skyguide, Zurich & Genua
Skyguide provides air traffic management in Switzerland and parts of neighboring countries. With 1,500 employees at 14 locations, the company guides civil and military aircraft through Europe's most complex airspace.
Through innovation and trusted partnerships, Skyguide contributes to Switzerland's attractiveness as a business location. Headquartered in Geneva, the company is majority-owned by the Swiss Confederation.
Industry: Aviation, Air Traffic Control
Turn Over: 470 Mio. CHF
Employees: 1‘500
Geographic Spread: Switzerland, 14 Locations
Abteilungsleiter ‘Data/Application Services’
Member of Top Management
July 2010 - September 2019
Management and modernization of the Application Services division (formerly Data Processing and Data Services) with 140 internal and external employees (budget: CHF 20 million OPEX and 20 million CAPEX)
Definition and implementation of the IT strategy
Operation and further development of 75 IT systems (fixed assets CHF 120 million) for the core areas of air traffic control (Air Traffic Management, Aeronautical Information Management and Training/Simulation) at the Geneva and Wangen sites, within the framework of operational and regulatory requirements
Planning and realization of the reorganization of the department:
Phase 1 "Professionalization and Efficiency Improvement"
Transformation to a customer and service oriented integrator
Introduction of architecture management and technology management
Establishment and expansion of project management competencies and IT security management
Standardization of software engineering methods and tools
Harmonization of the infrastructure at the two sites (Geneva and Wangen)
Change from a local to a Switzerland-wide organizational structure
Phase 2 "Modernization
Introduction of agile (Scrum, SAFe®) and DevOps methods & mindset
Initiation of architecture change to service-oriented architecture and to a standardized, virtualized platform (private cloud)
Adaptation of operating and sourcing model: step-by-step transfer of software development to subsidiary and infrastructure operations to external partner
Evaluation and management of an external partner to increase capacity and skills for the implementation of the strategic virtual center program
Gradual increase of information security according to increasing risks
Planning, analysis and realization of projects and change orders under consideration of the Safety Framework
Representation of requests and projects in front of the management and the board of directors
Management of external partners/suppliers
Collaboration in the development of the new corporate strategy "Virtual Center”
Collaboration in the development of the departmental strategy
Implementation of the efficiency improvement program in accordance with the five-year plan
Special events / successes
Successfully transformed and modernized the IT organization in a safety-critical, highly regulated and change-averse industry.
Initiated technological transformation as part of skyguide's strategic Virtual Center program. With the "Virtual Center" strategy, skyguide has successfully positioned itself as an innovation leader in Europe. The service-oriented architecture I initiated won the SESAR Single European Sky Award in 2017
Improved the success rate of IT projects by increasing project management competencies and introducing agile and DevOps methods & mindset.
Increased core business efficiency and safety margin through digitalization and automation
Improved collaboration and trust with the regulator and unions
Gradually increased the level of information security according to increasing risk
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