CV & Summary

Dynamic and visionary CEO with a rich tapestry of over 25 years of leadership experience, I have dedicated my career to driving sustainable growth, spearheading transformative strategies, and fostering business agility across tech landscapes. My passion lies in steering organizations through the tides of digital transformation, ensuring that our journey from startups to scale-ups is marked by robust and sustainable business models.

I’m at my best when discussing and implementing best practices in:

Digitalization: Harnessing the power of technology to revolutionize operations and customer engagement.

Business Transformation: Pivoting business models to adapt to changing markets and emerging opportunities.

Go-to-Market Strategies: Crafting and executing innovative strategies that penetrate markets and capture value.

Leadership: Guiding startups and established firms with a steady hand and a clear vision.

Restructuring: Analyzing and realigning organizational structures to optimize performance and efficiency.

Sustainable Development: Building pathways from inception to exit that are economically viable and environmentally conscious.

With hands-on experience in platform innovation and a profound understanding of the SaaS/PaaS business model, I have effectively led product development from ideation through to launch. Since taking the helm at bitkasten GmbH, I have not only executed a successful proof of concept but also created a thriving customer base, propelling the company into rapid growth.

CEO | Managing Director
bitkasten GmbH, Nuremberg since April 2021

bitkasten GmbH is a German software-as-a-service (SaaS) and green-tech provider for completely digitalising letter communication.

Since the start of product development of bitkasten in 2018, bitkasten GmbH has already acquired satisfied customers and is growing rapidly following a successful ‘Proof of Concept’.

bitkasten is:

The digital counterpart to the postal service, which delivers letters digitally
The home mailbox for digital mail from all participating senders
The yellow mailbox that also sends mail digitally
A secure delivery service/trusted service via postal address
A ready-made sender/receiver marketplace & portal
The ‘digital last mile’ to the citizen/customer/employee instead of postal shipping
Secure & GDPR compliant

Since the start of product development of bitkasten in 2018, bitkasten GmbH has already acquired satisfied customers and is growing rapidly following a successful ‘Proof of Concept’.”

Background

CEO/ Managing Director bitkasten GmbH , Nürnberg

From: April 2021

bitkasten GmbH is a German software-as-a-service (SaaS) and clean-tech provider for completely digitalising mail communication.

The solution is the bitkasten, a portal and global dispatch platform for digital mail – ecological, sustainable and smart.

bitkasten is a smart green communication and digitalisation platform.

Communication is as quick as e-mail but without e-mail – smart, secure and green

General Manager DACH, Graphic Communication & Commercial Excellence Xerox GmbH

From: November 2017 – March 2021

Managed change, development and strategy and held full P&L responsibility for the Xerox High-End Production business in Germany, Austria, and Switzerland with a revenue of over €150M
Led a team of Managers and specialists (directly and indirectly)
Achieved up to 44% year on year growth
Successfully transformed the go-to-market (GTM) strategy from direct to a channel business, eliminated ineffective mono-brand channel partner, and expanded direct sales
Developed and established a new governance model
Set up and led the Sales Operations organisation
Drove all business activities across sales, direct and channel marketing, internal communication, product management, solution offering and back-office operations
Implemented professional management standards for the organisational structure, coordinated and monitored departments and introduced improvements in terms of quality and performance
Developed powerful business development strategies and drove continuous improvement initiatives

CMO, smartworksolutions GmbH

From: August 2016 – October 2017

Developed, implemented and refined the global marketing and sales strategy for a rapidly growing start-up business that created a collaborative word processor solution backed by an angel investor
Led the commercial launch in 2016, hired and managed a team (directly and indirectly), and drove fundraising and Series A readiness activities with full responsibility for direct sales and OEM and integration partnerships

Vice President EMEA / APAC & Global Client Services, Acrolinx

From: January 2014 – July 2016

Held full P&L responsibility for a business with a revenue of €20M and with average deal sizes up to €800k (perpetual/subscription)
Led a team of Managers and specialists (directly and indirectly)
Achieved 35% – 45% year on year growth
Drove the business across EMEA and APAC, actively explored new business development areas, continuously implemented improvement initiatives and introduced effective management standards within the organisational structure
Supported the dynamic development of the company in a Global Customer Success capacity, leading Professional Services & Support and Integration Services
Created and implemented effective strategies for direct sales and strategic channel development: Adobe, SDL

Regional Business Manager HP Indigo & Inkjet Web Press CEE, Hewlett Packard

From: July 2011 – December 2013

Managed a business with a revenue of $250M
Led a team of Managers and specialists across 20 countries (directly and indirectly)
Transformed the business, created, implemented and optimised systems, processes and policies, and achieved 25% – 38% year on year growth
Held end-to-end responsibility for sales, marketing, services and go-to-market strategies across CEE, EEM and CIS
Ensured full compliance with internal standards and external regulatory requirements across all systems and procedures

Regional Manager Central EMEA & CEE, HP (Exstream Software)

From: July 2007 – June 2011

Held full P&L responsibility for a business with average deal sizes up to $4M
Led a team of 55 Managers and specialists (directly and indirectly)
Founded the German operations, and managed the DACH and CEE activities for Exstream Software, provider of multichannel customer communication management (CCM) solutions
Led the reorganisation and restructuring of the Eastern European business after the Exstream Software acquisition by Hewlett-Packard: transitioned the existing structures into HP operating model, managed change and ensured a smooth integration of all processes

Sales Director, Macro 4

From: July 2005 – June 2007

Designed, developed and implemented successful sales strategies for a business from the IT sector providing accounting, information management, print workflow and document processing solutions to in-house printing facilities
Proactively monitored sales data and competitor activity, analysed market trends and developed future plans based on available information
Maintained keen commercial awareness, developed lasting relationships with clients and stakeholders, and established effective communication channels within the business

Managing Director, i-world GmbH

From: May 2002 – June 2005

Managed, expanded, and developed new strategies for a business providing individual software development for CRM and personalisation, and information management systems solutions to enterprise clients
Continuously optimised systems and processes, defined, measured, and reviewed existing KPI’s to provide meaningful insight into the business and support sustainable and profitable growth
Acted as the escalation point for major operational issues and addressed all concerns before they negatively affected the company’s performance

Manager Business Alliance, Imperia AG

From: July 2001 – April 2002

Held full responsibility for the management, development and growth of a SaaS business providing a cutting-edge web content management solution to Deutsche Post, MediaSaturn, and ProSieben
Formulated strategic objectives, introduced new operational processes, and implemented effective product management systems (OEM business, SaaS)
Developed a client-centric culture, following industry best practices and latest trends in key account management

Managing Director, strothKAMP– iT

From: July 1998 – July 2001

Summary:

Managed a business from the hardware, software & professional services sector with a revenue of €20M/year
Led a team of 45 Managers and specialists (directly and indirectly)
Held full P&L responsibility, ensured that financial performance exceeds forecasts, and maximised sales turnover while delivering operational excellence