Digital transformation needs leadership — and delivery.
I support companies as an executive and consultant in IT management, digitalization and operations — from building divisions to managing the company, pragmatic, interdisciplinary, and backed by 28+ years of industry experience.
Fields of activity & services
Three perspectives, one standard: measurable results. My focus is on leadership and consulting — built on a solid technical foundation.
Leadership
Leadership experience up to managing director (CTO) level — including interim mandates and turnaround situations.
- Managing director with overall responsibility for technology, product & support
- Divisional & overall leadership of IT organizations — including distributed & international teams
- Interim management, restructuring & realignment
- Building teams, organizations & apprenticeship structures
- OKRs, agile methods & change management, steering external providers
Consulting
Independent consulting for SMEs, retail cooperatives and e-commerce — from analysis to actionable concepts.
- IT strategy, enterprise architecture & cloud strategy (AWS/Azure)
- Process analysis & optimization in retail, billing and logistics
- ERP, EDI & system selection, migration concepts
- Data protection (certified DPO) & information security (ISO 27001)
- IT controlling, budget & license management
Technical foundation
Eight years of engineering and infrastructure background — today the basis for leading tech teams at eye level and making well-founded decisions.
- Evaluating architectures, systems & make-or-buy decisions
- Technical due diligence, reviews & feasibility studies
- ERP, EDI, databases & web technologies from hands-on practice
- Reporting & dashboards (Power BI, SSRS) for management steering
Selected highlights
Results from recent leadership and consulting mandates — an excerpt.
Stability in e-commerce operations
Reduced service interruptions by 85% as managing CTO of an e-commerce and fulfillment provider — while scaling the business.
AWS cost optimization
Restructured the cloud infrastructure of an international online portal and cut AWS costs by around 30% — including a cloud-only migration.
ERP landscape secured
Mapped billing-relevant processes across three ERP systems, securing billions in revenue in an audit-proof way.
Major migration projects delivered
Migrated EDI trade processes from Microsoft BizTalk to the Azure cloud, lifted Dynamics AX 2009 to D365 and modernized the financial accounting stack including an Oracle cluster — all during live operations.
KPI-based demand forecasting
Cut warehouse stock-outs by 25% through KPI tracking and demand forecasting, optimizing slotting and inventory control.
IT crisis management
Owned an in-house ERP build during a company crisis, secured the billing volume and accelerated IT delivery by 23%.
Skills & expertise
Broad expertise from management to technology — a public excerpt.
Management & methods
Cloud & infrastructure
Engineering & data
Security & compliance
Career
From developer to managing director — an overview of my journey.
Managing CTO
Overall responsibility for engineering, technology, product management and support. Strategic scaling of fulfillment services, downtime -85%, KPI-based demand forecasting.
Head of Operations & Development
Led three teams (15 people, Germany/Spain) including team leads. Cloud migration and AWS cost optimization, modernization of payment & back office, Information Security Officer, introduction of OKR and IT budgeting processes.
Head of CIO Office
Introduced enterprise architecture management and ITSM, optimized license and software asset management, analyzed critical business processes and designed project concepts.
Head of IT, Deputy Head of overall IT, team & project lead
Led up to 26 employees with an €18M IT budget, ERP/D365 migrations, built the QA organization, drove the agile transformation — plus a cover story ("Ordering by app", IT-Mittelstand 04/2014).
Developer & project lead
Built a new web business line, online tendering and pricing systems, sales platforms for global brands, shop systems with payment processing, and ran the agency's IT infrastructure.
Head of IT & e-commerce co-builder
Custom-built ERP and web shop connected to 30+ marketplaces, fulfillment optimization, more than 600,000 B2C shipments per year.
About me
Fabian Dressler, M.Sc. — born in 1981, based in Bergheim near Cologne, Germany. I combine strategic IT management with deep technical understanding and a strong connection to business departments.
With profound expertise in billing, ERP, EDI, web technologies and complex business processes, I proactively identify optimization potential. My cooperative, interdisciplinary communication enables quick wins and strengthens IT's standing within the company.
I place great value on data protection and information security — as a TÜV-certified data protection officer with an ISO 27001 background, I guide business units pragmatically and compliantly.
Academic background: M.Sc. in IT Management & Information Systems and B.Sc. in Business Informatics (FHDW Bergisch Gladbach), doctoral program (DBA) started. Languages: German, English.
Certifications & qualifications
- Professional Scrum Master I (PSM I)
- AWS Certified Cloud Practitioner
- Information Security Foundation ISO 27001
- Certified Data Protection Officer (TÜV)
- ITIL Foundation
- ISTQB Certified Tester Foundation Level
- AEVO — certified IT vocational trainer
- English: IELTS/Cambridge (B2+)
Contact
Looking for a consultant, an experienced executive, or a no-obligation first conversation? I look forward to hearing from you.
You can reach me directly by e-mail — or simply use the form.