Manuel Schreurs
Verified Expert in Project Management
Project Manager
Amsterdam, Netherlands
Toptal member since March 29, 2021
Manuel is an executive leader with expertise gained as a department head, entrepreneur, and business consultant. He is known for his operational excellence skills, technical knowledge, and stakeholder and people management skills. Backed by Prosci Change Management, Agile, and Six Sigma Black Belt certificates, Manuel enjoys scaling up a starting organization and maximizing profits while keeping a great working culture.
Expertise
- Agile
- Certified ScrumMaster (CSM)
- Digital Delivery Management
- Digital Transformation
- PRINCE2 Project Management
- Project Management Professional (PMP)
- Scrum Coaching
- Servant Leadership
Work Experience
Strategy Execution Business Coach
Fjallraven
- Guided the MT and departments across Fjallraven to execute their strategic goals using the OKR methodology. Departments include marketing, eCommerce, sales, digital and product development.
- Worked with the management team to set up the yearly company objectives and with the departments to formulate department objectives.
- Set up a data-driven approach to strategy execution, better alignment between departments, and increased employee engagement.
- Created yearly and quarterly strategy all-hands meetings where the strategy gets explained, clearly focusing on the why. Organized brainstorming sessions with departments to focus on the how.
- Collaborated with the marketing, sales, and eCommerce departments globally to improve processes for strategy execution.
Target Operating Model Business Consultant
Toptal Client
- Designed a target operating model project for a global commercial real estate technology company.
- Evaluated the current processes, ways of working, and bottlenecks by interviewing people from across the organization.
- Analyzed the root causes and rewrote the problem statement from a business point of view based on the discovered symptoms.
- Created the organization and team model based on underlying design principles of customer-centricity, value streams, and lean and continuous improvement.
Leadership Trainer
Ahold Delhaize
- Set up a tech leadership training program for the tech division.
- Handled various aspects of this training, like situational leadership, management theories, politics, feedback, and finances. It is very practical, with many breakouts and exercises.
- Led individual coaching after the training. Acted as one of the coaches.
Product and Implementation Manager
Toptal Project
- Led the project from discovery to go-live, creating the product (crypto wallet) and helping develop the company. At the time of the discovery, the company didn't exist yet.
- Set up an agile approach, collaborating with investors to reprioritize the product backlog every month based on the latest developments in crypto-trends and legislation development. Achieved a proper balance of flexibility and control.
- Acted as both project and product manager. I constantly advised ROI business value versus implementation time. Recommended the investor to reduce scope on some parts and increase scope on others, keeping it budget neutral.
Global Delivery Director | SVP Academy | Board Member
Backbase
- Implemented all projects globally, including 250 FTEs and centers in Amsterdam, Atlanta, Bogota, and London.
- Set up and improved standard operating procedures to scale the organization globally and reduce firefighting. Rolled out globally, standardized the quality of work delivered while keeping agility.
- Set up a bid team to create over 300 project proposals and pitches. Pitched over 100 projects worldwide to board level and teams.
- Prepared and organized discovery or inception workshops and project intakes.
- Trained and certified 2,000 employees, customers, and system integrators. Served as a member of the board of directors as SVP Academy.
- Took over talent acquisition, ad interim and hired 500 FTs. Improved the processes and created financial forecasting using the recruitment pipeline.
- Built the internal communications team, held 12 town halls, and organized global leadership days.
- Created and provided scrum training and presented at conferences at the executive level.
- Defined the company strategy, cross-continent organization model, and growth strategy and served as a board member. Created financial forecasting and monitoring.
- Created a fresh user experience while keeping all existing back-end systems in place for mobile and online banking. Integrated with core banking systems and fintech players.
Interim Manager
Citiwish
- Implemented an ERP for an online fashion company as an interim CFO.
- Created the digital strategy and implemented a mobile app for an online bakery.
- Coached team members and C-level management on presentation skills.
- Led project management courses in PRINCE2 and PMP.
- Worked as an interim CTO for an online bakery, leading the technical department.
- Promoted process analysis and process improvement. Set up standard operating procedures to help technology companies to scale as an interim COO.
eCommerce Entrepreneur
Citiwish
- Set up an eCommerce company in Beijing with a business model similar to Groupon. It grew to 70 full-time equivalents (FTE), reaching over 1,000,000 visitors per month.
- Developed and operated an eCommerce platform. Its strength was the openness and extendability, integration with over 100 APIs (inventory control and booking), and other resellers, such as sales, SSO, and taxonomy.
- Created a marketing activation strategy and an activation engine for cross-channel behavioral retargeting. Led the marketing department.
Project Manager
Capgemini
- Delivered over 15 digital projects, nationally and internationally, including fixing prices and T&M.
- Served as a project manager for the first Dutch digital project to use offshoring in India.
- Managed international technology rollouts in big companies across all continents, including stakeholder management.
Project History
Cocotuan Website
Launched and operated an eCommerce website in China with a business model similar to Groupon.
Online Banking Site
Launched a new online banking site for 25+ banks, retail, business, and wealth companies.
The implementation consisted of design, implementation, and release. Major parts of the projects are often introducing Agile to the organization, setting up a CI/CD, moving to an API-centered architecture, and moving from on-premise to cloud infrastructure.
Mobile Banking
Launched mobile banking for 25+ banks in the USA, Europe, and Asia.
The mobile app is a very tangible main deliverable, but most of each project is the digital transformation taking place. Thinking outside-in, customer-focused, and setting up an infrastructure that enables quick and constant releases.
Education
Master's Degree in Business Administration (MBA)
Edhec Business School - Nice, France
Master's Degree in Computer Science
University of Amsterdam - Amsterdam
Certifications
Prosci ADKAR
Prosci
Lean Six Sigma Black Belt Certification
The Council for Six Sigma Certification
Professional Scrum Master Level II (PSM II)
Scrum.org
Certified Scrum Master
Scrum Alliance
PRINCE2 Practitioner Certification
APM Group
Skills
Tools
Jira, Google Sheets, Google Slides, Project Management & Work Tracking Tools, Trello, Slack, Zoom, Apple Keynote, Microsoft Project, Office 365, Google Workspace
Paradigms
Scrum, Agile, B2B, Agile Project Management, Agile Leadership, PRINCE2, Servant Leadership, Requirements Analysis, Marketplace Platforms, Implementation Project Management, Agile Product Management, Kanban, DevOps, Unit Testing, Continuous Integration (CI), Continuous Delivery (CD), Mobile App Design, B2C, Lean Project Management, Management, UX Design, Six Sigma, Change Management, Organizational Change Management (OCM), Key Performance Metrics
Platforms
SharePoint, iOS, Android, Blockchain, Azure, Amazon Web Services (AWS)
Industry Expertise
Digital Marketing, Banking & Finance, Lean Six Sigma
Other
Project Management Professional (PMP), Scrum Master, Certified ScrumMaster (CSM), Digital Transformation, Leadership Training, Node.js, Program Management, Stakeholder Management, Project Management, Risk Management, Project Tracking, Planning, Agile Coaching, Project Delivery, Project Timelines, Project Planning, Digital Project Management, Content Management, Team Management, PMO, Project Management Office (PMO), Training & Training Content Development, Technical Project Management, Process Improvement, Business Process Improvement (BPI), Website Redesign, Advisory, Process Improvement Project Management, Web Project Management, Technical Program Management, Business Transformation Project Management, APIs, Discovery, React, Business Operations, Resource Allocation, Leadership, Customer Experience Management, Agile Program Management, Project Leadership, Reporting, Team Leadership, RESTful Development, Sprint Planning, Project Reporting, Project Design & Management, Digital Product Design, Google Apps Script, Information Systems, Business Strategy, Organizational Design, Finance, Culture Management, PRINCE2 Project Management, IPMA Level C Project Manager, eCommerce, Scrum Coaching, Mobile App Development, Digital Delivery Management, Presentations, IT Program Management, Software Development Lifecycle (SDLC), ICT Training, Employee Training, Communication, Fintech, User Experience (UX), Search Engines, Analytics, Discovery Workshops, Startups, Project Estimation, Cryptocurrency, Minimum Viable Product (MVP), Feature Backlog Prioritization, Product Management, Digital Transformation Program Management, Objectives & Key Results (OKRs), Early-stage Startups, Mobile Apps, Web & Mobile Applications, Cryptocurrency Wallets, Integration, Client Delivery Management, Market Research, Process Flows, Mobile Applications, Consumer Applications, Data Analytics, Data Management, IT Operations Management (ITOM), Operations, Operations Management, Communication Management, Project Management Operations, Resource Management, Pitch Decks, User Research, Website Migration, Process Management, SOP Development, Full-stack, JavaScript, SaaS Product Management, Management Consulting, COO, Human Resources (HR), Forecasting, Branding, Business & Digital Transformation, Prototyping, Invoicing, Vendor Management, Operational Assessments, Product Owner, New Products, Organization, Rational Unified Process (RUP), International Expansion, Board of Directors, Kubernetes, CI/CD Pipelines, .NET, Portfolio Management, Senior Executive Management, eCommerce Payments, International Payments, Fintech Consultant, Online Payments, Electronic Payments, Mobile Payments, Card Payments, Direct to Consumer (D2C), Digital Advertising, Content Management Systems (CMS), Digital Asset Management, Global Team Management, Digital Payments, Cryptocurrency Payments, Business to Business (B2B), Digital Solutions, Certified Scrum Professional, Staffing, Budgeting, Interim Management, Mobile, Blockchain & Cryptocurrency, Product Launch, Crypto, Marketing, Advertising, Event Planning, Loans & Lending, Estimations, Backlog Management, User Stories, Estimation & Planning, Requirements & Specifications, Product Roadmaps, Requirements, Financing, Business, Coaching, Executive Coaching, Teaching, Business Coaching, Release Management, Schedule Optimization, Scope Management, IT Infrastructure, Security Audits, Product Vision, Risk Analysis, Online Banking, Financial Products, Product Strategy, Market Research & Analysis, User Interface (UI), Go-to-market Plans, Web Applications, Investment Banking, Modernization, Six Sigma Black Belt Certified, IT Project Management, Project Rescue, Monitoring, Business Consulting, Operating Models, Target Operating Models, Training, Omnichannel Marketing, Process Mapping, Process Optimization, Business Process Optimization, Business Proposals, Business Cases, Product Development, Chief Operations Officer (COO), Teams, Brand Management, Sales, Project Design, Scope of Work (SOW), Leads, Brand Building, Business Models, Conversion, Competitive Analysis, Key Performance Indicators (KPIs), Audience Targeting, Revenue Strategy, Business Plan Consulting, Financial Modeling, Organizational Behavior (OB), Organizational Development, Prosci ADKAR, Discovery Management, Digital Platform Development, Supply Chain, Cloud, Machine Learning, Software Implementation, System Implementation, CTO, Consulting, Process Analysis, End-to-end Implementation (E2E), SaaS, Financials, Large-scale Projects, Workflow, Marketplaces, Solution Architecture, TypeScript, Accounts Receivable, Accounts Payable, Smart Contracts, Evaluation, Customer Relationship Management (CRM)
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