MaRisk Experts in Germany

• Established a cyber resilience framework for AI-accelerated threats in the Frontier AI Threat Endurance (FATE) program: capability assessments, maturity assessments and gap analyses covering cyber security, operational resilience, incident response, recovery and governance, followed by target concepts and improvement measures
• Supported action owners from specification through implementation: implementation roadmaps, decision papers, management presentations and governance reporting, as well as audit- and supervision-ready documentation; managed stakeholders from IT, Information Security, Risk Management, Operational Resilience, Business Continuity and the business units

• Overall leadership of several strategic operations projects focusing on Workplace Services, SLA Framework, access management, certificate management, e-learning, backup & recovery, test management, and capacity management, as well as the introduction of system monitoring and feasibility studies for 24x7 operations, in some cases including implementation in ServiceNow
• Creation of various ServiceNow operating concepts covering training, access rights, and emergency management as part of a new cloud hosting initiative for the ServiceNow platform
• Executive board reports and leadership of steering committees as part of company-wide strategic objectives, as well as the establishment of new balanced scorecards for measuring KPIs related to optimization-driven project results

• Supported monthly and annual closing activities
• Checked incoming invoices for formal and factual accuracy
• Posted incoming invoices
• Contact person for internal departments on accounting matters
• Created and maintained vendor master data
• Processed open items
• Took on additional accounting-related special tasks
• Managed the functional mailbox
• Performed payment runs

Training and knowledge transfer – Accounts Payable:

In addition to the tasks above, I was responsible for training and transferring knowledge to 8 employees of an external service provider in India who took over the accounts payable activities:

• Conducted structured training and practical guidance throughout the accounts payable process
• Trained employees in checking and posting incoming invoices, including formal and factual checks
• Taught vendor master data maintenance, open-item processing and payment runs
• Trained employees in using the functional mailbox and communicating effectively with internal departments
• Explained accounting procedures, controls and company-specific accounts payable requirements
• Conducted “Training on the Job” using practical posting cases and real business transactions
• Supported the team in independently carrying out accounts payable processes and resolving accounting questions
• Checked the quality and accuracy of work results and provided continuous feedback and coaching
• Supported the transfer of accounts payable processes to the external service provider and ensured structured knowledge transfer and an orderly handover
• Supported a smooth transition by documenting processes, clarifying responsibilities and ensuring consistent application of accounting requirements

Software: JDE, ELO, SAP Concur

As Germany’s only large integrated energy company, EnBW covers the entire value chain—from energy generation and distribution to serving customers. The company is expanding its renewable energy sources, working toward a socially responsible coal phase-out, and advancing key technologies such as the use of green hydrogen. A rapid energy transition and achieving climate neutrality by 2035 are priorities for EnBW.  Developing and implementing an end-to-end process view that takes both technical and organizational aspects into account  Ensuring end-to-end control of all IAM-related technical services  Establishing clear responsibilities and accountabilities across the IAM landscape  Working with various departments to identify and optimize an end-to-end architecture and act as the Single Point of Contact (SPoC) for Information Security  Introducing and monitoring governance policies to ensure compliance and security  Continuously improving IAM processes and systems through regular audits and service reviews  Taking part in external process audits as part of official audits against ISO standards  Further developing the policy that sets administrative requirements and procedures, and aligning it with administrative departments  Conceptually developing the KPI system for measuring process quality

• Functional management and further development of a team of 28 IT employees (internal & external) in the areas of HelpDesk / HelpLine, RHEL (Red Hat), MUREX (trading system & applications), SAP basic operations
• Management of external service providers (including FI-TS for SAP basic operations)
• Personnel, resource and budget planning for the IT department and projects
• Introduction and establishment of regular communication formats (regular meetings, team and cross-departmental meetings)
• Ensuring application operations in a hybrid environment (Windows / Linux with database and web/application servers)
• Support for transformation projects to modernize the application landscape (e.g. DevOps approaches)
• Building and introducing digital IT procurement for hardware & software (e.g. with DELL)
• Development and management of the „IT Operations DOS" department based on the company strategy
• Preparation of management reports & decision papers on IT projects, optimization potential and automation opportunities
• Representing the department in Rentenbank committees and ensuring regulatory compliance (BaFin §44, DSGVO, BSI, MaRisk)

• Built a scalable nearshore IT developer hub (Croatia, Czech Republic, Poland) as an independent company through a BOT model (Build – Operate – Transfer)
• Identified, selected, and managed full-service agencies; introduced management and control mechanisms, including KPIs, SLAs, and regular service reviews
• Prepared and reviewed data processing agreements and framework contracts in coordination with Legal & Compliance; integrated regulatory requirements (including KRITIS) into process design
• Advised on cloud vs. on-premise strategies, data storage, and authorization concepts; supported Procurement with tendering and service provider evaluations
• Managed change and process harmonization between internal teams and nearshore partners; reported to executive management, CFO, and CIO

Result: Scalable IT developer hub with an audit-ready governance model, reduced operating costs, and accelerated product development.

• Completed the integration of log sources into Microsoft Sentinel, including GCP workloads – centralized consolidation of all security-relevant events from Azure and GCP environments for complete end-to-end telemetry and comprehensive compliance evidence
• Developed custom rules and use cases based on the GFG Use-Case Library and the MITRE ATT&CK Matrix to cover company-specific threats and GFG-relevant scenarios with precise, mapped detection rules
• Tuned detection rules to minimize false positives, optimized detection thresholds, and modeled exceptions – enabling the SOC to work with relevant, prioritized alerts while reducing Mean Time to Detect/Respond
• Built SOAR capabilities in Sentinel by developing playbooks to automate recurring response processes such as containment, user and host isolation, and ticketing – shorter response times and 24/7 scalability
• Designed and built a log transformation solution to normalize and enrich incoming raw logs (GeoIP, CMDB, threat intelligence) and convert them into a consistent schema for high-performance KQL queries, use case logic, and correlations
• Managed Azure security through Azure Policies to enforce security and compliance standards, prevent drift, and continuously remediate deviations
• Operated the Defender XDR portal to link endpoint, identity, email, and SaaS signals with Sentinel findings, enable holistic incident triage, and orchestrate measures directly from XDR

Technologies: Microsoft Sentinel, Microsoft Defender XDR, Azure Policy, KQL, GCP, MITRE ATT&CK

As a Council Member at GLG (Gerson Lehrman Group), the world’s leading expert network, I provide organizations, investment firms, and consulting companies with expert discussions on demand – wherever specialized knowledge in information security, IT governance, and regulatory compliance is needed.

My assessments are based on many years of practical experience in highly regulated industries: from building and implementing information security management systems (ISMS according to ISO 27001), IT risk and vulnerability management, and business continuity (ISO 22301) to the practical implementation of European regulations such as DORA, NIS2, BAIT, and the Cyber Resilience Act (CRA).

The cooperation is project- and discussion-based. I provide decision-makers with a practical perspective gained from real-world experience on cyber risks, security governance, and operational resilience – exactly when it is needed.

• Supporting the International Web Presence of the BA (IntWeb) project in the area of quality management, with the aim of taking responsibility for the quality of processes and project results while considering BA standards. The main objectives of the project are to give professionals abroad a quick overview of their opportunities for moving to Germany and to enable them to take the necessary steps consistently and with digital support by providing access to services.

• Defining the general guidelines in the QA handbook

• Summarising test results in QA reports for PLA

• Analysing project results for improvement opportunities

• Quality management of requirements analysis (particularly processes, methods, and tools)

• Ensuring compliance with SERA requirements

• Creating a cross-project test concept

• Agreeing on sprint completion reports

• Formal review of work results in accordance with requirements and/or the project plan

• Contact person for internal audit, external audits by auditors, or BRH (Federal Court of Audit)

• Technologies: JIRA, Confluence, MS Office, GitLab, Kubernetes

Establishment of Compliance Department & DORA Operationalization

• Establishment of a complete compliance organization in accordance with DORA
• Development and operationalization of the SfO
• Use of AI agents for automation:
• Evaluation of due diligence questionnaires including risk classification
• AI-supported contract analysis (DORA/MaRisk compliance)
• Monitoring of external data sources (cyber incidents, newsfeeds)
• Establishment of a decentralized risk and action register
• Preparation of GAP analyses and derivation of measures
• Establishment and maintenance of the Outsourcing Information Register
• Use of proprietary TPRM frameworks, checklists and process models

Establishment of Compliance Department & DORA Operationalization

• Establishment of a complete compliance organization in accordance with DORA
• Development and operationalization of the SfO
• Use of AI agents for automation:
• Evaluation of due diligence questionnaires including risk classification
• AI-supported contract analysis (DORA/MaRisk compliance)
• Monitoring of external data sources (cyber incidents, newsfeeds)
• Establishment of a decentralized risk and action register
• Preparation of GAP analyses and derivation of measures
• Establishment and maintenance of the Outsourcing Information Register
• Use of proprietary TPRM frameworks, checklists and process models
• Project controlling - presentation and structured measurement of project goals achieved as part of management reporting.
• Overall responsibility for establishing a Compliance, Governance and Risk organization
• Establishment of an integrated GRC model and executive reporting for the Management Board.

Strengthening digital operational resilience and strategically and operationally implementing DORA requirements. ICT risk management and governance; DORA-compliant ICT incident processes; digital operational resilience testing; outsourcing and ICT service provider management.

• Consulting, training and coaching in the financial sector on strategy, organization and IT topics

• MorgenFund: Advising the operator of a fund platform on software selection for a sub-ledger "Cash Accounts" based on virtual IBANs (VIBAN)

• Structuring requirements, market screening, preparing RfIs, communicating with vendors and conducting the selection process

• UniCredit/HypoVereinsbank: Workstream Lead "Booking and Customer Reporting" in the payment transformation project "PULS"

• Business analysis, preparing business requirements and coordinating the solution items as part of the functional specification with the bank's IT service providers

• Business analysis of SEPA CT and SWIFT MX (.camt-, .pain- and .pacs- formats), change management, team leadership for a virtual team of fifteen line experts and stakeholder management

• equensWorldline Germany: Program management for three projects of the SWIFT Service Bureau (CBPR+, ESMIG and Euro1Step1 migration) as part of the SWIFT MX migration

• Managing individual project leads with regard to cross-project goals and requirements; reporting to internal and external committees and stakeholders; coordination with dependent projects and programs

• Project management/PMO: Interim project management, deputizing for project leads, resource planning, budget and cost management, general PMO activities

PMO & Project Organization Blueprint for Restructuring

Renewable Energy / Solar Equipment

Technologies / Methods: PMO setup, KPI tracking, project organization, Jira, Confluence

• Developed measures to improve management control during a restruct...

The online service "Special Use of Streets and No-Parking Zone" was in a partially completed state. The following tasks had to be carried out to reach final completion:

• Preparation of an expert report on the status of the online service, and recommendations for action
• Ensuring that all LEIKAS to be used are available (service catalog / service descriptions of the authorities)
• Creating and aligning concepts for complex IT projects (business/IT concepts, architecture, interfaces, roadmaps)
• Requirements management
• Multi-project management with 3 stakeholders (Police, Dataport, development company)
• Determining resource needs
• Coordination to identify technical requirements through the IT architects
• Creating use cases and test cases
• Creating action items
• Managing external IT service providers
• Coordination and management of all activities
• Conflict resolution / business mediation
• User Acceptance Test (UAT) and acceptance by Hamburg Police (Traffic Directorate, Policy Department, Central Road Traffic Authority)

Technical environment: .NET, EfA minimum requirements, Leikas, Administrative Procedure Act (VwVfG), HWG (Hamburg Roads Act), Atlassian Jira, Confluence, MS Office