Rafael De Mestre Gebauer - Project Manager Modern Workplace

Q: Where is Rafael based?

Rafael is based in Cologne, Germany and can operate in on-site , hybrid , and remote work models.

Q: What languages does Rafael speak?

Rafael speaks the following languages: German (Native), Spanish (Native), English (Advanced) .

Q: How many years of experience does Rafael have?

Rafael has at least 32 years of experience. During this time, Rafael has worked in at least 4 different roles and for 4 different companies . The average length of individual experience is 8 years . Note that Rafael may not have shared all experience and actually has more experience.

Q: What is Rafael's latest experience?

Rafael's most recent position is Project Manager Modern Workplace at Bank .

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

In recent years, Rafael has worked for Bank , International Retail Group , and TRON IT Consulting GmbH & Co. KG .

Q: Which industries is Rafael most experienced in?

Rafael is most experienced in industries like Information Technology (IT) , Professional Services , and Banking and Finance . Rafael also has some experience in Retail .

Q: Which business areas is Rafael most experienced in?

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

Q: Which industries has Rafael worked in recently?

Rafael has recently worked in industries like Information Technology (IT) , Professional Services , and Banking and Finance .

Q: Which business areas has Rafael worked in recently?

Rafael has recently worked in business areas like Information Technology (IT) and Project Management .

Recommended expert

Cologne, Germany

Experience

Jan 2024 - Dec 2025

2 years

Project Manager Modern Workplace

Bank

Planning and leading the Windows 11 23H2 rollout for 13,000 clients via SCCM
Management reporting for the steering committee and middle management, as well as automating daily reports
Project steering and optimization of client management for transferring operations to a service provider in India
Orchestrating regular meetings with the 20-member client management team in packaging, client design, and level 3 ticket handling
Organizing coordination meetings with international subsidiaries and departments
Designing and introducing automated continuous improvement processes (Evergreen) for defined software products
Coordinating and onboarding new international subsidiaries
Creating standard operating procedures, presentations, and decision papers
Technologies: GPO, PowerShell, Zscaler, Intune, Aditus, SharePoint, SQL, Confluence

Jan 2023 - Dec 2024

2 years

Patch Manager

International Retail Group

Leading Windows and Linux server patch management across European sites
Improving communication between application owners and technical staff
Planning and managing migration projects, including implementing automations and risk management
Defining documentation processes and providing training/process documentation support
Supervising Linux and Windows technicians and conducting daily/weekly status meetings
Providing onboarding support and knowledge transfer to the new outsourcing partner
Defining and supporting implementation of bring-in and bring-out service processes in ServiceNow
Supporting the migration to AVS/Azure

Jan 2002 - Present

24 years 2 months

Enterprise Project Manager

TRON IT Consulting GmbH & Co. KG

Specialist in international transition and transformation projects, data center relocations, and rollouts
Creating decision papers, presentations, concepts, communication matrices, and project plans
Structuring and coordinating technicians and subcontractors
Leading and organizing meetings, conflict management, resource and budget planning
Developer of the W.I.N. principle to identify and resolve process errors, security gaps, and deadlocks
Change management, escalation management, rollout leadership (software/hardware)
Facilitating workshops, team motivation, as well as accompanying and coaching executives
Agile & Waterfall project management in an international corporate environment

Jan 1993 - Dec 2000

8 years

Software Developer

Self-employed

Implementing various AI algorithms (Hidden-Line algorithm, parallel processing, skeleton algorithm, etc.)
Learning different programming languages (Occam, Pascal, C)
Developing an ERP system based on MySQL
Website development with Typo3 and PHP

Network Expert

Configuring and testing O2 PDAs for VPN communication in the internal network
AAA server and router configuration, firewall activation, and testing
Preparing quotes, coordinating vendors and internal departments for large clients
Migrating MS Access to SQL with design, planning, and guidance of heterogeneous programming teams
Implementing and migrating ~100 VPN routers to DMVPN

Network Specialist

WLAN rollout and connecting 360 hotels using Cisco routers, switches and access points
On-site support for commissioning and acceptance
Remote expansion of system features, IOS upgrades and configuration changes

Project Manager

Assessing and structuring open issues for an energy provider
Developing optimization proposals and decision-making documents
Implementing standards and communication plans
Automating tailored information distribution
Managing change processes, leading workshops and conflict management
KPI reporting and project plan tracking

Project Manager

Building 255 data centers with over 1000 active components and 400+ servers for Schengen EU border security
Team lead for 25 staff and a budget of €20 million
Network design review, Level 3 troubleshooting, VoIP implementation and rollout planning
Promoted to network team lead after 3 months and to head of IT infrastructure after 9 months
Defining missing processes, interface management and coordinating parallel projects
Acceptance, handover to operations team and training on incident/config management

Project Manager WAN Consolidation

Consolidation of WAN links in a bank merger project
Provider coordination and controlling as well as monitoring of line switches
Automating tailored information distribution and KPI reporting

Subproject Lead Processes & Documentation

Creating IP and network plan for financial administration (Oracle, SAP, in-house developments, SQL)
Proposing an IP network architecture including WLAN and IP printers under security requirements
Defining SLAs, reporting and documenting processes and architecture
Orchestrating involved parties and quality assurance

Technical Consultant

Level 3 support and setup of remote workplaces for aviation customers
Process design, ordering and setup of VPN products and firewall rules
WAN sanity check with live recording and analysis via Wireshark
VPN network rollout and troubleshooting

Transition Manager

Led the transition of an ERP subsystem to SAP with a focus on defining KPIs
End-to-end design, testing and configuration of data collection at cell towers
Coordination with security, operations and SAP FI/HR interfaces up to creating SQL queries

Project Manager Data Center Move

IBM (on assignment)

Oversight of subcontractors and inventory of the customer's infrastructure
Process optimization and coordination of client meetings
Project planning for the target environment together with the network and security team
Reporting and quality assurance for country migrations
Planning and managing the move of a multi-vendor infrastructure into the central data center

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 (32 years), Professional Services (24 years), Banking and Finance (2 years), and Retail (2 years).

Information Technology

Professional Services

Banking and Finance

Retail

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 Information Technology (32 years), Project Management (24 years), Product Development (8 years), and Research and Development (8 years).

Information Technology

Project Management

Product Development

Research and Development

Summary

Structured Agile & Waterfall project manager with a strong talent for motivating team members on how work processes can be optimized. Solid technical and project management knowledge.

Working style: optimizing and accelerating processes, reducing operating costs, minimizing risks, always keeping the big picture in mind. Collaborating with involved stakeholders to develop solutions and decision papers, orchestrating workflows in development and operations (continuous improvement). Bringing business-critical processes and projects to completion with balanced use of available resources. Motivating, empowering, and developing teams, involving stakeholders, building strong cooperation and trusting relationships.

Highly motivated, responsible self-starter with drive and a keen eye for IT operations and security. Resilient and goal-oriented with a passion for quickly mastering new technologies and tools.

In short: Mr. Possible

Skills

International Transition And Transformation Projects
Data Center Relocations
Rollouts
Industries: Banking, Insurance, Telecommunications, Aviation, Energy Utilities, Retail
Microsoft Product Range
Itsm
Confluence
Jira
Sql
Network Protocols
Creation Of Decision Papers, Presentations, Concepts, Communication Matrices, Project Plans
Structuring And Coordinating Technicians And Subcontractors
Leading And Organizing Meetings
Conflict Management
Resource And Budget Planning
Development And Application Of The W.i.n. Principle To Identify And Resolve Process Errors, Security Gaps, And Deadlocks In Corporations
Change Management
Escalation Management
Rollout Leadership (Software/hardware)
Planning, Monitoring, And Ensuring Adherence To The Project Timeline
Facilitating Workshops
Team Motivation
Accompanying And Coaching Executives
Proposing Optimizations And Supporting Implementation For Quality Assurance

Languages

German

Native

Spanish

Native

English

Advanced

Education

Computer Science · Bonn, Germany

PhD, automation in the digital publication process · Computer Science · Zürich, Switzerland

Mathematics · Düsseldorf, Germany

...and 2 more

Certifications & licenses

ITIL V3 Foundation

Prince 2

Profile

Created

July 2022

Last Update

December 2025

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Frequently asked questions

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

Where is Rafael based?

Rafael is based in Cologne, Germany and can operate in on-site, hybrid, and remote work models.

What languages does Rafael speak?

Rafael speaks the following languages: German (Native), Spanish (Native), English (Advanced).

How many years of experience does Rafael have?

Rafael has at least 32 years of experience. During this time, Rafael has worked in at least 4 different roles and for 4 different companies. The average length of individual experience is 8 years. Note that Rafael may not have shared all experience and actually has more experience.

What roles would Rafael be best suited for?

Based on recent experience, Rafael would be well-suited for roles such as: Project Manager Modern Workplace, Patch Manager, Enterprise Project Manager.

What is Rafael's latest experience?

Rafael's most recent position is Project Manager Modern Workplace at Bank.

What companies has Rafael worked for in recent years?

In recent years, Rafael has worked for Bank, International Retail Group, and TRON IT Consulting GmbH & Co. KG.

Which industries is Rafael most experienced in?

Rafael is most experienced in industries like Information Technology (IT), Professional Services, and Banking and Finance. Rafael also has some experience in Retail.

Which business areas is Rafael most experienced in?

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

Which industries has Rafael worked in recently?

Rafael has recently worked in industries like Information Technology (IT), Professional Services, and Banking and Finance.

Which business areas has Rafael worked in recently?

Rafael has recently worked in business areas like Information Technology (IT) and Project Management.

What is Rafael's education?

Rafael holds a Doctorate in Computer Science.

Does Rafael have any certificates?

Rafael has 2 certificates. These include: ITIL V3 Foundation and Prince 2.

What is the availability of Rafael?

Rafael is immediately available full-time for suitable projects.

What is the rate of Rafael?

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