ALLOW US TO INTRODUCE OURSELVES

EPISODE 01 - The very beginning

Sophie Seiwald-Højer & Matthias Patzak
June 18, 2024

ABOUT THE AUTHORS

First things first, before starting with all kinds of content we want to introduce ourselves:

We are Sophie & Matthias, your friendly next-door tech gurus. Don’t worry, we are not there to sell you another scrum course. We just want to make sure you learn how to build great software with great teams. As easy as it may sound, our personal experience often taught us something else. We are both looking back into many years of moving classic IT organizations from a project-led approach to a product-led approach. True Digital player or Corporate World, we will bring in our knowledge from years of truly wild rides in software engineering.

SOPHIE SEIWALD-HØJER

For 17 years, I've been knee-deep in the world of tech at Mercedes-Benz. As my career progressed, I naturally got some tech ‘wear & tear’ which I find valuable to share. Over the last decade we transformed all the teams I was involved in from a project-led approach to a product-led approach. During these times I most likely experienced everything that’s possible: Emotional outbursts, unmet expectations, rebellious teams, downtimes, major process & design fails - only to name a few. Sometimes I really questioned myself if all of this is really worth it. Long story short: yes it is and I love to share my insights with you

MATTHIAS PATZAK

Some might say I truly love tech: Well, I built my first continuous integration pipeline for 120 engineers at a German automotive company in 2002. In 2004 I started the first multi-scrum team as an engineering manager and I got hands-on experience with extreme programming techniques. Later on I became CTO of AutoScout24, a European classified portal for cars, and introduced lean-agile practices at scale. I joined Amazon Web Services in 2020 and currently work as Enterprise Strategist. The role allows me to meet leaders of the world's largest companies to modernize their business and IT from a people, process, and technology perspective.