Adrian Ion - Strategic Technology Leadership & Digital/AI Transformation

Q: Where is Adrian based?

Adrian is based in Vienna, Austria .

Q: What languages does Adrian speak?

Adrian speaks the following languages: Romanian (Native), German (Advanced), English (Advanced) .

Q: How many years of experience does Adrian have?

Adrian has at least 28 years of experience. During this time, Adrian has worked in at least 6 different roles and for 7 different companies . The average length of individual experience is 4 years and 6 months . Note that Adrian may not have shared all experience and actually has more experience.

Q: What is Adrian's latest experience?

Adrian's most recent position is Strategic Technology Leadership & Digital/AI Transformation at Adrian Ion Consulting .

Q: What companies has Adrian worked for in recent years?

In recent years, Adrian has worked for Adrian Ion Consulting , Hydrogrid , and Partium .

Q: Which industries is Adrian most experienced in?

Adrian is most experienced in industries like Information Technology (IT) , Manufacturing , and Education . Adrian also has some experience in Banking and Finance , Energy , and Utility Services .

Q: Which business areas is Adrian most experienced in?

Adrian is most experienced in business areas like Product Development , Information Technology (IT) , and Research and Development (R&D) . Adrian also has some experience in Project Management , Strategy and Planning , and Operations .

Q: Which industries has Adrian worked in recently?

Adrian has recently worked in industries like Information Technology (IT) , Energy , and Utility Services .

Q: Which business areas has Adrian worked in recently?

Adrian has recently worked in business areas like Product Development , Strategy and Planning , and Information Technology (IT) .

Recommended expert

Vienna, Austria

Experience

Jan 2025 - Present

1 year 2 months

Austria

Strategic Technology Leadership & Digital/AI Transformation

Adrian Ion Consulting

VCs, investors & CEOs: build or scale technology development in your (portfolio) company
CTOs & senior technology leaders: experienced sounding board
Traditional industries: increase value or optimize operations by further digitalization and AI
Young technical leaders: build your leadership skills, technology-business interplay judgment, and strategic thinking, while under pressure to deliver

Jan 2024 - Dec 2025

2 years

Vienna, Austria

CTO

Hydrogrid

Joined as CTO after company successful Series A (engineering headcount 17)
Consistently delivered all priority 1 features on time starting 1st quarter (significantly slipping before)
Coordinated and delivered the technical part of a 3 m€ accepted R&D grant
Retargeted the engineering skill-development framework towards tangible employee growth
Focus on efficiency driven engineering culture (attention to ownership, processes, market-feedback)
Represented Hydrogrid technology in media and to the board
Refining company IT infrastructure towards scalability (cloud solutions, SSO, collaboration)

Jan 2020 - Dec 2024

5 years

Vienna, Austria

CTO

Partium

Chosen as global CTO after the merger of Humai, Slyce, and Catchoom
Integrated the teams in AT, ES, and USA, with 100% retention and high productivity (headcount 15)
Drove the technology stream for the licensing and integration of Partium into IBM Maximo Mobile
Hot swapped the entire recognition technology for The Home Depot; 75% COGS reduction
Drove DevOps, CI/CD, and security-aware culture; 60x production deployments and less issues
Contributed to company strategy towards investment (series A) and a future exit
Represented Partium to potential investors and owned engineering due diligence

Jan 2016 - Dec 2020

5 years

Vienna, Austria

CTO

Humai Technologies

Grew the Bosch account to multiple business-units and over 60% of Humai’s revenue
Transformed the spare part recognition business from services to product
Reorganized for product focus, with R&D, Eng., Ops & IT, and Professional Services (headcount 35)
On an aggressive schedule, rolled out Partium for Deutsche Bahn, the largest European account
Represented Humai to potential investors and owned technical due diligence
Successful merger of Humai with U.S. based Slyce and Spain-based Catchoom

Jan 2014 - Dec 2016

3 years

Head of Recognition Technology | Project Manager | Solution Architect

Built the visual recognition solution for the company’s largest account (Bosch Power Tools), with a world-wide rollout in over 100 country-language combinations
Generated ~half of the company’s revenue with ~25% of the workforce (headcount 5)
Project management and customer success management of key accounts
Laid the foundation of what became the Partium professional spare-part search product

Jan 2012 - Dec 2014

3 years

Vienna, Austria

Senior Software Engineer IRM Core & Steering Committee, OpenLink Labs

Openlink Financial

Selected by the global CTO to a team of 8, laid out the footprints of OpenLink Labs, OpenLink's R&D initiative with core responsibility collaboration with academia
Led a major upgrade (+12 years) to the tech stack and the build system of the IRM product core

Jan 2004 - Dec 2012

9 years

Austria

Research Assistant → PostDoc Researcher, AI / Computer Vision & Machine Learning

Vienna University of Technology; University of Bonn; IST Austria

Investigated fundamental problems in computer vision, with and without machine learning and statistics
Successfully acquired and coordinated research grants & projects
Publication and reviewing in world-top conferences and journals
Presentations to audiences ranging from 1 to over 1000 attendees
Supervised bachelor and master theses and taught seminars, lab exercises, and courses

Jan 1998 - Dec 2004

7 years

Romania

Senior Software Engineer

NetObjects Romania; CD Nelson Technology Group; Sedona

Held multiple senior/software engineer roles in teams ranging 2-8 developers
Delivered the first release of the image processing components in NetObjects Fusion (B2C, total $3.5 m in 2005)
Developed several major releases of the proprietary CD Nelson CAD/CAM/CNC suite, covering stepper-motor control to CAD editor, numeric processing, kernel mode processes, and real-time functions

Industries Experience

See where this freelancer has spent most of their professional time. Longer bars indicate deeper hands-on experience, while shorter ones reflect targeted or project-based work.

Experienced in Information Technology (19 years), Manufacturing (10 years), Education (9 years), Banking and Finance (3 years), Energy (2 years), and Utilities (2 years).

Information Technology

Manufacturing

Education

Banking and Finance

Energy

Utilities

Business Areas Experience

The graph below provides a cumulative view of the freelancer's experience across multiple business areas, calculated from completed and active engagements. It highlights the areas where the freelancer has most frequently contributed to planning, execution, and delivery of business outcomes.

Experienced in Product Development (19 years), Information Technology (14 years), Research and Development (13 years), Project Management (12 years), Strategy (6 years), and Operations (5 years).

Product Development

Information Technology

Research and Development

Project Management

Strategy

Operations

Summary

Demonstrated success in high-speed, high-growth environments with large B2B customers in the EU and US. Iterative/MVP-driven approaches. Define goals, strategies, and KPIs. Nurture highly engaged teams and individuals. Strong background in software engineering and AI.

Skills

Agile
C/c++
Python
Javascript
Ionic
Angular
Microfrontends
Sql
Mongodb
Elasticsearch
Amqp
Iam/keycloak
Microservices
Gpu
Tensorflow
Pytorch
Deeplearning
Llm
Docker
Kubernetes
Karpenter
Aws
Azure
Grafana
Ci/cd
Git
Jira
Security (Pentest, Sast, Dependency, Container)
Windows
Linux
Ios
Android

Languages

Romanian

Native

German

Advanced

English

Advanced

Education

Oct 2006 - Jun 2009

Vienna University of Technology

Doctorate, Computer Science/AI, with distinction · Computer Science/AI · Vienna, Austria

Profile

Created

December 2025

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Frequently asked questions

Do you have questions? Here you can find further information.

Where is Adrian based?

Adrian is based in Vienna, Austria.

What languages does Adrian speak?

Adrian speaks the following languages: Romanian (Native), German (Advanced), English (Advanced).

How many years of experience does Adrian have?

Adrian has at least 28 years of experience. During this time, Adrian has worked in at least 6 different roles and for 7 different companies. The average length of individual experience is 4 years and 6 months. Note that Adrian may not have shared all experience and actually has more experience.

What roles would Adrian be best suited for?

Based on recent experience, Adrian would be well-suited for roles such as: Strategic Technology Leadership & Digital/AI Transformation, CTO, Head of Recognition Technology | Project Manager | Solution Architect.

What is Adrian's latest experience?

Adrian's most recent position is Strategic Technology Leadership & Digital/AI Transformation at Adrian Ion Consulting.

What companies has Adrian worked for in recent years?

In recent years, Adrian has worked for Adrian Ion Consulting, Hydrogrid, and Partium.

Which industries is Adrian most experienced in?

Adrian is most experienced in industries like Information Technology (IT), Manufacturing, and Education. Adrian also has some experience in Banking and Finance, Energy, and Utility Services.

Which business areas is Adrian most experienced in?

Adrian is most experienced in business areas like Product Development, Information Technology (IT), and Research and Development (R&D). Adrian also has some experience in Project Management, Strategy and Planning, and Operations.

Which industries has Adrian worked in recently?

Adrian has recently worked in industries like Information Technology (IT), Energy, and Utility Services.

Which business areas has Adrian worked in recently?

Adrian has recently worked in business areas like Product Development, Strategy and Planning, and Information Technology (IT).

What is Adrian's education?

Adrian holds a Doctorate in Computer Science/AI from Vienna University of Technology.

What is the availability of Adrian?

Adrian is immediately available for suitable projects.

What is the rate of Adrian?

Adrian's rate depends on the specific project requirements. Please use the Meet button on the profile to schedule a meeting and discuss the details.