Strategy, Leadership and Impact.
A family-owned business group with more than 40 years of experience in technical documentation, localisation and information management was facing a structural challenge. Long-standing expertise and trusted customer relationships remained key strengths, yet the company was increasingly associated with stability rather than innovation. At the same time, digitalisation, automation and emerging technologies were fundamentally changing customer expectations and market dynamics, while earlier transformation initiatives had not delivered the desired impact.
– Rapidly changing customer requirements driven by digitalisation, automation and new technologies
– More than 40 years of industry expertise recognised for quality and reliability, but not associated with innovation
– Brand perception increasingly linked to tradition rather than future-oriented solutions
– Previously launched transformation initiatives delivered limited organisational impact
– Fragmented brand, organisational and sales structures complicated group-wide alignment and positioning
– Siloed thinking across business units and countries limited the execution of joint growth initiatives
– Lack of standards, duplicated structures and manual processes reduced efficiency, transparency and scalability
The objective was not to replace the company’s successful heritage, but to evolve it under changing market and technology conditions. The transformation focused on strengthening market positioning, unlocking new growth opportunities, building scalable organisational structures and securing the long-term future of the business group.
– Develop a shared future vision for employees, leaders, business units and customers
– Establish a foundation-based ownership structure together with the owner to secure the long-term future and independence of the business group
– Transform existing business models and unlock new growth opportunities
– Strengthen the company’s positioning as an innovative solutions provider while harmonising brand and portfolio across the DACH region
– Build agile cross-functional and cross-country structures with clear responsibilities and governance
– Digitise and automate core business processes to increase efficiency, scalability and create investment capacity for AI initiatives
As Director Marketing & Sales, I developed a holistic transformation approach across business model, brand, organisation and culture. The objective was to combine the company’s established strengths with emerging technologies, unlock new growth opportunities and position the business group for long-term success. By combining strategy, organisation, technology and leadership, I created an integrated transformation programme spanning the entire business group. The transformation focused on five strategic areas.
01. Future Vision & Corporate Development
– Developed a shared future vision across business units, locations and leadership teams
– Aligned and coordinated strategic initiatives with the owner, executive board and supervisory board
– Anchored the transformation through strategy and future-oriented leadership workshops
– Developed and implemented a foundation-based ownership structure to secure the long-term future of the business group
– Prioritised and managed strategic transformation initiatives across business units and locations
02. Business Model Transformation & Innovation
– Analysed market, customer and competitive opportunities to identify new growth areas
– Transformed existing business models and expanded the product and service portfolio
– Developed a digitalisation and AI strategy to future-proof the core business
– Piloted and integrated AI applications into internal workflows and business processes
– Introduced product-tiering, cross-selling concepts and lead-funnel structures to unlock new revenue opportunities
03. Brand Strategy & Market Positioning
– Developed a new corporate positioning for the business group
– Harmonised brand architecture, portfolio strategy, service offerings and market presence across the DACH region
– Established a centralised newsroom to plan, manage and evaluate communication activities
– Implemented a corporate influencer program and strengthened thought leadership, social selling and digital expert visibility
04. Organisation, Leadership & Collaboration
– Centralised and reorganised the DACH marketing organisation
– Integrated, restructured and rebuilt the sales organisation as Director Marketing & Sales
– Introduced agile cross-functional and cross-country collaboration and governance models
– Enabled organisational change through structured communication and active employee engagement
– Conducted business coaching and leadership development programs to strengthen ownership and accountability
05. Processes, Synergies & Scalability
– Introduced centralised project, ticket and sprint management structures to improve transparency, prioritisation and collaboration
– Established a centralised knowledge and process management framework
– Standardised, digitised and automated core business processes
– Leveraged synergies across resources, capabilities and business processes throughout the group
– Identified and realised efficiency gains to create investment capacity for technology and AI initiatives
– Established KPI-driven management and reporting structures
Future Secured Through Foundation Ownership
Created the foundation for a long-term and independent future of the business group
Transformation Driven by Technology & Leadership
Aligned technology, culture and leadership for sustainable transformation
Higher Efficiency Through
AI & Centralisation
Maintained quality while reducing costs and increasing output
Positioned for
Long-Term Growth
Future-proofed the organisation, processes and market positioning
01. Future Vision & Corporate Development
– Secured the long-term future of the business group through the implementation of a foundation ownership model
– Successfully established a shared future vision for employees, leadership teams, locations and customers
– Embedded strategic priorities and transformation initiatives together with the owner, executive board and supervisory board
02. Business Model Transformation & Innovation
– Established digitalisation and AI as strategic growth drivers across the business group
– Strengthened the competitiveness of the existing business model by combining established core capabilities with emerging technologies
– Unlocked new business opportunities and growth areas through digital solutions and strategic partnerships
03. Brand Strategy & Market Positioning
– Positioned the business group as an innovative solutions provider by combining industry expertise, digitalisation and emerging technologies
– Harmonised brand architecture, product portfolio and service offerings into a unified market presence across the DACH region
– Integrated marketing, communications and sales to strengthen lead generation, cross-selling and upselling
– Introduced centralised digital communication channels including newsletters, social media and online events
– Established a centralised newsroom and editorial planning framework to coordinate, manage and optimise communication activities across channels
– Implemented social selling via LinkedIn combined with a corporate influencer program to position internal experts as industry thought leaders — increasing LinkedIn reach by +220% within 12 months (from 900 to more than 3,000 followers)
– Developed a product-tiering strategy and sales funnel including lead magnets, webinars and expert formats to systematically generate demand — establishing a bi-monthly webinar series with an average of 100 participants per event
– Unlocked new lead generation, cross-selling and upselling opportunities through the new sales and communication approach
04. Organisation, Leadership & Collaboration
– Transformed a decentralised country organisation into a centralised marketing organisation closely aligned with sales
– Reorganised and rebuilt the sales organisation through its integration into the Marketing & Sales division
– Established agile, hybrid and interdisciplinary collaboration across Marketing, Sales, PR, Digital, Academy and Process Design within an international team
– Developed a performance- and accountability-driven culture through talent development, business coaching and the promotion of ownership
– Introduced agile ways of working, sprint planning, retrospectives and cross-functional governance structures to improve transparency and collaboration
05. Processes, Synergies & Scalability
– Significantly improved transparency, prioritisation and collaboration across the business group
– Centralised organisational knowledge, processes and standards and made them accessible across all locations
– Increased efficiency, quality and scalability through standardisation, digitalisation and automation
– Realised group-wide synergies by consolidating resources, capabilities and business processes
– Created additional investment capacity for technology, AI and innovation initiatives, supporting the group’s long-term transformation
Further information and references relating to this case are available upon request.
The following competencies were applied throughout this project and reflect the core areas of my expertise.
