Independence. For companies and for people.
Business consulting
Become more independent.
In costs, in technology, in mindset.
I advise companies drawing on twenty years of industry and leadership experience. Calculated soberly, implemented clearly, without dependence on high costs and third-party servers.
Services
Three levers for more independence
Cost optimisation & efficiency
Clearly calculated, measurably reduced.
Processes, procurement and operating costs, clearly calculated and measurably reduced. I show honestly where things can really move and what an investment delivers.
AI & digital sovereignty
Your data stays in-house.
Local, data-secure AI instead of a US cloud. Your sensitive data stays in-house, full control stays with you. GDPR compliance is built in rather than an afterthought.
Websites & hosting
Lean, fast, independent.
Lean, fast and on independent hosting. Multilingual, low-maintenance and without dependence on expensive website builders or third-party platforms.
Who advises you
A path through every level, not just through slides
My consulting is not based on theory but on a path through every level of an industrial company. At Happich Fahrzeug- und Industrieteile GmbH I started as a young project engineer and went through every stage myself. Alongside full responsibility at work, I completed a second degree in industrial engineering, the cost of which the company covered.
At 33 I took on genuine personnel responsibility. Over the following ten years the path led through divisional management up to senior management, reporting directly to the investors. I know both sides: the engineer who solves a problem technically, and the manager who, under pressure, makes decisions for people and figures at the same time.
When the company went into insolvency, the leadership was replaced, as is usual in such cases. I initially carried the operational restructuring in an interim role. The new owners, Happich GmbH, recognised the results and immediately offered me the position of COO, as a member of the executive board for operations, with power of attorney (Prokura).
Not the person who could have been held accountable for the past, but the one who was to carry the future.
Project engineer
Started at Happich Fahrzeug- und Industrieteile GmbH, went through every stage in person.
Second degree, industrial engineering
Completed alongside full work responsibility, financed by the company.
Divisional & senior management
Genuine personnel responsibility from age 33, reporting directly to the investors.
COO with power of attorney
Executive board member for operations at Happich GmbH.
Reference project
Restructuring and turnaround in insolvency
From insolvent supplier to stable company
Happich Fahrzeug- und Industrieteile GmbH → Happich GmbH, Wuppertal
Verifiable: my power of attorney (Prokura) is recorded in the commercial register of Wuppertal Local Court for Happich GmbH (HRB 22808).
Selected projects
AI and web in practice
Some of my projects are confidential. I deliberately do not list client names here, discretion is part of how I work. What I can show is the task, the approach and the result.
Local AI knowledge system
Technical knowledge from manuals, findable in seconds, fully offline and with sources.
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SituationTechnical documentation often sits in extensive manuals and is hard to search day to day. Cloud tools are ruled out where confidentiality and data sovereignty matter.
SolutionA self-developed, fully offline AI system that makes extensive technical documentation searchable, backs every answer with a source, and guards against fabricated answers through several checking stages.
ResultA solid basis for introducing such systems securely and without cloud dependence. Everything stays on your own hardware.
Website optimisation for trades and small businesses
Turn visitors into enquiries instead of losing them to slow, outdated sites.
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SituationMany small trade businesses run outdated, low-function or no modern websites. Studies confirm the pattern: around seven in ten small companies have no digitalisation strategy, and only about one in four use modern, AI-supported tools.
SolutionA step-by-step optimisation with modern, lean tools, adapted to the existing look of the business: faster loading, clear contact paths, better findability and features such as appointment requests or direct contact, on independent hosting.
ResultA presence where interested visitors reach their goal faster and enquiries are no longer lost to avoidable hurdles.
Multilingual website with AI assistant
Ten languages, your own AI assistant, without costly builders or third-party platforms.
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SituationA professional, multilingual web presence was needed, independent of expensive builders and third-party platforms, with a chat helper that respects data protection.
SolutionA lean, fast website in ten languages including right-to-left display, on independent hosting, with a clearly bounded AI assistant for simple questions.
ResultA low-maintenance, self-contained presence without platform dependence, where user data does not flow off uncontrolled.
AI-supported financial analysis for individuals
Cluttered documents become a clear basis for decisions, local and secure.
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SituationPrivate financial and contract documents are often hard to survey. Getting a structured overview takes time and an eye for what matters.
SolutionAn AI tool that structures personal documents, brings the relevant points together clearly and thus creates a sound basis for your own decisions, locally and without passing on sensitive data.
ResultA much faster overview of your own documents, with full control over confidential information.
Something similar in mind?
Or simply curious what is possible with local AI and an independent presence? Let us talk.
Digital sovereignty
Why AI belongs in-house
The difference is simple: does your data leave the building, or does it stay with you?
Sensitive content goes to a third-party provider, often on servers in the US. You pay continuously per use and depend on their rules, prices and availability.
Everything runs in a closed system inside your building. Nothing leaves your network. You keep full control, built once instead of paid for continuously per use.
Data protection
Sensitive data never leaves your network. GDPR is not an afterthought but built in.
Independence
No dependence on individual providers, no third-party control over your tools.
Cost
Built once instead of paid for continuously per use. Predictable long-term and often cheaper.
How I work
Clear project work that takes the load off you
For me, consulting is clear project work drawn from over twenty years of experience. You only agree the key parameters with me; I take on the work packages, handled according to modern leadership principles and agile project work. That keeps your effort low.
Analysis
We clarify needs, figures and goals. Honestly, about where things can really move.
Concept
A concrete plan with effort, costs and benefits. You decide on a solid basis.
Implementation
Implementation in clear, agile work packages, documented and traceable.
Handover
You and your team are enabled. The knowledge stays with you.
Values
Why I keep seeking intellectual challenges
For businesses
Some people grow calmer with the years. And some people never lose the drive to understand new things and solve problems. I belong to the second group.
My career was shaped by speed, responsibility, and the ambition to move things forward. Over many years in industry I took on demanding tasks, led difficult negotiations, made decisions with far-reaching consequences, and carried responsibility for people, projects, and companies.
Anyone who carries responsibility also has to make the uncomfortable decisions. You weigh interests against each other, decide when there is no solution that pleases everyone, and stand behind it in the end. That comes with every leadership role, and I learned to do it with integrity.
Today, at 55, a classic organization no longer draws me in. What drives me is something else: I want to be part of a network of people who have stayed curious. People who think together, question, and develop solutions. People who see a challenge not as a burden, but as a drive.
I could limit myself to working as a coach and tutor. That work fulfills me, and it has a deep personal meaning. But it is only part of what makes me who I am.
I keep seeking the complex question, the strategic task, the project that demands analytical thinking, creativity, and experience. Not because I still need to prove anything, but because mental agility wants to be kept alive. Whoever stops letting themselves be challenged, stands still.
My role has changed. I used to be the one who often had to decide. Today I see myself as a mentor, sparring partner, and source of impulse. I enjoy passing on knowledge just as much as I enjoy learning from others.
Curiosity knows no age. As long as I can work with smart people on demanding tasks, I will keep seeking these opportunities. Because in that lies, for me, the greatest form of personal growth: never stopping to learn.
Contact
Let's talk about your project
Whether cost optimisation, local AI or a specific project: briefly describe your request, and we'll find the right way forward. The first conversation is free and without obligation.
Reply usually within one business day.