Axel Z. - Project Manager

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Oberursel, Germany

Experience

Sep 2024 - Present

1 year

Frankfurt, Germany

Project Manager

NTT Global Data Centers

project leadership
coordination of the rollout of 148 Palo Alto firewalls for 74 buildings across 14+ sites in EMEA
team management (8 members)
communication with senior management (local) and site managers (EMEA)
ensuring timely and compliant delivery of work packages and their formal acceptance
extensive use of relevant Microsoft tools
Wrike (project management)

Sep 2023 - Sep 2024

1 year 1 month

Wiesbaden, Germany

Interim Manager / Group Lead

DG Nexolution (formerly DG Verlag)

disciplinary and technical leadership of an IT team (7 FTE)
support of the transformation and restructuring of the area
procurement and monthly reporting of key metrics to management
maintenance of standard software (support and change requests/customizing)
vendor management (e.g. contract renegotiation with Monotype (fonts): 50% savings; Chili Publishing: 30% savings)
release management
account management for subsidiaries
recruiting and resource planning
extensive use of relevant Microsoft tools
Jira / Confluence
Alfresco (DMS)
Magnolia (web CMS)
Adito CRM (xRM)
4AllPortal

Oct 2022 - Jun 2023

9 months

Frankfurt, Germany

Outsourcing Management Consultant

Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corporation (SMBC Bank EU AG)

coordination of existing and new outsourcing contracts in close cooperation with legal, relevant business units and subject matter experts like IT security, BCM, data protection etc. across various locations (e.g. Dublin, Hong Kong, Singapore, Tokyo)
service criticality assessments
third party risk management
periodic review of existing outsourcing agreements (global)
advising business units on EBA requirements
planning and conducting workshops on technical topics (especially GDPR)
preparing necessary documentation to ensure EBA compliance
progress tracking
procurement and monthly reporting of key metrics to management
extensive use of relevant Microsoft tools
third party risk management (TPRM) tool

Apr 2022 - Mar 2023

1 year

Frankfurt, Germany

Outsourcing Management Consultant

BNP Paribas

coordination of new outsourcing contracts in close cooperation with legal, relevant business units and subject matter experts like IT security, BCM, data protection etc.
advising the business unit on EBA requirements and the Single Resolution Board (SRB)
preparing necessary documentation
progress tracking using KPIs
maintaining standard group tools
reporting
extensive use of relevant Microsoft tools
MS SharePoint
360 Arrangement
ServiceNow

Nov 2021 - Mar 2022

5 months

Frankfurt, Germany

Functional Project Lead

ING-Diba AG

sub-project management in a regulatory environment
steering system harmonization (local/global)
coordination of project-related areas (local)
communication with senior management (local) and rollout manager (global)
ensuring timely and compliant delivery of work packages and their formal acceptance
planning and conducting workshops on technical topics
extensive use of relevant Microsoft tools
MS SharePoint
KYCO
Confluence
ServiceNow

May 2020 - Sep 2021

1 year 5 months

Frankfurt, Germany

Chief of Staff (Interim Management) and Digitalization Project Manager

BNP Paribas

supported the COO WM Germany in coordinating daily tasks
tracked and coordinated governance (delegation, committee meetings, etc.) for WM Germany with all stakeholders as business functions (finance, legal, compliance, etc.) and within the WM Europe IT and Operations Hub (Portugal, Switzerland, India)
assisted in developing work instructions and procedures for WM Germany
supported business units in implementing first-level controls and monitoring mitigation actions for risk reduction
ensured complete and transparent coordination between business and support functions
led front-office monitoring tools projects and improvement initiatives (e.g. lean management)
implemented KPIs and managed commercial & sales performance, analyzed KPI results
supported the Operational Risk and Permanent Control Officer (OPC) on various topics (e.g. preparing information for audits, committee support, managing new product process including compliance checks)
ensured regulatory projects were aligned with business developments
supported and managed on behalf of the COO WM Germany the implementation of strategic initiatives and follow-up on key projects (digital initiatives, etc.)
implemented a workflow tool (based on MS SharePoint) to fully digitize the client onboarding process
prepared requirements specification, defined use cases and test cases, managed testing
rolled out a continuous improvement process (CIP) for client onboarding
led a lean management project to optimize the client onboarding process
extensive use of relevant Microsoft tools
MS SharePoint
NORKOM AML
Olympic
360 Arrangements (risk management, outsourcing contracts)
DocuSign (electronic signature)

Jan 2020 - Mar 2020

3 months

Offenbach, Germany

Project Manager and Interim Manager

Landesbank Hessen-Thüringen (Helaba)

continued the project to implement ITIL processes
designed and implemented service request, event, capacity and availability management processes
evaluated sourcing options
defined services to be outsourced
prepared RFI and RFP
negotiated with potential sourcing partners
drafted requirements specification and defined use cases
tracked budget and estimated costs
prepared and led steering committee meetings at milestone decisions

Jan 2019 - Dec 2019

1 year

Offenbach, Germany

Project Manager and Interim Manager

Landesbank Hessen-Thüringen (Helaba)

set up an organizational unit (up to 8 staff)
took responsibility for IT operations processes according to ITIL v3 standard (incident, problem, change, configuration management, including development and enforcement of controls)
took responsibility for IT service continuity management process, including development and enforcement of controls (e.g. recovery plans), and coordination with business continuity management
defined governance structures (especially for ITSCM)
established process control (KPI definition and implementation in ITSM tool)
capacity planning (including recruiting)
budget planning
ensured compliance with regulatory requirements (KRITIS, BAIT, internal audit, external auditors)
introduced communication structures
designed content for the organizational unit's internet presence
prepared and led workshops and training for staff and managers (incident, problem and change management) (tools: e.g. Project Journey/Canvas)
managed the ITIL implementation project for incident, problem, change and configuration management (budget > €1M, >1,000 person-days)
managed the project to optimize ordering processes for various cloud IT services, involving IT procurement and adjusting procurement processes and systems (functional, technical, commercial) (budget > €500K, ~300 person-days)
defined and implemented the cloud service ordering process with the IT service provider
defined role concepts and job descriptions
prepared requirements specification and defined use cases
planned and led project team meetings
managed project communication
prepared and led workshops (tool: Project Journey/Canvas)
prepared and led training for staff
maintained project documentation
prepared and led steering committee meetings at milestone decisions
recruited new staff
conducted personnel reviews (development and evaluation)
Clarity
Jira
BMC Service Management Tool
Kanban boards
Project Canvas

May 2018 - Dec 2018

8 months

Cologne, Germany

Multi-Project Manager

Cologne Bonn Airport

defined and aligned project objectives with the client
conducted stakeholder and risk analyses
created work breakdown structure (tool: MindManager)
created project schedule (tool: MS Project 2016)
aligned project charter
managed project control
planned and led project team meetings
managed project communication
prepared and led workshops (tool: Project Journey/Canvas)
maintained project documentation
tracked budget and estimated costs
prepared and led steering committee meetings at milestones

Aug 2017 - Dec 2017

5 months

Frankfurt am Main, Germany

Project Manager

Deutsche WertpapierService Bank AG (dwpbank)

conducted self-assessments
performed gap analysis
derived technical requirements
engaged central departments to ensure required information (provider management, test and release management, access management, external service providers)
planned and led workshops
assessed implementation level of basic cyber security measures

Dec 2016 - Apr 2017

5 months

Frankfurt, Germany

Project Manager (Functional)

DekaBank

feasibility study on using robotic process automation to reduce process lead times and operational risks in securities processing (physical units)
process documentation
defined functional requirements with special focus on regulatory requirements (KYC, anti-money laundering, four-eyes principle)
prepared requirements specification and defined use cases

Mar 2015 - Sep 2015

7 months

Frankfurt, Germany

Project Manager (Functional)

DekaBank

improved support for institutional sales of custodial services
refined processes
introduced communication structures
planned and led workshops and regular meetings
captured sales requirements
revised sales materials
updated information in sales database
revised proposal documents
result: reduced process time for creating custodial service proposals by up to 50%

Jun 2014 - Apr 2015

11 months

Frankfurt, Germany

Project Manager (Product Developer)

DekaBank

designed, developed, implemented and rolled out a new service, considering and leveraging new regulatory requirements:
clarified legal requirements with the regulator in Luxembourg and internal guidelines
defined functional requirements
reviewed IT infrastructure for suitability
stakeholder management
pricing calculations
process adjustments
website content design
product development
process management

Apr 2013 - Sep 2013

6 months

Frankfurt, Germany

Project Staff / PMO

DekaBank

supported project management and board in internal and external communication (employees, LBB Invest, works council, supervisory board, DSGV, other savings bank organization bodies)
managed external consultants (lawyers, auditors, investment banks, management consultants)
prepared and led workshops with LBB and LBB Invest
handled administrative tasks (project office)

Mar 2011 - Dec 2012

1 year 10 months

Frankfurt, Germany

Project Manager (Functional)

DekaBank

operational responsibility (time, budget and quality) for the sub-project (budget approx. €2M)
communication and reporting to line and committees (program, technical committee, steering committee)
led 4 project staff
gathered all functional requirements, business processes and technical requirements for the chosen solution
prepared requirements specification and defined use cases
selected, contracted and managed external consultants
established a new organizational unit (group of ~10 staff, including two departments)
planned, designed and executed all necessary activities to merge decentralized units into a central unit
defined role concepts and job descriptions
set governance structures
evaluated strategic alternatives: application service providing (ASP), business process outsourcing (BPO), joint venture
software selection
process and role definition

Feb 2010 - Jan 2011

1 year

Frankfurt, Germany

Project Manager

DekaBank

operational responsibility (time, budget and quality) for the overall project (budget approx. €4M)
communication and reporting to line and committees (program, technical committee, steering committee)
managed three sub-project managers
selected, contracted and managed external consultants
processed results from the preliminary project (IT production assessment in 2009) and implemented approved measures to improve IT production in terms of stability, risk, quality, transparency and alignment with business processes
introduced a unified and binding test management process
designed release management with clear, binding interfaces between IT production, development and business units (quality gates)
integrated the revised rollout process into the change management process
optimized the existing incident management process, especially for major incidents
managed escalations; e.g. implemented a screen ticker
optimized the problem management process
designed and implemented a configuration management system
designed a functional unit aimed at efficient control of resources and processes (service control center)
defined tasks for the newly created provider management unit for IT services and technical control of the new provider (role definitions, responsibilities, KPIs)
defined a KPI system with IT production-specific control and measurement metrics, aligned with the division-wide KPI system
ITIL v2

Jun 2008 - Sep 2009

1 year 4 months

Luxembourg

Project Manager

DekaBank

operational responsibility (time, budget and quality) for the project (budget approx. €300K)
communication and reporting to line management and steering committee
selected, contracted and managed external consultants
introduced a group-wide standard process for handling incidents and problems
improved the existing change management process, including addressing audit findings
harmonized support structures
introduced KPIs and established service reporting
trained staff
analyzed current processes, tools and provider agreements
conducted gap analysis with risk assessment considering audit findings
documented incident and problem management processes
defined business impact and major incident management
established process control (KPI definition and implementation in the tool)
set up reporting
training
rollout
ITIL v2
trainings
KPI definition
reporting
process management

Summary

successful management of business & IT projects
outsourcing of processes and business units (IT and operations)
product development, business development
business analysis
provider management, sourcing, vendor selection, SLA management
regulatory compliance (GDPR, BAIT, KRITIS, MiFID)
support for project audits and WpHG reviews by external auditors or internal audit
Know Your Customer (KYC), anti-money laundering (AML)
risk management (e.g. operational risk)
business impact analysis (BIA), business continuity planning (BCP)
robotic process automation (functional, feasibility studies)
sales support
broad knowledge of securities processes (front-/middle-/back-office)
banking: wealth management, operations, clearing & settlement, custody, fund management
ITIL (service management processes; especially incident, problem and change)
Six Sigma, lean management