About Me
I am a product and technology leader focused on building agile teams that deliver sustainable customer value. As Chief Product Owner at REWE International IT, I lead a unit of 30+ people responsible for our eCommerce software stack, managing product strategy, development, and budget.
My approach is deeply rooted in agile principles, but I emphasize practical application over dogma. I utilize scaling frameworks and Flight Levels to manage dependencies and empower teams. My goal is to create clear systems that allow people to do their best work.
The 4 Pillars of My Leadership Style
Trust
Trust does not need to be earned first; it is given in advance. I am convinced that we all possess the inner drive to do great work and to celebrate successes together.
Openness
Psychological safety is the foundation of goal-oriented collaboration. Only those who dare to take risks and address mistakes openly can move organisations forward. I view open communication as the fuel for team development.
Excellence
I enjoy working with people who are better in their field than I am – that is my standard for a strong team. The specialists know the "how"; I provide the "why" and the appropriate framework.
Empowerment
Standing still is not an option. I consider it my duty to recognise and foster individual potential. Employee development is not just a gain for the organisation, but a necessary investment in the personal future of every single individual.
Work Experience
Chief Product Owner eCommerce
Jan 2022 - PresentI manage three cross-functional product teams responsible for the end-to-end development of our online shops (Web, Android, iOS), including ERP integration and data warehouse ETL processes. Im responsible for about 30 internal employees and a varying number of external contractors.
- Successes: Launched the online shops for Austria and Czechia while scaling the team. Successfully migrated all infrastructure to the cloud and stabilized the software stack for high-load scenarios. Consistently invested into software quality and accessibility.
- Team: Expanded the team capacity by more than 60% within 2 years. Built up two component-teams from scratch. Keeping turnover to almost zero.
- Processes: We operate using scaled agile methodologies. We actively work on increasing deployment frequency and reducing lead times.
- Budget: I am responsible for the budget planning and controlling for our department.
Head of Business Consulting
Oct 2019 - Jan 2022My responsibilities included business consulting and portfolio management for RIAG.digital, a software delivery unit within REWE International IT. The main task was prioritizing and defining the roadmap for our area, in close coordination with all stakeholders. In close collaboration with Agile Coaches, I implemented a comprehensive portfolio planning and reporting system, applying Kanban and Flight Levels methodologies. This process, combined with active stakeholder management, facilitated alignment with strategic business objectives. The setup improved visibility and transparency of portfolio performance, which in turn enabled data-driven decision-making and supported a culture mutual trust.
Head of Software Quality
Jun 2017 - Oct 2019I managed a team of Quality Engineers who were embedded within various product teams. My role involved defining the quality assurance and automation strategy for a diverse software stack, which required the application of various frameworks (e.g., Cypress, Appium, Cucumber). To centralize test management and improve technical quality, I introduced XRay for Jira for test management and reporting. Furthermore, we established SonarQube for monitoring code quality and test coverage.
Project Manager
Jun 2015 - Jun 2017As project manager, I was responsible for the development and launch of the Merkur online shop. I took ownership of a project in a complex state, involving three development partners and dispersed internal resources operating without a unified process. My primary objective was to streamline the project. I accomplished this by consolidating the external partners, establishing a central Jira project with a common Scrum process, and implementing monthly management reports. Concurrently, I worked with the teams to introduce a central git repository with defined workflows, an Artifactory instance for package management, and a new caching infrastructure. The shop was successfully delivered and went into production.
Founder
Feb 2013 - Apr 2015I co-founded s4w straight4ward GmbH, a consultancy focused on software development and services. We successfully secured the City of Vienna as our primary client, for whom we delivered several mobile applications and a data management solution. After a period of significant strategic change at our main client, I exited the company to seek a new professional challenge.
From Developer to Team Lead
Oct 2006 - Feb 2013I started as a C#/ASP.NET developer and transitioned to Technical Project Manager and finally Backend Development Team Lead during a growth phase from 4 to 70 employees. In this role, I managed 15 web and mobile developers, handling resource planning and technical direction. We rolled out global brand websites and mobile applications, focusing on brand awareness and medical education.
Education
Master, Business Informatics
Master Thesis: "Evaluation of Software Development Paradigms and Processes for Web Application Engineering", reflecting on my experience gained during my time at Pfizer.