Hellmuth Broda (About Me)

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In a Nutshell

  • Professional Services Management—delivering information services for R&D and Manufacturing
  • Strategic consulting on the interface of business and ICT for the public and private sectors
  • Bridging the communication gap between business and IT departments – based on my deep understanding of both sides combined with the ability to grasp, solve, and explain complex situations and issues
  • Giving keynotes, lectures and seminars on ICT trends and issues (Social Media, Open Systems, Identity/Privacy, . . .)
  • Chairing and moderating conferences, workshops, seminars, other events
  • Project Management for complex cross-department or cross-company endeavors
  • Development and review of ICT strategies including: Open Systems, Open Standards, Open Source, Open Data Formats; Identity, Trust, Privacy Management as the basis for any commerce on the net; Social Media policies, advising in balancing security vs. communication needs; Sustainability in IT; Technology future developments, extrapolations and predictions
  • Coaching for CIO’s CTO’s etc.
  • Coaching for Start-ups in market potential analysis and focus on use cases

Key Strengths

  • Conceptual, high level technology and marketing strategist experienced in know-how transfer to private and public sector decision makers
  • Solid process and issue knowledge in Pharmaceutical/Chemistry R&D based on 10 years professional experience
  • Good knowledge of healthcare issues especially around e-Health through many years of committee work
  • Experienced manager serving as chairman or board member on several boards, executive coach
  • Long-term experience in managing large projects and project teams
  • Excellent communicator with the ability to explain complex issues and proposals understandably, clearly and credibly
  • Experienced keynote speaker and conference chair at international level; member on numerous boards and scientific academies
  • Business and cultural experience in Europe, North and South America, Middle East, Asia, Africa
  • Extensive personal international network with governments, industry executives, research, and in the educational sector

What I Can Bring To The Table

Information Technology Strategy Focus:

  • “Bringing information technology to its optimal use for business, citizens, governments, and to the benefit of people.
  • “Letting scientists focus on the science and deliver services for the other chores”

Management experience: From project group leader of twelve to department head (personnel responsibility for 55 developers); management in matrix organizations; Country System Engineering Manager (22 system engineers), leader of EMEA Vision Council (15 members); management of a professional services organization; chairman of the board for a startup company; experienced coach and advisor.

Management expertise: People management; Professional Services management; management of complex projects; problem solving; conflict management and mediation/resolution; result centered workshop moderation; conference moderation and chairperson.

Industry experience: Over thirty years in system analysis, data modeling, software architecture design, application implementation, technology knowledge transfer, work in standard bodies, Trusted Advisor, extensive keynote delivery, conference moderation and chairmanship on a plethora of ICT subjects including e-Government, e-Health, Information Services.

Research experience: Over ten years of experience in academic and institutional research (Univ. Freiburg/Br.; Max-Planck-Institute Cellular Biology; Harvard University; Univ. Konstanz) always on the quest interfacing science and computing. Another ten years of system analysis and design in Agro and Pharma Research and Development. Today supporting R&D and Manufacturing in Life and Environmental Sciences with Information Services. Having served on many scientific advisory boards.

Network experience: Extensive personal international network with governments, industry executives, research, and educational sector. Professional membership in many public and private bodies, chairman of board of directors, advisory boards, elected member to two scientific academies.

Committee experience: World Economic Forum Digital Divide Working Group; Liberty Alliance Business Marketing Expert Group and e‑Government Special Interest Group; Global Forum Steering Committee; ICT Commission, Swiss Academy of Engineering Sciences; EU IST Prize Executive Jury; Jury Swiss ICT awards; Sun’s Global Vision Network; EMEA Vision Council; steering committee e-Health Swiss Academies of Sciences (a+).

International experience: Lived and worked in the US 1980—’83 (Harvard University, Cambridge, Massachusetts); international management 1990—’95; worked for an American company 1995—2008 and was from 2005 onwards reporting directly to HQ in California. Multiple business trips per year to US, Middle East, Brazil, Asia and all over Europe. Speaking five languages. Extensive personal travel around the globe—visited over 60 countries.

Communication experience: Over five hundred strategic technology key notes and presentations; spokesperson for several alliances; about fifty articles on internet technologies, Identity Management, Privacy, e-Health, Java, Jini, Web Services; twenty three scientific publications (1975—’89); several Press-, Radio- and TV interviews.Training/teaching experience: Taught numerous courses and guest lectures in universities, gave many internal seminars in industry on ICT subjects.

Technology expertise: Technology vision and strategy; identity/trust/privacy management as a basic infrastructure for Service Oriented Architectures and Web Services; Open Source, Open Systems, Open Standards; OpenDocument Format; “web2.0”; ecological impact of IT and environmentally sustainable computing.

Who I Am

  • Conceptual, high level technology and marketing strategist experienced in know-how transfer to private and public sector decision makers
  • Excellent communicator with the ability to explain complex issues and proposals understandably, clearly and credibly
  • Experienced coach, advisor, board member and chairman
  • Skilled keynote speaker and conference chair at international level
  • Weathered IT manager focusing on the essential and on customer benefit

What I Like

International travel, hiking, nature, animals, photography, foreign cultures; art, history, literature, theater, opera, food and wine; classical music, Jazz, singing; skiing, biking, inline skating, sailing, snorkeling . . .

What Others Say

“Hellmuth is always a source of inspiration as one of the most brilliant communicators I have ever met. His ability to understand and explain complex issues using every-day-life ‘pictures’ is clearly noteworthy. He also has a remarkable understanding of the impact of technology on business, which he is able to successfully convey to decision makers at executive level. Apart from this, he is a multi-dimensional individual with multiple abilities and interests, which makes him a very interesting company to discuss with. It is clearly a pleasure to have the opportunity to work with him.” October 2009
Carolina Canales, Ericsson

“Hellmuth’s competence and professionalism are recognized and appreciated by colleagues and customers. He is always looking at how IT technology innovation translates into business and competitive advantage for companies that use IT as a strategic tool. Hellmuth is always genuinely interested in understanding the customers’ business, and in creating a strategic link between that business and information technology.” August 2008
Giuseppe Facchetti, Servers Business Unit Manager – Partner Sales Organization, Sun Microsystems Italy

“Hellmuth is an excellent technology ambassador, conveying messages across fluently to different audiences and at the highest level.” April 2008
Andrés Escobero, Director, EMEA Public Sector, Sun Microsystems

“Hellmuth does not only have huge wealth on experience, but as well he is very capable to explain the most complex topics in a clean and straight forward way.” April 2008
Hans Gerke, Manager Global Partner Strategy & Programs, Sun Microsystems

“Hellmuth Broda helped me to create the annual European Identity Conference Net-ID and is, since its start in 2005, the chairman of this important event. To work with him is very agreeable. His competence and his many contacts to important people all over the world contribute extensively to the success of the event. Additionally I know him as an excellent and very competent speaker in different conferences.” April 5, 2008
Stefanie Geuhs, CEO Computas

“Hellmuth is a brilliant IT technology expert with significant business acumen which makes his advice and consultation very valuable. He has a high degree of broad, technical, economical and international experiences. His loyalty helps to build easily a trustful and long term business relationship.” April 2008
Christoph Reisbeck, Director Global SAP Alliance, VMware Global Inc.

“I met Hellmuth in several circumstances, one of them was for a conference about IT trends for the Young President Organization Club. He is a very passionate about technology, very convincing and professional. He can present the most complex technology in such a way that everyone can understand it. He has a great ability to network and to get in touch with people from all other the world.” January 29, 2005
Dominique Freymond, Partner and independent board member (8 boards); management & advisory services ltd

“Hellmuth Broda helped us in the brainstorming phase to focus on the product useKit.com, that we are building. I gladly recommend Hellmuth Broda for assistance, especially when it comes to the point where you have to decide on how to present your ideas.” February 26, 2011
Dr. Sven Rizotti, CEO useKit