ANDREAS DIETRICH WESTENDÖRPF
Chief Technology & Product Officer, Software Nerd
ABOUT ME
As a people-centric Chief Technology & Product Officer, I thrive in driving digital transformation and exploring new business models in scale-up environments. With a proven track record of leading diverse, high-performing teams through rapid growth and change, I excel in developing technology strategies from discovery to high-velocity delivery. My leadership style is rooted in empathy, values, and collaboration, ensuring impactful and sustainable growth.
KEY EXPERTISE
Business+Tech Leadership
Outcome-focused Tech Strategy
User-centric Tech Product Development
Scaling Empowered Tech Product Teams
Anti-fragile Software Engineering
Tech Organization Development
Diverse Tech People & Culture
International Consulting
Agilization / Restructuring / Change Mgt.
Data Privacy & IT Security
BUSINESS OWNERSHIP
Direct staff headcount: 20-200
Managed Revenue: >12mn EUR p.a.
Managed Budget: >25mn EUR p.a.
Reporting line: direct to board / founder
Team Leadership since 2011
IT + Management Consulting since 2005
PROFESSIONAL EXPERIENCE
Emma Sleep GmbH - The Sleep Company — Chief Technology Officer (CTO) — Frankfurt a. M. (Germany) + remote, 3 years, 10 months
Engel & Völkers Technology GmbH — Managing Director + Chief Technology Officer (CTO) — Hamburg (Germany), 3 years 7 months
Zalando SE — Head of Digital Productivity — Head of internal IT — Berlin (Germany), 2 years
KPMG WPG AG — Manager IT Consulting — Frankfurt a. M. (Germany), 1 year 5 months
Comma Soft AG — Senior Consultant — Bonn (Germany), 1 year 3 months
Detecon Inc. — Consultant — Reston, VA (USA), 5 months
Detecon International GmbH — Head of Team Data Center Management — Senior Consultant — Consultant — Business Analyst — Bonn (Germany), 5 years 5 months
Freelance — Software Engineering Consultant — St. Augustin (Germany), 1 year 10 months
Freelance — IT Administrator — Web Developer — Academic Intern — Bonn + St. Augustin (Germany), New York City, NY (USA), Cologne (Germany), 7 years 2 months
KEY LEADERSHIP CONCEPTS
Motivation3.0 (Purpose / Autonomy / Mastery)
Radical Candor
Outcome > Output > Input
Empowered Tech Product Management
Team Topologies
Missions & Launchpads
Servant Leadership, Leaders eat Last
PROFESSIONAL EDUCATION
2000 - 2005: University of Applied Sciences Bonn-Rhein-Sieg — Computer Sciences / Media Informatics, Diploma of Science in Computer Science (M.Sc. in Computer Science) — St. Augustin (Germany)
1995 - 2000: Gymnasium Lohmar — Abitur, corresponding general qualification for university entrance 'A' levels — Lohmar (Germany)
1993 - 1995: German School Moscow — Moscow (Russia)
1987 - 1993: German School Geneva — Geneva (Switzerland)
INDUSTRY EXPERIENCE
E-Commerce & Online Retail (D2C/B2C/B2B)
Real Estate Brokerage / PropTech
IT Services
Financial Services / Banking
Telecoms / ISP
Government / NGO
Mechanical Engineering
IT & Management Consulting
TECHNICAL SKILLS
Software Architecture & Design: Legacy & modern/cloud/composable tech patterns and architecture
Software Engineering Culture: Agile software development processes (SCRUM, Kanban, mixes), DevOps, GitFlow, Trunk-based, Software Quality, eXtreme programming, …
Software Delivery: Continuous Integration & Continuous Delivery (CI/CD) in Cloud DevOps environments (AWS, GCP, Azure)
Data Analytics: Data modeling, ETL/ELT, analytics, data mining, ML/AI
Tech Stacks: various - Typescript/JavaScript, Java+Kotlin, golang, Python, Swift, PHP, SQL, GraphQL
MEMBERSHIPS & CERTIFICATIONS
04/2023: ADPList Mentor
03/2022: MACH Alliance Ambassador
01/2017: Alphalist Member
01/2011: Professional Sales on Executive Level (AVINA)
12/2009: PRINCE2 Practitioner in Project Management
12/2008: MPLS - Architecture and Design
09/2007: ITIL Foundation in IT Service Management
INVESTMENTS & MENTORING
04/2024: Repath GmbH
ClimateTech SaaS Startup
VOLUNTEERING
Hochschule Bremen – City University of Applied Sciences:
Guest Lecturer 2022, 2021KaJe Jötterfunke e.V.: Founding member of the non-profit Cologne-based carnival club
Johanniter Unfallhilfe e.V.: Paramedic (Sanitätshelfer) of the civil protection unit (Katastrophenschutzeinheit)
HOBBIES & INTERESTS
Computer Science fundamentals and early computing history
Classic cars (owner of a 1969 Ford Mustang 302cci Convertible)
Photography & Graphic Design
Music & HiFi
LANGUAGES
German (native)
English (fluent)
French, Russian (basic)
For an extended professional profile and detailed project list as PDF, please request directly at andreas@westendoerpf.de.