References
What executives, peers and my teams say.
Quoted verbatim from my public LinkedIn profile, with each writer's title at the time of writing.
People I reported to and worked alongside
Chief executives, a board member, directors and a head of product at FTI Group, CHECK24, Smart InsurTech, Experteer and CHIP.
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Chris Nill Chief Growth Officer, FTI Group “Nico was my first key hire when taking over as Chief Growth Officer at FTI Group where he proceeded to build out the entire UX and User Research function from scratch (up to becoming a strong 11 member team). At the same time he provided his invaluable support in structuring the entire Product Management function leading to a way more mature setup around defined KPIs (OKRs), clear roles and structured communication. On the UX side he built FTI's new Design System from scratch that was rightfully getting adopted across all domains. On the research side, he set up the entire function, created an interviewee pool, built our Customer Insights Repository, and taught (parts of) the company how to conduct research in the first place. In short, I can only recommend Nico as a core part to your Product and UX setup and would love to team up with him again.”
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Dr. Armin Hoell-Steier Chief Executive Officer, CHECK24 “I can highly recommend Nico! His creativity and wealth of ideas coupled with his very professional use of UX/UI tools and methods help take online products to a whole new level! In the time we worked together at CHECK24, I haven't seen anything remotely comparable.”
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Ole Breulmann Executive Board Member, Smart InsurTech AG “Nico knows how to successfully build, transform and develop user-centric product organizations. With his keen eye for the success factors of digital product development and his authentic and entrepreneurial leadership, he is a guarantee for sustainable, value-adding product development in the company. I look forward to the next opportunity to work with him.”
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Romain Pradelle Chief Information Security Officer, FTI Group “Outstanding skills in understanding the business, technical constrains, managing expectation and building a vision. Nico is one of the best product management leaders I have met through my career.”
- Dr. Georg Pagenstedt Chief Marketing Officer, CHIP Digital GmbH
“I had the opportunity to work with Nico at Chip Online in Munich. At the time, Nico was responsible for UX and design tasks. He was instrumental in driving forward the further development of our portal for online and desktop using agile methods. Specific tasks included concept development and mockups, design drafts and implementations as well as product development in cooperation with the development and product owner. Nico is characterized by creativity, professional excellence and team spirit. I would work with Nico again at any time and can unreservedly recommend him as a professional addition to any product team.”
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Javier C. Millas Director Data & Analytics, Experteer GmbH “I had the pleasure of working with Nico for more than 4 years. He is an outstanding product and UX design director, able to define, manage and co-create the entire process of digital product design, from concept development to the implementation of functional prototypes. His strengths include not only technical skills and a solid command of a wide range of software tools, but also a solid knowledge of the design process and digital product management. In addition, he is an excellent people person who has extensively demonstrated his leadership skills in building UX teams.”
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Elisabeth Ditlbacher Director Customer Experience, FTI Group “I had the pleasure of working with Nico on several customer and brand-specific transformation projects, including the development of a new visual identity for the FTI brand. This project laid the foundation for the new design system development he led. Nico is an exceptional colleague and sparring partner, and I greatly admire his analytical skills, drive for change and results, the high standards he sets for himself and his team, and his passion to coach others. Nico introduced new digital tools to improve our effectiveness and always encouraged the organisation to adopt a more agile and digital mindset. This was particularly challenging given the traditional approach of many colleagues, yet Nico persisted with remarkable dedication. I highly recommend Nico to any future company and hope that our paths cross again.”
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Klaas Reineke Head of Product, Smart InsurTech AG “Nico has deep understanding and skill how to drive modern Product development with Product Research and Design. He helps teams to integrate Research and Design into their daily practice. What I really like about Nico is that he never gives up pushing for better process, practice and quality while remaining calm and approachable. He sees the overarching goals and helps to transform a company to become a product company. Beside all this he knows the basics and tools that are needed to be sucessful and does not hesitate to just get the job done and support where the biggest needs are.”
People who reported to me
The researchers and designers I hired, led and coached.
- Mahdi Mohrehchi Design System Designer
“Working with Nico was an absolute pleasure for me. He built up the Product and Research team, drove the creation of our design system, and established a user-centric and product-focused mindset, which had a huge impact on the company's digital transformation mission. Nico's leadership style is one of his greatest strengths, and his invaluable trust and support encouraged us to grow and helped us improve our skills. He is a great communicator and promotes transparency. I always appreciated his honesty and constructive feedback. I can't recommend Nico highly enough for any job that needs someone with great leadership skills and who knows their way around product and design. Any organization would be lucky to have him.”
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Anna Kokhan Lead Product Designer “Nico has left an exceptional footprint in the design team. His establishment of a comprehensive Design System from scratch and a user research repository has streamlined our workflow and significantly enhanced our productivity. Nico's meticulous organization of documented processes has provided a clear and efficient framework for our projects. His creation of an environment that fosters collaboration is particularly commendable, with the weekly hands-on design collaboration meetings standing out as a highlight. These sessions have not only promoted teamwork but have also sparked creativity and innovation within the team. Moreover, Nico's trust and the freedom he afforded me while working on the mobile app were invaluable. His support and guidance throughout our brief yet productive collaboration were instrumental in our success. Nico's leadership has truly allowed the design team to flourish, and his contributions have left a lasting positive impact on our work. I highly recommend Nico for a Design Manager role.”
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Dr. Sarah Köksal Senior Product Researcher “I wholeheartedly recommend Nico for any leadership position. His commitment, strong motivation for change and visionary ideas make him a great asset for any organisation he works with. Nico drove the company towards a user-centric and data-driven future. He implemented many changes smoothly that significantly improved workflows and communication processes while managing expectations of all involved stakeholders with finesse. Transparent and direct communication is his forte. I appreciated that I could always count on Nico's honesty and constructive feedback. He also has a profound openness for new ideas and keeps his teams' development in mind. With his guidance, our team was consistently improving their skills and performance. Nico embodies the ideal qualities of a UX leader that any organisation would benefit from. He brings excellent research and design skills as well as an extensive knowledge in developing systems and designer workflows. Nico was my supervisor during a very turbulent time in my life and I am sincerely grateful for his understanding and support. I feel strongly that he cares for his team genuinely and sees people as human beings, not just as performers who must meet certain targets. He was as patient, caring and empathetic as I could have ever hoped for in a supervisor. I also came to appreciate that he always championed my work and that of our team which allowed us to focus on our tasks and bring the best possible performance.”
This page shows a selection. LinkedIn carries all of them, with their dates and the profile of everyone who wrote one.
Read all recommendations on LinkedIn