Annett E. - Product & Program Director

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Berlin, Germany

Experience

Jun 2024 - Sep 2024

4 months

Remote

Product Director (Interim/ Remote)

Luno Group Holdings

Led the development and execution of the product vision, strategy, and roadmap in close alignment with cross-functional business unit leadership and company-wide goals.
Played an active role within the CPO leadership team in shaping the product operating model and evolving product culture across the organization.
Managed and coached a team of product and design leads, helped them grow and succeed in their roles

Mar 2023 - Present

2 years 6 months

Founder & Strategic Advisor

ProductEmerge OÜ

Coach senior product leaders and founders to strengthen strategic thinking, increase leadership effectiveness, and navigate complex organizational challenges.
Advise on scaling product organizations, aligning product strategy with business objectives, and driving high-impact cross-functional execution.
Consult on and develop AI-driven solutions that streamline operations, reduce manual effort, and accelerate revenue growth across diverse industries

Sep 2022 - Feb 2023

6 months

Remote

Transformation Lead (Freelance/ Remote )

C&A GmbH

Led the transformation of the product operating model for a 200-person division, aligning cross-functional teams with business priorities and enhancing delivery efficiency.
Developed scalable frameworks to support future transformation initiatives and drive consistency across teams.
Reduced time-to-decision by 25% through optimized governance; advised on L&D and change communication to enable adoption at scale.

Sep 2021 - Aug 2022

1 year

Remote

Global Innovation Change Director (Freelance/ Remote)

Novartis AG

Led the strategic roadmap planning and design with country leaders, scaling the Innovation Management System across 30+ countries.
Directed the rollout of the Innovation Management System, achieving consistent adoption and reducing project lead times by 20%.
Built and influenced effective partnerships with cross-functional leaders to grow the Change and Transformation Practice for large-scale transformation projects.
Developed and implemented a Learning and Development Strategy across Novartis for Innovation Management System

May 2020 - Aug 2021

1 year 4 months

Remote

Global Innovation Change Lead (Freelance/ Remote)

Novartis

Defined and executed a multi-year vision and roadmap for Novartis portfolio program, aligning competing stakeholder priorities to deliver maximum customer value.
Spearheaded workstream and process optimization, establishing governance frameworks and collaborating with senior business leaders in IT, operations, and compliance to reduce health tech onboarding time from 90 to 30 day
Fostered adoption and collaboration across 50 countries by engaging and empowering a global community of experts, building strong stakeholder relationships.
Designed and implemented a data strategy to generate actionable insights, enabling evidence-based decisions and driving transformation aligned with measurable OKRs

Feb 2020 - Apr 2020

3 months

Berlin, Germany

Product Coach (Freelance/ Berlin)

Europace AG

Led the redesign of the product operating model across six teams, improving scalability, delivery focus, and team effectiveness for 40+ product and tech professionals.
Developed a strategic operating model that was adopted beyond the initial teams, streamlining workflows and cross-team collaboration.
Advised C-level leadership on governance structures to support strategic alignment and sustainable product delivery at scale.

Aug 2019 - Nov 2019

4 months

Berlin, Germany

Customer Experience Lead (Freelance/ Berlin)

HeyCar

Shaped customer experience strategy by delivering user research and insight-driven recommendations to senior leadership.
Drove cross-functional collaboration on growth and conversion initiatives, resulting in a 10% increase in conversion rates.
Advised on CX opportunities across the funnel, aligning product, design, and marketing efforts around customer impact

Jun 2019 - Aug 2019

3 months

Berlin, Germany

Product Lead (Freelance/ Berlin)

Mercedes-Benz.io

Built and led cross-functional product teams, improving delivery efficiency by 30%.
Introduced OKRs and streamlined workflows to sharpen execution and create measurable accountability across teams.
Strengthened team focus and collaboration by aligning product initiatives with broader business and user goals.

Dec 2018 - Feb 2019

3 months

Germany

E-Commerce Lead (Freelance/ Berlin)

Heineken

Collaborated with C-level management to shape the strategic direction of B2B eCommerce, identifying opportunities to support business growth.
Built and launched a B2B eCommerce platform, enabling streamlined operations and improved customer engagement.

Sep 2018 - Nov 2018

3 months

Berlin, Germany

Product Lead (Freelance, Berlin)

Daimler Lab

Defined product strategies and operational plans, ensuring alignment with business objectives and short-term delivery timelines.
Led cross-functional teams through ideation, UX design, and development, delivering innovative products on time and within scope.
Designed and implemented decision frameworks, transforming complex concepts into actionable plans that supported strategic decision-making.

Jun 2018 - Aug 2018

3 months

Berlin, Germany

Product Lead (Freelance/ Berlin)

Körber Digital

Secured leadership buy-in for a change roadmap, aligning the organization around the "Smart Factory" vision.
Owned and executed the strategic vision and product roadmap for the Industry 4.0 Machine Automation Initiative, integrating AWS technologies to improve operational efficiency by 20%.
Led and coached cross-functional teams, delivering and implementing Cobots solutions across five manufacturing sites, achieving measurable business impact.

Aug 2017 - Jan 2018

6 months

Berlin, Germany

Product Lead (Freelance/ Berlin)

Vattenfall

User-centric feature conception, execution, and Go-to market for Vattenfall Mobile App
Successfully lead virtual distributed team of developers, researchers and designers

Jul 2016 - Dec 2016

6 months

Berlin, Germany

Product Lead (Freelance/ Berlin)

McKinsey

Fostered strategic partnerships to shape the IoT core platform's roadmap, aligning product, user experience, and delivery goals with organizational priorities.
Conducted user research and data analysis to define future goals, ensuring market relevance and alignment with customer needs.
Partnered with Technology and Strategic Delivery teams to accelerate feature delivery and ensure seamless roadmap execution.

May 2014 - May 2015

1 year 1 month

Berlin, Germany

Global Product Owner ( Berlin )

eBay Inc.

Collaborated with international teams to define user needs and gather requirements, aligning them with market priorities.
Led agile development and UX teams to drive on-time delivery of customer-focused products for the European market.
Increased conversion for international listings in the German market by 30% through localization and targeted solutions.

Summary

Experienced product and program leader with 20+ years of expertise in driving product strategy, leading organizational transformations, and scaling product organizations and programs. Successfully led high-impact initiatives by aligning stakeholders, driving cross-functional execution, and leveraging data-driven decision-making to achieve measurable business outcomes. Recently founded an AI agency to help businesses streamline operations and increase revenue through AI-driven automation.