“Responding to change” is a competence I learned at an early age.
I was born in Bangkok and then spent my first 10 years of childhood in Nepal, Indonesia, Canada, Zimbabwe and Kenya.
Constantly responding and adapting to changes in my environments, ways of living, cultures and people have set the foundation of the change agent that I have become.
When two become one: Agile and Asia.
Today, I teach, advise and coach teams, departments and leadership within Allianz Technology Thailand on how to respond to changes in order to maximize value. When two become one: Agile and Asia.
More than 5 years ago I made the switch from a waterfall way of working to an agile way of working, one of the best decisions I have made. Working with cross-functional teams, in iterations, delivering value incrementally, fast feedback loops, non-stop learning, close collaboration with customers and celebrating team successes has set the basis of my passion that I very much enjoy.
Moreover, after being born in Asia, lived in Asia, studied in Asia, travelled throughout Asia, and worked in Asia, my biggest dream of moving to Asia became true in November 2021. Ever since I remember I wanted to live and work in Asia.
Now I am very fortunate to be able to combine my two big passions in one role being Agile Coach in Asia with Allianz Technology Thailand.
Approach to succeed
As a natural change agent with over 10 years of experience - on the cutting edge of Business and IT - in the field of Banking, Consultancy, Aviation, Rail(road) Transport sector and Insurance. My motto in life is: “nothing is perfect, it can always be improved”, with this in mind I continuously strive to get the best out of people, relationships, processes and tools to increase value delivery.
This is done through motivating and stimulating others, result-driven coaching, experimenting with ok bet casino ways of working, humor, creativity, system thinking’ approach, creating a pleasant work atmosphere, cultural awareness, connect and collaborate with individuals, measuring progress, non-stop learning, self-reflection and continuous improvements.
“Passionately responding to change, while improving the status quo”.

How would you define a “Product Owner” and a “Product Vision”?
A product owner (PO) has a fixed role in the Scrum process. The PO defines the next important feature that should be implemented in the product teams and translates businesses requirements of the current projects into actionable stories. As a Product Owner, I speak to the internal and external stakeholders and prioritize the product backlog.
A product owner translates business requirements of the projects into actionable stories. clarifying the vision of the project and conveying their individual meaning is essential for the success of the project. This vision forms the basis for motivating the team. This vision also provides the customers with the incentive to work towards this goal.
As the product owner of the Experience Cloud Solutions Team, I also focus on creating a more professional, and comprehensive digital experiences that engages audiences across all touchpoints–online, mobile, app, and elsewhere. This is our New Digital Brand Experience vision which leverages the Adobe Experience Cloud.
How does a day start and what does it look like?
My day usually begins between 8am and 8:30am. I starts the computer while preparing coffee and check the emails and the tasks for the day with a cup of coffee.
The second important task of the day is the daily team stand-up. Here we check progress on tasks, align on topics and identify blockers to ensure a focused and efficient progress for everyone.
What does your interaction with others look?
As a PO, you need to interact with many different people. First is to connect with the Operating Entities and Customers to understand the business needs. Next important connection is with Adobe to influence the product development based on our business needs. Then there is the connection with Management, Finance, other Product Owners, and Departments to create a valid product alignment with the overall strategy.
What kind of tools and methods does a Product owner use?
I work with the classic agile scrum method in cross located teams in India and Germany. The data driven business of oneMarketing is largely based on the Adobe Experience Cloud Solutions. This means programs like Adobe Analytics, Target and so on become the go to.
What do you like best about your job?
The best part of the job is the access to a modern and exciting technology and the chance to drive the future technologies in the area of data driven digital business. There is always a ok bet casino challenge in such an international environment.
How has the switch to remote working been in your experience?
Compared to other Operating Entities and departments, my team is working from different locations during Covid. During this digital times we have established regular ceremonies like virtual coffees or team events to bridge the gap.
Nevertheless, the colleagues are always missed. The short coffee break chats or the lunch together with the colleges onside are always remembered fondly. And the “corridor radio” only works to a limited extent.
Helmut shares with us some insights that you should know if you want to become a Product Owner like him:

1. Having a combination of Business and Technical knowledge is an advantage for a Product Owner.
2. A good network in the organization and with stakeholders can be very helpful.
3. Analytical skills are important to understand the needs of the customer. Strategic thinking is essential to create an aligned Product Vision.
4. A product owner should always be curious and ask the “why” to the business units and “how” to the development team.
5. You need to have good communications with everyone because in many situations, a Product Owner has to refuse proposals and it is important that your intention is not misunderstood.
   All of these factors are important for creating successful, sustainable and smart Data driven Business Models where we can achieve what we set out to achieve and retain customer.

As father of two children and Chief Information Security Officer at Allianz Technology, how do you find balance between your professional and private life?
Balancing our professional and personal life can be challenging, but it’s essential. We all need to find the proper balance, especially when we have private duties that we must fulfil, such as taking care of our kids or of our elder parents. Often, work takes precedence over everything else in our lives. Our desire to succeed professionally can push us to set aside our own well-being. Creating a harmonious work-life balance or work-life integration is critical, though, to improve not only our physical, emotional and mental well-being, but it’s also important for our career. Cutting ties with the outside world from time to time allows us to recover from weekly stress, and gives us space for other thoughts and ideas to emerge.
So, for example, although it is time consuming, we try to cook daily fresh meals and eat together every evening. I would rather stop working and go back to the computer later on, than to miss these magical moments with my family.
As we heard, as of July 19th you will have 3 consequent months of paternity leave to support your wife, who chose to start working at that time. How do you plan to spend your time then?
Yes, indeed, I will be supporting my wife in taking care of the children, as she will start getting back to work. Making parental leave more attractive to fathers is key to helping mothers follow their passions or progress in their careers. Until men have equal opportunities to be caregivers, and until companies regard men as equally responsible for caregiving, most families will be left with no choice: the bulk of caregiving responsibilities will fall to women. If fathers will take over the care-work off women’s shoulders, then mothers will have the freedom to choose whatever they wish to pursue, as well as when and how they wish to return to work. Especially nowadays, when we are witnessing so many lifestyles and ways of life, besides the “normal”, classic family model, universally considered by the society. I am very grateful to be working in a company that enables and empowers women to achieve their professional goals, and that helps them to manage the shifting responsibilities of career, parenting, and caregiving to all family members.
Therefore, in the next three months I will spend my time doing house chores, changing diapers, biking with my elder daughter, cooking for my family, and doing what millions of other fathers do when they are raising kids.
What are the principles and values you would like to teach your children?
First, I will teach them good manners, for this helps them interact with the people they meet in their daily lives and shapes them into loving and considerate persons. Respect is a particularly vital value to guide the children when they reach the classroom. From a young age, honesty and integrity should be instilled as some of the most important values for kids. Accountability for one’s actions is also crucial value for children to learn, as it sets the expectation for how they should act in everyday life. I will also encourage my children to lend a helping hand whenever the opportunity arises. And sustainability and protection of the environment are also aspects I am trying to include in our daily life.
What advice do you have for all the fathers in Allianz?
Business continuity and operational resilience are topics that are discussed and incorporated at Allianz Technology. It may seem daunting to take a paternity leave, as many assume that being absent may affect their contribution and work – but that is not the case at all. In fact, the continuity of the organization’ workflow remains in place.
Taking personal time to nurture your family, unplugging from work stress positively increase ones’ productivity and overall wellbeing. Whilst your job is significant and giving your best is surely rewarding, neglecting ones’ mental and physical health will negatively influence ones’ productivity, hard-work and ultimately, the whole organization.
My goal is to promote a more inclusive work environment that supports the work-life balance experience for all Allianz Technology employees without exception, and this includes changing the perception on paternity leave.
I encourage all the fathers in Allianz, whether they have managerial or non-managerial roles, to take the paternity leave and to enjoy spending time with the ok bet casinoborn, because these are times that will never come back and one should take advantage of this option, if available in your country.