed and coached Scrum Masters as well as IT department leaders to foster servant leadership, self-management and a culture of continuous improvement.

Aligned IT-internal planning across eight teams to three Flight Levels based on Klaus Leopold (strategy, coordination, team), laying the foundation for later company-wide portfolio management. Consolidated the backlog of more than 10 workstreams and prioritized it by business value and cost of delay. Introduced a ticketing system to increase transparency and enable data-driven decision-making, flow-based work management, and greater accountability at all levels.

Established and supported multiple cross-functional teams, including the Operational Core (ERP) domain with dedicated streams for Support, Feature Development and ERP Migration, as well as teams responsible for Warehouse Operations, Maintenance & Operations (M&O) including system engineering and security, Modern Workplace, Data Quality and integration initiatives. Worked closely with Agile Coaches to support team development, remove impediments, and continuously improve delivery effectiveness.

Acted as Interim Product Owner for the operation and enhancement of the existing ERP landscape while supporting the ERP migration as a Project Manager. Reorganized the project organization and had the already negotiated contract with the implementation partner realigned with a focus on approach and overall responsibility; Phase 1 (financial accounting) has been live since October 2025. Collaborated with the selected implementation partner to design and establish the project organization and target operating model for the ERP transformation, introducing agile delivery structures and ways of working. Facilitated the alignment between business, IT and the external vendor and played a key role in negotiating the contractual framework and delivery model to ensure a sustainable foundation for the transformation program.

Initiated the strategic modernization of the workplace environment through the adoption of Microsoft 365 cloud capabilities, establishing the foundation for enhanced collaboration, scalability and future digital services.

Launched AI initiatives to identify practical business use cases and promote the responsible adoption of Artificial Intelligence across the IT department. Encouraged self-management and empowered teams to take ownership of decisions, delivery and continuous improvement.

Project: Digital Sovereignty – Toll Collect

Workshop: Digital Sovereignty Recognize dependencies, reduce risks, remain capable of acting

Format

• One-day practical seminar

Target group

• Executive management
• IT managers
• Data protection officers
• Compliance functions

Content and objectives

• Systematic analysis of digital dependencies
• Assessment of legal and operational risks
• Development of a concrete plan to increase digital sovereignty
• Mapping of the entire IT infrastructure by participants
• Identification of critical dependencies on non-European providers
• Creation of a prioritized risk matrix based on:
• GDPR
• NIS2
• EU AI Act
• Joint development of options for action – from a hybrid model to complete migration to European solutions
• Development of an individual sovereignty roadmap with:
• Responsibilities
• Milestones
• Budget framework

Agenda

• Preliminary self-assessment (current infrastructure)
• Digital sovereignty? Nothing but an illusion
• Digital sovereignty 2026 – Germany’s dangerous dependency in focus
• Digital sovereignty & open source
• What is digital sovereignty?
• Three questions raised by digital sovereignty
• Reflection: Digital sovereignty in your own life
• Why is digital sovereignty existential now?
• Practical examples of digital sovereignty
• Schleswig-Holstein initiative
• Benefits of digital sovereignty for your company
• Assessing strategy options (cost-benefit matrix)
• Sovereign provider? 10 questions
• What does digital sovereignty specifically mean for your company?
• How do you shape digital sovereignty?
• Digital sovereignty and psychological safety
• Psychological safety: The key to high-performing teams
• Why psychological safety in your company?
• Benefits of psychological safety
• Invitation to group work: PsySafety Check (PS-C)
• The “Braintrust” experiment
• Creating a risk matrix
• Creating a roadmap & project plan
• European alternatives to US Big Tech
• 10-point plans:
• NIS2
• EU AI Act
• GDPR
• ISO 27001

• Security Clearance 2 (SÜ2) verified
• Reported to the GMN Serie1 TP subprogram management
• Ensured the handover of around 300 deployable data center containers to the Bw customer in accordance with contractually defined military requirements
• Ensured transport and acceptance by Bw
• Ensured staff training
• Prepared decision papers (e.g., project plans, governance models, communication plans, controlling models, roles and responsibilities matrices)
• Analyzed existing processes, identified areas for improvement, and designed solutions to increase their efficiency and effectiveness
• Responsible for project governance through reporting and resource planning in the subprogram using Jira, PM Pulse, KeyPIA (MicroStrategy)
• Developed the project methodology using agile methods
• Handled customer requirements (Requirements Engineering)
• Prepared for and supported contract negotiations for “System Maintenance 2027+” (7-year term, 500+ Mio budget)

Banking & Invest – Replacement of digital application journeys

Shared product responsibility for the digital application journeys (accounts, investment accounts, home financing) of a large financial services provider working with three partner banks – from the prioritized backlog and partner bank integrations to regulatory requirements (WpHG, ESMA, BFSG); contributed to the introduction of MS Copilot and AI use cases.

Result: Continued to develop the platform reliably across around 30 releases over 2.5 years; launched two new partner processes and met regulatory deadlines.

Self-employed Motivation Coach | Job Coach | German as a Foreign Language Coach

I offer individual motivation, career, and language coaching for people who want to develop personally and professionally.

My services:

• Motivation coaching: Building self-confidence, self-motivation, and personal skills.

• Job coaching: Career guidance, job search, and support with entering the job market.

• Application coaching: Preparing resumes and application documents and getting ready for job interviews.

• German as a Foreign Language coaching: Individual support to improve German for everyday life, work, and integration.

• Integration coaching: Supporting people with a migration background with professional and social integration.

• Activation coaching: Encouraging initiative and reducing individual barriers to finding work.

My goal is to motivate people to recognize their strengths, overcome language barriers, and develop new career prospects.

Individual, practical, confidential, and focused on results.

Coaching in German and Russian. In person or online by appointment.