Operational

Vattenfall

Head of Network — pan-European data, voice, and video network, more than 600 sites

Role
Head of Network
Period
04 / 2012 – 06 / 2016
Location
Amsterdam / Berlin / Gliwice / Hamburg / Stockholm
Status
Completed
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An initially six-month interim mandate that turned into more than four years.

Context

Joined as an interim manager on a six-month brief. The brief grew into four years of operational responsibility for the pan-European data, voice, and video network — more than 600 sites across several countries and offshore installations.

Contribution

Restructuring of a previously unclear organisational and decision-making set-up. A deliberate break with the Vattenfall IT norm: consistent delegation, ownership, and accountability as leadership principles. The team was run differently from comparable units in the group environment — and this paid off operationally.

Design and execution of a 150-million-euro outsourcing programme across four countries. Strategic rationale: IT network operations are necessary infrastructure for Vattenfall, but not core business — and therefore belong with a specialised partner. A substantial part of the in-house team transferred to the receiving provider as part of the outsourcing, carrying the prior ownership culture across the boundary. Leading the IT carve-outs in Poland, Finland, and the Netherlands to support asset divestments as part of Vattenfall’s portfolio realignment.

Stepped out once the team was running independently — the declared goal of the mandate. Run primarily out of Berlin and Stockholm, with regular on-site presence at the other locations in Amsterdam, Hamburg, and Gliwice.