Thomas Sternkopf
Instructor/Trainer
Experience
Instructor/Trainer
German Federal Pension Insurance
- Introduction of agile working methods
- Introduction to SCRUM, KANBAN, and Design Thinking
- Conducting 32 training days (public tender)
Interim Petrol Project Manager / Agile Product Manager / Change, Organizational Development, and Transformation Coach
Scheidt & Bachmann
- Restructuring the retail fuel organization to a customer-focused structure
- Strategy and methods consulting, and workshops with the management council (daily support)
- Introduction of lean agile portfolio management
- Internal trainings on SAFe, agile methods, big room planning, and an agile mindset
- Roll-out of a modern checkout and inventory management system for 2,000 Shell stations in Germany (cloud solution)
- Restructuring the project to meet time, quality, and budget requirements
- Single point of contact for Shell management
- Development and coordination of deployment and cut-over plans
- Prioritization of requirements and alignment with the client
- Reporting line to Scheidt & Bachmann’s executive management
Agile Transformation Coach
BG Phoenics
- Supporting, training, and coaching the change management team to introduce new processes and scalable agile frameworks
- Conducting client-specific trainings (~30–40 training days)
- Acting as a sparring partner for leaders
- Moderating cross-company strategic workshops
- Supporting organizational development and coordination with business units
- Strategy development and situational analysis
- Regular feedback workshops to assess goal, value, and strategic alignment
- Introduction of SAFe® as SPC
Interim Manager (Change and Transformation Manager, IT Program Manager)
AOK Saxony-Anhalt
- Digitalization and agile transformation of company processes and customer communication (AOK 2022)
- Consulting and coaching both first and second-level management to establish efficient lean-agile portfolio management
- Mandate, acting as a sparring partner with a reporting line to the board
- Interim CTO for digitalization IT; building and handing over to successor
- Introduction of a company-wide communication strategy
- Moderating strategic workshops and implementing agile methods
- Regular synchronization meetings, feedback loops, and resetting of transformation goals
- Building an internal PPM team (portfolio and process management)
- Establishment of a scanning center: tender, contract negotiations, and team setup
- Conducting over 40 customized agility and lean trainings
Managing Partner
sternkopf-consulting GmbH
- Supporting change and transformation programs in the context of digitalization and agile transformation
- Developing implementation strategies for organizational development measures
- Facilitating strategic workshops up to board level
- Conducting trainings for leadership development, agile leadership, and Agile Transformation Coach courses
- Initiator, design, and implementation of the “Agile Transformation Coach” program for the Chamber of Industry and Commerce Dortmund
Interim Manager and Lean Portfolio Manager
AGCS (Allianz Global Corporate & Specialty)
- Strategic initiative EIM (Enterprise Information Management): Replacement of the existing management information system
- Initiator of the Agile transformation (SAFe® 4.5)
- Setup and establishment of the Lean Agile Center of Excellence and Agile PMO
- Definition of strategy, development needs, and change management roadmap with board members and first-level management
- Coaching, training, and consulting for Agile transformation
- Synchronization and evaluation of measures to ensure sustainable benefits
- Introduction of SAP HANA EE as the target platform at the infrastructure provider
- Stabilization and control of the EIM and IFRS17 programs under the portfolio
- Direct reporting line to COO, CFO, and CIO
Executive IT Program Manager
Generali Deutschland Informatik Services GmbH
- Setup of a group-wide digital customer communication platform (standard software DOPIX)
- Development of a blueprint and roadmap for a phased project approach
- Definition of change and transformation processes in coordination with the boards of the insurance companies
- Management of the change and transformation process in business units and IT
- Management of project managers (IT and business) in strategic projects
- Initiation of outsourcing for software development and test factory to India
- Management of tender and vendor selection processes including contract negotiations
- Leadership responsibility for 5 project managers and about 300 employees
- Reduction of project duration by 5 years with a 30% budget saving
- Introduction of agile methods for requirements gathering and application development
Vice President IT (DHL Global Forwarding)
DHL Global Management GmbH
- Architecture and design of a globally standardized logistics platform to replace 1,600 legacy applications
- Management of implementation in development, quality assurance, operations, and maintenance
- Definition of change and transformation processes in coordination with transformation managers and the CIO
- Facilitation of strategic workshops at board and senior management levels with participants from 60 countries
- Management of tender and selection processes for service providers (>€150 million)
- Leadership of a project organization of 175 employees (25 internal, 150 external)
- Development of a global template as the world's largest SAP installation for 250 countries
- Rollout of SAP CRM, BI Cognos, FileNet in 96 countries
- Establishment of a Center of Business Intelligence for key performance indicator systems
IT Program Director
Zurich Insurance Group / Zurich Financial Services
- Multi-project management for an insurance platform in Latin America (Venezuela, Brazil, Argentina, Bolivia, Chile, Mexico)
- Establishment of the development hub in Buenos Aires
- Definition of change and transformation processes with global board members
- Management of the change and transformation process in Latin American business units and IT
- Responsibility for application management and coordination of service providers in 5 countries
- Reporting to global senior management and global CIO
- Functional and disciplinary leadership of 70 employees
- On-time delivery of the IT platform in Venezuela and Brazil within budget
Lead IT Program Manager
Global Electronic Document Management
- Crisis and facilitation management of the strategic eFile/Taskmanager project (FileNet)
- Design, setup, and integration of a standardized global solution
- Planning and organization of the rollout in 90 countries
- Definition of change and transformation processes with European board members
- Facilitation and coordination of subject matter experts to agree on a global archiving standard
IT Program Manager
Output Management
- Stabilization and strategic realignment of the Output Management solution (Papyrus Objects)
- Building an account management team in the Center of Excellence
- Leading multiple strategic business projects with board-level reporting
- Managing a team (8 internal, 30 external, 50 associated department staff)
- Implementing ITIL processes and negotiating SLAs
- Negotiating contracts for nearshore/offshore resources
- Crisis and de-escalation management and on-time rollout of the platform
Head of Base Support Department (Program Manager)
Base Support
- Organizing 2nd level support
- Supporting internal customers and external service providers
- Implementing and launching the DRS project (electronic mailbox)
- Connecting and maintaining document management and workflow systems in Germany and Switzerland
- Managing 12 internal employees
- Improving service level agreements
Business Analyst
Base Support
- Managing interfaces for BI, data warehouse, archiving, workflow, and document management systems
- Ensuring stable operations between IT, business units, and external service providers (CSC)
- Meeting the highest SLA levels
- Enhancing the BI database system
Application Developer
- Designing, implementing, test management, and production rollout of the BI database system
- Creating statistical reports for sales control
- Developing and improving commission systems in Austria and Germany
Specialist and Manager
Various restaurant and hotel establishments
- Several roles as an experienced specialist and manager in renowned restaurant and hotel establishments in Germany and Switzerland
Summary
Thomas Sternkopf is a passionate Senior Agile Coach and experienced transformation and change manager, as well as a digital & agile organizational development manager who can steer, facilitate, and implement change processes and major strategic initiatives with empathy, methodological expertise, and assertiveness. As an interim manager for complex transformation and organizational change challenges, he supports clients and executive boards as a sparring partner and works with them to develop the necessary measures and strategies. Thomas Sternkopf has many years of experience designing and implementing complex international IT and business projects. He is used to developing strategies with employee involvement. Aligning leaders along the change management roadmap and regularly reviewing transformation goals and necessary adjustments are part of his responsibilities to ensure value and strategic alignment. Moderating strategy workshops at board, management, and staff levels comes naturally to him. Solid skills in multi-project management, program management, and portfolio management across multiple sites worldwide round out his professional profile. As a trained and certified SPC 5.1 (SAFe® Program Consultant) and as initiator and trainer of the Chamber of Industry and Commerce Dortmund’s “Agile Transformation Coach” program, he is also able to organize the “digital & agile transformation” and the accompanying change.
Skills
- Interim And Program Management
- Change And Transformation Management
- Organizational Development
- Stakeholder Management
- Portfolio Management
- Digitalization
- C-level Consulting
- It Strategy (Definition And Development)
- Sap Roll-out Worldwide
- Sap Hana Ee
- Sap S/4
- Safe® Program Consultant (Spc® 5.1)
- Release Train Engineer (Rte® 5.1)
- Lean Agile Portfolio Management
- Lean Methods
- Initiator And Trainer Of The “Agile Transformation Coach” Program (Chamber Of Industry And Commerce Dortmund)
- Digitalization (Business Processes, Customer Communication)
- Change And Transformation (Strategy And Implementation)
- Organizational & Employee/leadership Development
- Interim Management For Strategic Initiatives (Business & It)
- Agile/safe® Spc Trainer, Agile Coaching And Mentoring
- It & Business Trainings: Agile Leadership / Supportive Leadership
- Brand Owner: “Energetic Business Culture Framework®”
- Training Academy: Stellla® (Lifelong Learning)
- Initiator, Design, And Implementation Of The “Agile Transformation Coach” Program For The Chamber Of Industry And Commerce Dortmund
Languages
Education
Heinrich Herz Vocational College
State-certified technician, specializing in computer science · Computer Science · Bonn, Germany · 1.5
Hotel Breidenbacher Hof
Restaurant specialist · Restaurant specialist · Düsseldorf, Germany
Dortmund University of Applied Sciences
Electrical Engineering · Dortmund, Germany
Certifications & licenses
AEVO (Trainer Aptitude Certificate)
Agile Transformation Coach (Chamber of Industry and Commerce Dortmund)
ITIL Foundation Examination
Leading SAFe® (Certified SAFe® 5 Agilist)
SAFe® (RTE) Release Train Engineer (5.1)
SAFe® (SPC) Implementing SAFe® Course (5.1)
SAFe® DevOps (Certified SAFe® 5 DevOps Practitioner)
SAFe® Scrum Master /Certified SAFe® SCM 5.1
SAFe® for Teams 5.1
SPC 5.1 (SAFe® Program Consultant)
acadCERT (certified according to DIN EN ISO 9001:2015)
acadCERT (approved provider under AZAV)
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