1. How do you drink your coffee?
I like to drink a cappuccino in the morning. Otherwise, black with a dash of milk - preferably that it has a nice golden-brown color.
2. You've been in the banking and insurance industry for a very long time. What motivated you to work in these industries for so long?
I've been in these two industries for more than 25 years now. My journey began in 1997 with my first project as an Infrastructure Consultant at Vereinsbank München, which later became part of Hypovereinsbank and is now part of UniCredit. There I supported an infrastructure project for the migration to Windows NT 4, where I was responsible for the deployment, especially the automated installation of Windows NT 4.
Since then, my interest and fascination for banks and insurances has never left me. Both industries are in a constant state of change and conversion, which always brings up current and diverse topics - from increasing economic efficiency and digitizing value creation to creating positive client experiences and the topic of New Work.
3. What do you see as today's opportunities and challenges?
It’s important to keep an eye on the slowing and diverging economy, also for the next years. There are a variety of issues in this context, including, for example, a hesitant decline in inflation, disruptions in supply chains, weather-related extreme events (especially in the insurance industry), ongoing geopolitical tensions, a reorganization of trade relations and, last but not least, the issue of cybersecurity.
Increasing client requirements, competition to attract and retain clients and a high level of price sensitivity confront banks and insurance companies with continuous challenges. In order to meet these challenges and take advantage of opportunities, the ability to adapt quickly and a short time-to-market are crucial. IT and technology play an important role here as a catalyst for addressing challenges and opportunities.
Especially in the insurance industry it becomes increasingly important to prevent losses from occurring in the first place rather than simply reacting to risks. Artificial intelligence offers great potential here, and there are already significant developments in this area.
4. Which technologies are currently in demand among banks and insurance companies?
Banks and insurance companies are currently particularly interested in artificial intelligence technologies that cover the entire life cycle of these companies. Otherwise, technologies in the areas of modernization, transformation, data-driven insurance and client-centric banking/insurance play an important role.
5. Which tech trend can we expect in the next few years?
Augmented reality will certainly continue to make enormous progress. In the future, we will be able to hold a wide variety of virtual meetings using VR glasses, for example. But shopping experiences can also be changed with AR, for example by displaying product information, reviews and ratings on products. Autonomous driving is experiencing strong development and I find the idea of air cabs particularly fascinating. Beyond that, I think a lot will happen in human-machine interaction.
6. What motivated you to join jambit?
I was approached by a recruitment consultant, even though I wasn't actually looking for a job. She explained to me how important the employees at jambit are. This topic also came up again and again in conversations with Alisha from the recruiting team. That ultimately convinced me to start at jambit. And I can now confirm that a lot of value is actually placed on the employees here - I really like that. The success of jambit depends on the jambitees and they are treated accordingly.
7. Where can people find you when you're not working?
I’m a family man with a wife and three children. In my free time, I enjoy spending time with my family, especially cooking and eating together. In summer, we like to go to a beer garden. If there's any time left, I pursue my passion for photography, especially from the air, with my two drones.
8. What went wrong in your career that you can laugh about now?
A few years ago, I had an important sales meeting with a client in Frankfurt. It involved a seven-figure proposal presentation. I planned my train journey so that I had enough lead time to get to the client on time. Shortly before Frankfurt, the train came to a standstill. I waited for a while, but when it didn't go any further, I got off and took a cab.
I arrived at the client's premises at the very last minute, stressed and nervous. I was told that the appointment was canceled because my contacts were on a train that broke down. It turned out that they were on the same train that I was on before. I only had to go two carriages further and then we would have been sitting together. In the end, the appointment had to be postponed and all the stress and hassle was for nothing. I didn't think it was funny at the time, but when I'm on the train today and think back to the appointment, I have to smile.
9. Which tip would you give your former self?
Don't always take everything too seriously. The world doesn't stand still, it always goes on somehow...
