02/17/2026 updated

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Senior IT Operations and Business Transformation Executive

Laranca, Cyprus
Worldwide
Master of Business Administration (MBA)
Laranca, Cyprus
Worldwide
Master of Business Administration (MBA)

Profile attachments

Alexander Etzel 2026.docx
Alexander Etzel 2026.pdf

About me

Bi-lingual C Level Operations and IT Executive with broad international experience establishing, implementing and managing the strategic direction of Business Operations and Information Technology for global corporations. Fluent in English and German.

Artificial IntelligenceAmazon Web ServicesAutomationMultilingualismBMC Remedy Action Request SystemBusiness ProcessesBusiness PlanningBusiness Process OutsourcingStrategic ManagementBusiness TransformationInvestmentsChange ManagementCloud ComputingEXEC (Scripting Language)ComplianceCost ReductionData CentersDecision Support SystemsRAIDEnterprise Resource PlanningFinancesFinancial PlanningGovernanceInformation Technology Infrastructure Libraries (ITIL)Information Technology OperationsTechnology StrategiesIT Service ManagementProject ManagementSAP ERPOffshoringOperations ManagementOrganizational ArchitectureOutsourcingProduct Family EngineeringAnsibleRestructuringRisk AnalysisSales ManagementSAP HANAService QualityStakeholder ManagementOracle Fusion MiddlewareSupplier EvaluationUser AssistanceWorkflowsZabbixOperating ModelsInformation Technology OutsourcingAdministrative OperationsGrafanaCost OptimisationTeam BuildingGitLabUipathCoaching and MentoringTeam ManagementOffshore WorkSafety PrinciplesTerraformManaging SuppliersSplunkRisk ManagementDynatraceServicenowVMware
Bi-lingual C Level Operations and IT Executive with broad international experience establishing, implementing and
managing the strategic direction of Business Operations and Information Technology for global corporations. Drives cost reduction, improved performance and financial results. Creates the supporting organizational design to allow peak
performance from the people that run them while developing highly motivated teams. Unique ability to balance strategic thinking with execution contributing to bottom line results. Proven expertise in change, transformation, integration, administration and risk management across a broad range of areas, systems and markets. Fluent in English and German.

Career Summary

  1. 23+ years of international project management experience for large scale enterprises.
  2. 10+ years of experience in developing short-, medium- and long-term IT strategies including legacy replacements, IT outsourcing, Off-shoring, Data Center operations, Automation and ERP.
  3. MGMT: 15+ years of management experience ranging from team lead of 3-5 directs to being a manager of over 300 resources.
  4. EXEC: 8+ years of managing large cross-functional and multi country (transformation) programs as well as offshoring project with multimillion Euro investments.
  5. Strong motivator and team player with effective personal presence and exceptional ability to understand human interactions, facilitate teamwork, build rapport, managingconflict, lead, coach and counsel.

Core Capabilities

  1. Strategy & Transformation
IT strategy, target operating models (TOM) and transformation roadmaps; IT4IT / ITIL-aligned service value streams and process harmonization; Cloud & operations transformation (hybrid/cloud ops, operating model, resilience); Automation & AI enablement (GenAI/ML delivery, AIOps, RPA/agentic workflows)
  1. Delivery & Governance
Program/portfolio leadership, recovery & turnaround delivery; Governance frameworks (SteerCo, KPIs/OKRs, RAID, decision rights); Vendor / multi-supplier management, sourcing & offshoring governance; Quality, risk, compliance and non-functional readiness (SLI/SLO, gates)
  1. Platforms & Technology (among others)
ERP & enterprise platforms (SAP ECC/S/4HANA, Oracle Fusion Cloud); ITSM platforms & service operations (ServiceNow, BMC Remedy/Helix); Platform engineering (AWS, VMWare, Open Shift); Observability & monitoring (Dynatrace, Splunk, Grafana, Zabbix); Infrastructure as Code & automation (GitLab, Terraform, Ansible, UiPath)
  1. Leadership & Finance
C-level stakeholder management, executive communication and decision support; People leadership across multi-country, multi-cultural environments; Budget ownership, cost transparency and cost optimization; Coaching, mentoring, organizational design and change management


Experience

Professional experience10+ years
Freelancer since2002

Languages

GermanNative speakerEnglishFluent

Project history

Director Technology Operations Airbus

Capgemini

Internet & IT

>10.000 team member

As Program Director for Capgemini’s largest client (Airbus), led end-to-end onboarding and integration into a secured (“capsuled”) AWS cloud operations platform spanning monitoring, ITSM and enterprise automation—raising automated incident remediation from 18% to 60% and request automation from 21% to 55%, delivering >€1.5M IT ops cost savings.
  1. Directed IT Operations (incl. onboarding), Operational Excellence and IT Service Operations across three European countries, managing €13.3M IT and €8.7M Operations budgets with a global team of 100+ staff.
  2. Owned a portfolio of nine operational streams spanning 24/7 operations, automation, ITSM & asset management, monitoring, analytics, reporting and security.
  3. Established end-to-end governance across ideation, prioritization, resourcing, demand/capacity planning and delivery methodology.
  4. Transitioned delivery from manual “big-bang” releases to an automated CI/CD operating model with integrated quality and security gates, enabling frequent, low-risk deployments.
  5. Prepared and chaired Steering Board cadence, delivering executive reporting and rigorous budget tracking/forecasting.

Program Manager Infrastructure

Capgemini

Internet & IT

>10.000 team member

Acted as Program Manager for large-scale hybrid infrastructure set up for Capgemini’s largest client (Airbus). I led end-to-end planning and execution of multi-site rollouts across data centre (8 DC´s in 3 EU countries), network, and cloud platforms, coordinating internal teams and strategic vendors under a unified governance model.
  1. Accountable for end-to-end program delivery including scope definition, roadmap planning, budget ownership (CapEx/OpEx), risk management, and executive reporting.
  2. Orchestrated complex setup/rollout waves (build, migrate, cutover, stabilize) across multiple sites while ensuring minimal business disruption and regulatory compliance.
  3. Established program governance, decision frameworks, and escalation models across C-level stakeholders, vendors, and internal delivery teams.
  4. Coordinated cross-functional teams spanning infrastructure, security, architecture, operations, and application dependencies to ensure integrated delivery.
  5. Managed strategic vendors and system integrators, including contract governance, performance tracking, and commercial optimization.

ERP Replacement Lead

Capgemini

Internet & IT

>10.000 team member

Led the assessment and design of the military-grade infrastructure and security architecture for Airbus’ ERP platform(S/4Hana), delivering an implementation-ready technical concept within six months.
  1. Led the ERP infrastructure planning and assessment phase, ensuring alignment to business objectives while evaluating hardware, software, network and security options to optimize performance and mitigate risk.
  2. Directed consultants and SMEs through the assessment, establishing the delivery plan, governance and decision cadence for an implementation-ready outcome.
  3. Assessed resilience architecture (Active/Active patterns, RPO/RTO, DR) and delivered a ready-to-implement infrastructure blueprint.
  4. Defined go-live non-functional requirements and operational readiness standards (availability, performance, capacity, security), including SLI/SLO and monitoring/alerting.
  5. Designed security and identity controls for a military-regulated environment (SSO via SAML/OIDC, access governance, web security).
  6. Established platform governance and segmentation requirements (RBAC, network policies, tenancy model) to enable secure multi-team operations.

Program Lead IT4IT

Vodafone Group

Internet & IT

>10.000 team member

Delivered the enterprise IT4IT target concept and 3-year roadmap (value streams, service model, governance, KPIs and toolchain blueprint), enabling executive alignment and investment readiness.
  1. Delivered a 3-year IT4IT strategy roadmap aligning IT services to business value and enhancing cost transparency.
  2. Established IT4IT service Model and standards focusing on RPA and LLM automation, harmonizing processes across ITSM, DevOps, and cloud platforms.
  3. Led stakeholder engagement and organizational change management, securing executive sponsorship via Vodafone’s Global Investment Board and fostering cultural adoption of IT4IT practices.
  4. Implemented performance measurement against IT4IT value streams, enabling data-driven improvements in service quality, agility, compliance, and overall IT efficiency.

ERP Replacement Project Lead

Bahrain Telecommunication Company BSC

Telecommunications

500-1000 team member

I took over an off-track migration project from SAP S4 Hana to Oracle Fusion Cloud Took over and recovered an off-track SAP S/4HANA → Oracle Fusion Cloud migration, delivering a pilot in under 2 months and the core ERP framework within 4 months before handing over to the internal BSC team.
  1. Delivered a root cause diagnosis and recovery strategy in less than 3 weeks
  2. Aligned recovery and turnaround plan with BSC C-Suite members and got tasked to act as interim Project Lead reporting directly to BSC’s CTO and CEO
  3. Project takeover implementing “crash the schedule” and “fast track tasks” approach focusing on strengthening collaboration of all stakeholders

ITSM Migration Lead

Vodafone Group

Internet & IT

>10.000 team member

Orchestrated an enterprise-wide ITSM migration from BMC Remedy (on-prem) to BMC Helix (cloud) for one of the world’s largest ITSM environments (450k users), aligning AI-enabled IT operations to business outcomes—delivering the program 3 months ahead of plan and achieving an 8% MTTR improvement and 27% service desk ticket reduction within four weeks of go-live.
  1. Accelerated digital transformation to strengthen customer service through AI-enabled processes and automation.
  2. Led a distributed delivery organization across Egypt, India and the UK, directing project managers and regional teams.
  3. Orchestrated end-to-end delivery across technical, vendor and business stakeholders—from initiation and design through build, data migration/CMDB remediation, testing, change/readiness, cutover, go-live and hypercare.
  4. Delivered multiple AI pilot use cases within the go-live window, proving value while maintaining delivery discipline.
  5. Established full-phase governance and risk management (technical/financial), reporting to global and local steering boards and Vodafone senior executive sponsors.

Head of ITSM Platform

Vodafone Group

Internet & IT

>10.000 team member

As Program Management Head for Vodafone’s global ITSM solution suite, led the end-to-end ITSM transformation portfolio and introduced predictive analytics for incident management, reducing mean time to resolution by 23%.
  1. Led an enterprise-wide ITSM transformation, aligning ITSM strategy, operating model and service performance to business objectives.
  2. Directed a multi-stream portfolio spanning platform/tool migrations, process redesign, automation and CMDB optimization, steering cross-functional teams in line with ITIL best practices.
  3. Established governance and drove global stakeholder and change leadership, delivering measurable gains in service quality, compliance and operational efficiency.

ERP Program Transformation Lead

Vodafone Qatar

Internet & IT

1000-5000 team member

Led the SAP S/4 Hana to Oracle Fusion Cloud migration and business carve-out transformation, delivering outstanding results recognized with Oracle’s Cloud Transformation Award.
  1. Led the end-to-end ERP replacement program, aligning cross-functional teams across Vodafone Qatar and Vodafone Group (Finance, HR, Supply Chain, IT) to deliver a seamless transition, minimize business disruption, and improve process efficiency.
  2. Served as overall Program Lead from initiation and discovery through solution design and build (vendor orchestration), data carve-out/transformation/migration, testing, change management, cutover, go-live and hypercare.
  3. Established and ran governance across all phases, including technical and financial risk management and executive reporting to local and global steering boards.

Head of IT Shared Service Technology Operations

Vodafone Group

Internet & IT

>10.000 team member

Led the transformation of shared Service Operations across India and Egypt in line with Vodafone’s IT strategy, directing two organizational redesigns to match delivery maturity and evolving business requirements.
  1. Led cross-functional delivery across 17 global markets spanning Technology Services (network/IT), B2B, Customer Care, Data & Analytics, and Corporate Services.
  2. Owned an enterprise portfolio of 200+ initiatives per year, driving release coordination, capacity/resource allocation, demand management, and commercial negotiations with system integrators in partnership with internal OPCOs.
  3. Managed €45M Opex and €18M Capex with 9 direct reports and overall leadership of 300+ staff.
  4. Directed two organizational redesigns and transformation waves to align structure and capabilities with delivery maturity and evolving business needs.
  5. Implemented an end-to-end portfolio management framework spanning governance, methodology, resourcing, demand/capacity planning, and prioritization.
  6. Established and chaired the Investment Planning Board and created a Demand Management Office to accelerate decisions and optimize resource utilization.
  7. Provided executive-level steering and performance reporting to Group IT leadership, focusing on SLA/SLU performance and ROI.

various projects

Vodafone Group Services
SAP ECC EVO Rollout Manager- London, United Kingdom
Led the SAP rollout program for the Indian market, establishing robust governance and delivery cadence across workstreams, managing dependencies and impact assessments, and providing executive-level reporting and decision packs—driving a proactive, issue-resolution culture to keep schedules on track.

Project Manager Monitoring Transition - London, United Kingdom
Owned the end-to-end rollout of a monitoring and APM migration in Germany, delivering 300+ use cases across 800+ applications and tens of thousands of monitoring points spanning servers, storage, middleware, and application layers.

Transition and Outsourcing Manager Global Monitoring - Pune, India
Led the strategic transition of IT services from local to global operations in India, aligning technology operations to business growth priorities and migrating end-to-end infrastructure and operations services—compute/cloud, storage, Linux/Windows, VMware, SQL/Oracle/middleware, plus application, database, network and mainframe operations.

Interim Manager EVO SAP Service Desk - Bangalore, India
Directed the India-based SAP Service Desk supporting 120,000 users across 25+ countries, establishing and embedding workforce, quality and operational standards—including workforce management, QA, and structured onboarding for new products and processes.


various projects

Vodafone Group Services
Transition Manager Service Desk - Bangalore, India
Responsible for transitioning the SAP Service Desk from Europe to India (150 personas, 24/7operations)

ERP Implementation Manager - Düsseldorf, Germany
Led end-to-end demand delivery from requirements analysis and solution design through deployment, stabilization, and transition into BAU operational support.

Project Manager Roaming - Luxembourg, Luxembourg
Managed dedicated workstreams for the launch and operationalization of a roaming hub, covering Customer Care, SIM card management, and roaming discount management systems.

Bid Manager - Vaduz, Liechtenstein
Responsible for an RFI/RFQ (volume p.a.> €60.M) for Cloud Hosting applications

Interim Manager IT Migration - Düsseldorf, Germany
Migration of Business and IT-Systems as a result of a company merge

Holtzbrinck Digital - Axel Springer Corporate Solutions
Interim Project Manager - Hamburg, Germany
Project management for all launch and pre-launch activities of the new mobile brand "yourfone" (now Drillisch Group)

Interim CTO - Berlin, Germany
Led and managed 6 Scrum Masters and up to 25 parallel work streams (multi-project management / scope within the activity approximately 10.500PT) working for StudiVZ/Schüler VZ

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