CPTO · Builder · Pilot
25+ years building technology products. Four exits. Now obsessed with GenAI-native development, longevity optimization, and flying a Cirrus SR22T across Europe.
The Journey
It started with an Amstrad CPC 6128 (branded as Schneider in Germany) - 128 KB of RAM, a 128 KB floppy disk, and game code copied from magazines. I wrote my first neural network in university in 1994, back when "AI" was an academic curiosity, not a product category. Computer Science degree from Regensburg, MBA from the University of Augsburg and Katz Business School in Pittsburgh.
The career that followed was a series of bets on technology-driven transformation: AutoScout24, Ciao!, Zanox/AWIN, Axel Springer, SolarisBank, Visable, Onfido (acquired by Entrust in 2023), and now IDnow. Always in CTO, CPO, or CIO roles - always building. Four of those companies were acquired - with a combined exit value north of $1.6 billion.
Before the tech career took over, I was a competitive rower on the Bavarian team as a teenager. The discipline stuck: show up early, train hard, execute precisely. It turns out that mindset works equally well for building products as it does for pulling an oar at 5 AM.
Career Timeline
Four exits, $1.6B+ in combined exit value, and a through-line of shipping technology that compounds.
1995 – 2000
Started out at Softlab (BMW Group IT services), shipping enterprise software across the BMW ecosystem. Five foundational years of building reliable systems at industrial scale.
2000 – 2005
Joined AutoScout24 as an IT project manager and grew with the company into Director of R&D and ultimately CTO. Helped build one of Europe's largest automotive marketplaces into a household name across the DACH region.
Acquired by Deutsche Telekom / T-Online
2005 – 2009
Led technology at Europe's consumer-review pioneer (NASDAQ-listed parent Greenfield Online) through its hypergrowth phase. Scaled the platform across markets and languages before the landmark Microsoft acquisition.
Sold to Microsoft - $486M
2009 – 2010
Partner-level engineering role at Microsoft following the Ciao/Greenfield acquisition. Integrated the European consumer-shopping stack into the Microsoft Advertising product family.
2010 – 2012
Ran technology at Europe's largest affiliate marketing network. Rebuilt the core tracking platform and laid the engineering foundations for what became the AWIN global group.
2012 – 2016
Group CIO at Axel Springer SE during its pivotal pivot to digital. Drove infrastructure consolidation, cloud adoption, and the tech modernization of one of Europe's largest media companies.
2016
A deliberate pause to complete pilot licences on both sides of the Atlantic - EASA and FAA PPL with Instrument Rating. Foundation of a decade of private flying across Europe.
2016 – 2018
Group CTO across Hitfox / IONIQ's fintech venture portfolio and Chief Product Officer of SolarisBank - building Europe's first Banking-as-a-Service platform from the ground up.
2017 – 2023
Group CTO of Visable (wlw + EUROPAGES, Europe's leading B2B industrial marketplace) and founding CEO of Visable Labs. Rebuilt the platform stack and led the company into its acquisition.
Acquired by Alibaba (2023)
2023 – 2024
Led global engineering at the identity-verification scale-up through the ML-to-product transition and acquisition-ready platform hardening. Drove the integration programme into Entrust.
Acquired by Entrust Inc. - $650M
2024 – 2025
A year of decompression, angel investing, and advising early-stage founders on product strategy, agentic AI, and the realities of scaling engineering organizations.
2025 – Present
Chief Product & Technology Officer at Europe's leading identity-verification platform, operating across Munich, Berlin, and Rennes. Focused on GenAI-native product development, agentic engineering workflows, and the next generation of trust infrastructure.
Present Day
Building with Claude Code, Cursor, and local LLMs (Qwen3-Coder on MLX). Pioneering what I call the "Overnight Agent Factory" - parallel agentic workflows that ship features while I sleep. Deep into MCP protocol and three-tier AI architecture patterns.
A structured six-pillar framework: sleep, exercise, eat, mental health, boost, and avoid. Not biohacking theater - data-driven protocols refined over years. Currently building Longevity OS to quantify the longevity impact of everything I eat and do.
EASA and FAA PPL, Instrument Rating, 10+ years in the air. Based at Schönhagen (EDAZ) near Berlin, flying a Cirrus SR22T across Europe - Alps, Mediterranean, the UK. If I go more than two weeks without being airborne, I get restless.
Side Projects
I'm a maker at heart. These projects are all built with GenAI-native workflows - Claude Code sessions, parallel agents, and the occasional 3 AM commit from an overnight factory run.
Browser-based 3D configurator for custom holders and mounts. Design it, export it, 3D print it. Built with React Three Fiber, CadQuery, and Cloudflare Workers.
Learn moreHealth optimization app with a Longevity Impact Score. NutriScan food database, personalized protocols. Built with React Native and Expo.
Learn moreParametric CAD for manufacturing jigs and fixtures. A B2B SaaS concept exploring browser-based design-to-fabrication workflows.
Concept stageGeneral Aviation
I caught the flying bug at the start of this century and haven't looked back. What started as a PPL has grown into dual EASA and FAA licenses, an Instrument Rating, and a Cirrus SR22T based at Schönhagen (EDAZ) south of Berlin.
I fly across Europe regularly - threading through Alpine valleys, crossing the Mediterranean, landing at airstrips in the UK. Every flight is captured on GoPro. It's the one activity where my mind goes completely quiet and every decision matters.
EASA PPL(A)
Instrument Rating
FAA PPL
Instrument Rating
Cirrus SR22T
Based at EDAZ
Personal
Proud father of three adult kids - Dominik, Annina, and Maximilian - all of whom became software engineers. (I didn't push them. They watched me build things and decided it looked like fun.) Married to my wonderful wife Michi for over 25 years. Based near Berlin, living somewhere between the forest and the runway.
When I'm not coding or flying, I'm tinkering - 3D printing on a Bambu Lab P1S, wiring ESP32 sensors into Home Assistant, programming KNX scenes, or playing guitar badly enough that nobody asks me to stop. I have a persistent curiosity about how things work, which is occasionally inconvenient for household appliances.
Connect
I'm always happy to talk about product leadership, GenAI development, aviation, or longevity. Find me on any of these platforms.