Marcel joined the SUSI&James team as Managing Director on January 1, 2021. Thanks to his management and leadership skills, combined with extensive industry knowledge, a broad network of contacts, and many years of experience, Marcel has been able to positively influence the company’s growth and drive the further development of internal processes.
“To me, SUSI&James represents innovative strength, the potential for growth and for creating a true game-changer, as well as the freedom to act.”
Marcel is a sports enthusiast who values principles and enjoys life, with a particular fondness for rock and metal music. He is a proud native of the Rhineland, and his social circle plays an important role in his personal life. Marcel enjoys spending his free time on sports—both as a participant and a spectator. He is known for his quick wit and his rational, inquisitive nature, qualities that are essential to his role as managing director in his daily professional life.
Acting rationally by weighing opportunities against risks is crucial in such a position. “When leading a company, one must never forget that the company is made up of employees and depends on them for its survival. A decision made ‘on a whim’ can have disastrous consequences that affect both the company itself and its employees!” Marcel’s curiosity helps him understand what simplifies—and could simplify—our customers’ daily lives. This reflects the innovative strength and drive of SUSI&James, as we aim to make our customers’ daily lives easier with our digital assistant SUSI and our industry-specific solutions.
Marcel earned his degree in physics with a focus on nonlinear time series analysis. He worked for a long time as a student employee in the IT department of his former employer. After graduating in 2009, he took on his first management role, which came with its share of hurdles to overcome. “People aren’t machines. You have to reach out to them, motivate them, and communicate with them a lot. Leadership is something you can learn—experience helps—but you also have to want it and enjoy it yourself.” Nevertheless, Marcel managed to overcome these hurdles, learned to deal with difficulties, and grew from them.
As he progressed in his career to become a director and authorized signatory, he held various other management positions and gradually gained experience in an international setting, for example through assignments in China and the United States. In the process, he took on various roles with full profit and loss responsibility in the automotive and IT sectors and became familiar with the working methods and structures of large corporations. This extensive and valuable experience, along with various coaching sessions undertaken alongside his career, enables Marcel to contribute to the development of SUSI&James.
Marcel learned about SUSI&James through his contacts. He deliberately chose a young and innovative startup so that he could leverage his extensive network to help attract new clients in the automotive and service & retail sectors. Marcel also supported the further development of SUSI&James’s internal processes. “For example, in the first quarter, a framework was established in the area of controlling that is capable of supporting SUSI&James’s planned growth.”
“I want to help the company become the market leader in digital employees.””
Marcel’s responsibilities include ensuring, both internally and externally, that the necessary conditions are met so that our company can identify and efficiently develop growth opportunities. He facilitates and supports both our projects and processes by maintaining a comprehensive overview of current initiatives. In doing so, Marcel works closely with our employees and clients to ensure that everything runs smoothly. Should any obstacles arise during the execution of a project, Marcel acts as the liaison with the customer, communicates these issues, and helps find solutions.
It’s important to have experience in tailoring communication to specific audiences and to be a solution-oriented person like Marcel. “Sometimes I speak with customers who aren’t interested in the technology itself, but in the solution it provides. Other times, customers with a technical background are interested in the technology and want to know every detail before deciding to purchase the solution. In these conversations, I have to adapt and provide the specific information that’s important to the customer.” His analytical thinking and objective assessment of all factors support Marcel daily in his tasks of handling business matters and further developing the organization.
Marcel primarily supports projects in the automotive and service & retail sectors. He usually assists project managers during client meetings at the beginning and end, but then leaves the rest of the process and planning to them. “Occasionally, I also join in on discussions during complex projects. But I prefer to let the project managers lead the project and trust them to do so.”
Marcel decided to choose the hashtag #accelerate because growing the company is part of his job: “It’s my job to grow the company, and that involves speeding up all processes so the company gains momentum overall. Intrinsic momentum is a necessary prerequisite for a company to gain traction.” Marcel’s vision is for SUSI to become synonymous with digital employees within a few years. “SUSI should become the synonym for digital employees, just as Nutella is for hazelnut spread or Tempo is for tissues. Our solution should become the leading solution, especially in the business environment—that would be a real game-changer!”
We’d like to thank Marcel for the interview and are thrilled to have him as our CEO!
