Christian Kählig
CEO, Founder & Managing Partner
Experience
Oct 2019 - Present
6 years 4 monthsCEO, Founder & Managing Partner
Ideas Enabled
- Served as Chief Digital Officer a.i. at a leading European travel industry player (2021-2023)
- Steered the Digital B2C unit with 100+ employees in the challenging phase of a large scale strategic transformation and re-organization in the travel industry
- Defined the strategic design of the overall Digital B2C platform and increased the direct online sales share by 2x post-covid
- Re-organized the unit around 5 pillars: CoC Business Analytics & Rules, Digital Marketing Outreach & CRM, Digital Toolkit & Platform, E-2-E Digital Experience, Content Production & Mining
- Conducted an as-is assessment (SEA & social media, SEO, UX/CX, content) including benchmarking and best practice review cross-industry
- Designed an overarching business case for three strategic scenarios to pave the most efficient way towards the ambitious mid-term goal of 30% direct online sales share
- Led key strategic initiatives dedicated to B2C brand strategy & architecture, digital B2C strategy & disintermediation, and B2B2C strategy & commissioning model re-design
- Led 100-day plan investigation initiatives around group sales commissioning and overall marketing spend effectiveness leveraging the marketing excellence framework
- Investigated and implemented AI/ML in recommendations and CR optimization
- Ran European Lean Startup Workshops as executive & employee coach for an international pharma company
Sep 2018 - Sep 2019
1 year 1 monthMunich, Germany
CEO, Managing Director
Shore
- Transformed and stabilized a challenged seven-figure ARR B2B SaaS company into a growing business with low churn (<1%), renewed culture, and foreseeable EBITDA break-even
- Increased NPS from -32 to +35 by changing leadership approach in product development and introducing features such as Insights, Appointments, and Shift Planning
- Improved customer journey and increased conversion through hypothesis-driven experimentation focusing on registration, onboarding, and upselling
- Reestablished finance & BI, established state-of-the-art reporting, and raised €1.3m in equity
May 2012 - Aug 2018
6 years 4 monthsMunich, Germany
CEO, Founder & Managing Partner
Ideas Enabled
- Served as interim executive at early stage and high growth startups to master challenges such as setup of a global product delivery (70 FTE), rollout of a new eCommerce platform in more than 10 countries, and product and marketing strategy for a two-sided business model
- Spearheaded large digital transformation programs with budget up to €14m including successful project turnarounds and launch of five mobility service startups for a business innovation unit
- Advised and coached startups in lean business, customer and product development contributing to two successful exits of a fashion eCommerce and a B2B SaaS startup
- Acted as jury member, speaker, and coach at startup events such as Lean Startup Machine
May 2006 - Apr 2012
6 yearsMunich, Germany
Head of Architecture & Chief Architect
Vodafone Kabel Deutschland
- Headed the architecture unit, defined business-oriented technology strategy, and drove projects to success contributing to critical product launches such as Video-on-Demand
- Led the strategic Enterprise SOA and BPM platform introduction from budgeting to rollout resulting in over 300 deployed business services and service reuse rate 2x benchmark
- Defined and rolled out an Enterprise Architecture Management platform fostering transparency, increasing asset reuse, and reducing IT cost by 10%
- Advised top management and business units on technology strategy and digital innovation management
Dec 2005 - Feb 2006
3 monthsMunich, Germany
Director
Ciao
- Supervised the software delivery department with 20 members in three locations (DE, RO, PL) resulting in increased motivation, cross-location collaboration, and successful relaunch of key project “Search”
Sep 2004 - Oct 2005
1 year 2 monthsMunich, Germany
Manager
Sapient
- Lead architected the definition of a SOA concept including governance and prototyping for a large Swiss telco, leading to promotion to the Strategic Advisory Board
- Crafted a .com business strategy for senior client management and led pitch presentations
- Architected and designed a state-of-the-art mobile connectivity solution for a leading German telco
- Prepared and executed professional workshops with international and multi-disciplinary participants
Jul 2001 - Aug 2004
3 years 2 monthsMunich, Germany
Management Consultant, Solution Architect & Project Manager
BCG - Platinion
- Managed planning and delivery of a large digitalization initiative for a leading insurance company resulting in Germany-wide rollout cutting business process time by over 90%
- Strategically analyzed IT landscapes to increase business support efficiency, realize cost savings up to 20%, and define IT architectures for top tier enterprises
- Spearheaded technology proof-of-concepts and turned proposal pitches into client orders
- Led internal technology group and played integral role in enhancing HR processes
Oct 2000 - Jun 2001
9 monthsMunich, Germany
Senior Technology Consultant
Viant
- Led community software product evaluation as lead tech for a large UK media company in London
- Contributed to software architecture team for design of an online trading application for the largest European investment bank in London
- Participated in business development initiatives and conducted client presentations closing deals with major clients in Germany and UK
Nov 1998 - Sep 2000
1 year 11 monthsMunich, Germany
Technology Consultant
Andersen Consulting
- Led a four-member team of senior developers responsible for planning, budgeting, development, QA, and rollout of core components at Europe’s first pure-play internet banking startup
- Analyzed, designed, and developed financial service solutions including share buyback online and core banking and brokerage platform for the European market
- Conducted competitor analyses and market, product, and technology evaluations and presented insights at international events
- Trained international staff in Internet architecture and technologies at Andersen Consulting headquarters in Chicago, USA
Oct 1996 - Oct 1998
2 years 1 monthKarlsruhe, Germany
Founder and Managing Director
Mips & Bits Innovative Systems
- Bootstrapped and established an IT system house for SMEs with six-figure revenue before sale
- Compiled high-end hardware and software systems, conducted trainings, and provided support
Summary
Driven executive with comprehensive hands-on experience in the definition and execution of digital business models in the SaaS and eCommerce industry — all that with a good sense for markets and trends.
Thought leader and expert in Lean Startup, agile program delivery, business modeling and digital strategy — track record in early stage (rise), high growth (WESTWING, zooplus, shore) and enterprise settings (Tipico, Audi, XING).
Strong business and technology background combined with excellent communication skills to lead with a strong vision and facilitate between diverse stakeholders across multiple organizational levels.
Skills
- Visionary Leadership
- Product & Technology
- P&l Management
- Strategic Planning
- Ai/ml, Analytics & Data
- Turnarounds
- Program Management
- Hr & People Development
- Financial Modeling
Languages
German
NativeEnglish
AdvancedFrench
AdvancedEducation
May 2010 - May 2011
TUM, HHL, UC Berkeley
Executive MBA in Innovation and Business Creation · Innovation and Business Creation · Berkeley, United States · Grade: A
Mar 1994 - Oct 1998
Technical University Karlsruhe
Diploma in Computer Science · Business and Computer Science (CS) · Karlsruhe, Germany · Grade: A-
Certifications & licenses
Certified ScrumMaster (CSM)
ScrumAlliance
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