Interim CIO/CDO for PE portfolio companies, the upper mid-market, corporate groups and divisions

When operations stand still, the budget keeps running and trust is gone

IT turnaround, restructuring, rescue of stranded large-scale projects and recovery after a cyber incident.

Gain clarity on working together in 20 min You need support You need a specific outcome

Situation

In a crisis, days count. Outages hit revenue and customers, stranded projects tie up budget, and in a restructuring IT becomes a cost block, liability risk and separation factor.

For whom

Management
CRO and restructuring advisors
Advisory board and shareholders
CFO

What I take on

I take over IT leadership in the crisis: situation picture, immediate measures, decisions on providers and projects, communication to management, advisory board and lenders.

What is in place in your situation after 30, 60 and 90 days

Day 30Situation stabilised
Causes and critical risks are named, immediate measures are running, escalation paths to management, advisory board and lenders are in place.
Day 60Operations and projects under control
Outages are declining, stranded projects have been reassessed, governance and reporting are running.
Day 90Plan for the rebuild in place
Target picture, organisation and plan for the rebuild are in place; provider and contract decisions have been taken.

Services

Cyber crisis & recovery

Deadline: Reporting duties under NIS2: 24 hours, 72 hours, 1 month

What I take on

IT leadership in the crisis team, recovery, reporting readiness towards authorities and insurers, then security maturity and evidence. Incident response and forensics with specialised partners.

Evidence

After a cyber incident: security maturity assessment (NIST CSF 2.0 / CIS 8.1), security roadmap, CISO and ISO 27001 build-up initiatedARTEMIS, 2025–2026
Major incident management and emergency reporting chain for cyber attacks establishedAlliance Healthcare, 2023

IT in restructuring, insolvency and distressed M&A

Deadline: Restructuring opinion, protective shield proceedings (up to 3 months to the plan), covenants

What I take on

Alongside the CRO and restructuring advisors: IT cost, contracts, providers and separability in weeks instead of months.

Evidence

Receivables pushed from EUR 39 million to below 15% of the starting value; role model from 27 to 13 rolesITDZ Berlin, Interim Head of Division, 2025–2026
170 findings in 8 working days as the decision basisKelvion, 2017–2018

IT turnaround & operational stabilisation

Deadline: Outages hit revenue and customers

What I take on

Rapid assessment in weeks 1–4, stabilisation of operations and team, IT standards and leadership.

Evidence

Growth of > 40% p.a. unlocked, major incidents from 8 to 0TeamViewer, Interim CIO, 2015–2016
Major incidents from 18 to 1 per quarterAlliance Healthcare, 2023
Stable IT operations, SIAM introduced, external global service desk builtKelvion, 2017–2018

Rescue of stranded large-scale projects

Deadline: Go-live date, budget approval, contractual penalties

What I take on

Reassessment of plan, integrator and contract, decisions on scope and date, steering through to go-live.

Evidence

Microsoft Dynamics 365 Business Central live by Day 1; M365 rollout brought out of its dead end onto the home straightUtsch, Interim CIO fractional, 2024
ERP/CRM implementation in 5 instead of 12 monthsDesign Offices, Interim CTO, 2018–2019
Audit and early-warning framework with 344 checkpoints for a global IT consolidation programmeBMW, 2014–2015