From boardroomto working software

EnergyeMobilityHEMS

Vattenfall eMobility and HEMS

Product Owner Feb 2023 to present 8-person DevOps team eMobility and HEMS

Angular, .NET, Microsoft Azure REST APIs, OCPP, SSO, Microservices SAFe ART Optimizing Energy

Vattenfall’s B2C eMobility and Home Energy Management portfolio from zero to market, built on API-first foundations where partners plug in to Vattenfall standards.

Self-service EV charger configurator live in MijnVattenfall and the Vattenfall app. Partner API onboarded Louwman (Toyota, Lexus, BYD, Suzuki): 50% of all Vattenfall EV charger sales now flow through the partner channel. Kraken (Octopus Energy) won as HEMS vendor.

Context

Vattenfall needed to scale its B2C eMobility portfolio: EV chargers, energy contracts for electric drivers, smart charging and contributions to grid stability. The market moved fast, regulation shifted alongside, competition was building in parallel. A proposition was on the table, but no team and no working customer journey to get it to customers. Later the engagement broadened to Home Energy Management: solar panels, home batteries and heat pumps.

Approach

Seven-person DevOps team built from scratch through my network (now eight). Field interviews with EV owners informed scope: the #1 friction was not pricing but uncertainty about installation timing. The configurator shows a real-time installation timeline and integrates with installers via a two-way Installer API. Smart Charging built on Jedlix, later extended with OCPP integration between Jedlix and Road for charger-controlled charging. Introduced the Partner API onto which Louwman onboarded (Toyota, Lexus, BYD, Suzuki), good for half of all EV charger sales. Delivered ERE (Emission Reduction Unit Registration) so customers with a Vattenfall EV charger receive financial compensation based on charger data from Road via the Vattenfall data lake. Kraken (Octopus Energy) won as HEMS vendor in a tender I scoped broader to a vendor for the entire smart home. Co-founded the first SAFe ART (Optimizing Energy).

Role

Product Owner with ownership of the eMobility and Home Energy Management backlog, team formation and tenders. Reporting line to Manager App and Director CSD, within DDI, with direct lines to Marketing and Valuation directors.

Result

• ✓ Self-service EV charger configurator live in MijnVattenfall and the Vattenfall app as a new sales channel alongside telesales
• ✓ 2 of the 3 Vattenfall NL product launches of 2024 came from this team: the charger configurator and Smart Charging through the car
• ✓ Two-way Installer API with status updates per phase and multi-installer operation without chain breaks
• ✓ Partner API onboarded Louwman with Toyota, Lexus, BYD and Suzuki: 50% of all Vattenfall EV charger sales now flow through the partner channel
• ✓ Smart Charging via the car (Jedlix), the first active control functionality in the Vattenfall app, extended with charger-controlled charging via OCPP between Jedlix and Road
• ✓ ERE (Emission Reduction Unit Registration) as new customer compensation based on charger data from Road via the Vattenfall data lake
• ✓ Co-founded the first SAFe ART Optimizing Energy (4 teams, 4 POs, 2 PMs)
• ✓ Kraken (Octopus Energy) won as HEMS vendor via a broadly scoped tender for the entire smart home, 2030 ambition: 300,000 connected devices

“I had the pleasure of working with Simon at Vattenfall on the company’s Smart-Charging proposition. When necessary, he communicates clearly and efficiently without unnecessary detours. Simon brings a contagious energy that makes him not only valuable to our team but, through his ideas and insights, also makes a positive impact on the teams around us.”

Hospitality e-commerceCo-founder9 FTE

MyDish: Founder Story

Co-founder & Senior Product Owner Apr 2020 to Jul 2023 9-person team E-commerce hospitality

Typescript on Google Cloud Agile Scrum 0 to 9 employees

His own concept, from pitch to live platform: an e-commerce platform for hospitality that treats the table as one party, built without an existing team or codebase, in the middle of the corona period.

Started without a codebase in April 2020, live in the summer of 2020. Typescript on Google Cloud, Adyen for Platforms, Lightspeed integration built by the in-house team. Average tip jar at connected venues up 15% in own measurements.

Context

Simon conceived the MyDish concept himself and pitched it. Existing QR ordering apps treated every guest as a separate customer; dining out is a shared experience. The corona period made digital, contactless ordering urgent, but hospitality had to stay intact. There was no team, no codebase and no established partnership to build on.

Approach

The digital table session at the core: the host opens the table, every guest orders on their own phone within the same session and the restaurant receives one coherent table order, with shared or split payment. Built the product organisation from zero to nine. Co-creation with key restaurants and a configurable management console, from all-you-can-eat rounds to menu variants per area. Transaction-based revenue model without fixed software fees on Adyen for Platforms, with automatic splitting of payments. Lightspeed integration built by the in-house team; conceived the standalone receipt printer himself as a fallback so restaurants without a connectable POS could join as well.

Role

Co-founder, director and Senior Product Owner at the same time. Responsible for product development, operations and commercial partnerships within the MT.

Result

• ✓ Started without a codebase in April 2020; platform live in the summer of 2020, in Typescript on Google Cloud
• ✓ Average tip jar at connected venues rose 15% in own measurements, winning staff over to the product
• ✓ Strategic partnerships with Lightspeed POS, Adyen, Lavazza and VHC hospitality wholesale
• ✓ Team grown from 0 to 9 across development, design and data science
• ✓ Reseller network set up for third-party distribution and support

“Simon is one hell of a PO. His ability to work through a crisis and motivate others to achieve the targets is always inspiring. He is very good at gathering business need requirements and translating them to technical requirements. Simon has also been a great sparring partner in the development team and has shown great architecture skills and thinking.”

BankingService deliveryNL + IN teams

ABN AMRO — Service delivery squad at IBM/Kyndryl

Service Delivery Squad Leader Aug 2021 to Apr 2022 36 team members Banking enterprise

Azure migration for MainFrame and Midrange Agile DevOps 36 team members, 160+ FTE in learning programme

Kept three DevOps teams running through the IBM-to-Kyndryl spin-off, with Dutch and Indian members and ABN AMRO as the client.

Three domain teams (P&T, CISO, CADM) operational during the spin-off. 160+ employees certified on Cloud and Scrum. Three budget rounds completed without operational downtime.

Context

Managing three Agile DevOps teams at one of the Netherlands’ largest banks, with 21 Dutch and 15 Indian remote team members. At the same time, IBM was spinning off to Kyndryl, which brought three budget rounds and a new domain structure. The teams’ focus: managing MainFrame and Midrange applications and the migration to Azure Cloud.

Approach

Took P&L and HR accountability for three domain teams: Platform and Technology, Corporate Information Security Office and Chief Architecture Data Management. Designed and rolled out a Cloud and Scrum learning programme for 160+ employees. Navigated complex enterprise governance during the spin-off, maintaining operational continuity for banking compliance and migration trajectories.

Role

Service Delivery Squad Leader and First Line Manager. P&L and HR responsibility for three DevOps teams (36 NL and IN). Final accountability for roadmap, budget and multi-country delivery across the P&T, CISO and CADM domains.

Result

• ✓ Three DevOps teams (P&T, CISO, CADM) operational during the IBM-to-Kyndryl spin-off
• ✓ 160+ employees certified on Cloud and Scrum
• ✓ MainFrame and Midrange kept operational during migration to Azure
• ✓ Three budget rounds completed without operational downtime

“Thanks for being part of my management team. I have come to know you as an energetic, ambitious guy leading the team through these challenging times. With your daily stand-ups, focus on education and ‘hair on fire’ mentality when it comes to operational issues, you have been an example to others.”

EdTechMT member46 FTE SAFe PI

Iddink Group: EdTech platforms and SAFe PI planning

Development Manager & Product Owner Apr 2018 to Aug 2021 46 team members EdTech / Sanoma Learning

Azure, Kubernetes, API Management SAFe PI Planning 46 team members, 2M end users

Restructured the product development of one of the largest EdTech players in the Netherlands, with teams in the Netherlands and India and four platforms running in parallel.

Four SAFe DevOps teams with 46 members. Four platforms live. DMCT handles 600K+ students daily.

Context

Iddink Group (part of Sanoma Learning) delivers digital learning environments and educational resources to more than 2 million end users through Iddink, Eduarte and Magister. Product development was split between Operations and Development, the backlog had grown to thousands of items and collaboration between Dutch and Indian team members called for a scalable Agile framework.

Approach

Restructured four multidisciplinary Scrum DevOps teams (27 NL, 19 IN remote) into domain-responsible teams. Implemented SAFe PI Planning to synchronise cross-team delivery. Set up an additional POC team (2 NL, 6 IN) that grew into a full Scrum team. Four platform lines developed in parallel:

Role

Development Manager and Product Owner within the MT. Budget and HR responsibility for the Eduarte Scrum DevOps teams. Leadership over architects, underlying Product Owners and chain partner alignment.

Result

• ✓ Four DevOps teams on SAFe PI Planning, including 19 India-remote members
• ✓ DMCT live: 600K+ students daily with tens of millions of peak requests
• ✓ IddinkHub live: self-service API programme with consent and billing
• ✓ DUOstubs live: bi-weekly releases, isolated test data per team
• ✓ Backlog of thousands of items reduced and prioritised per quadrant

“He has a quick and adaptable understanding of the business, and can motivate people to walk the extra mile. I placed him first in a complete new outsourced software development team, and later on in a hybrid team with local Dutch persons and Indian colleagues. He quickly realized that you need a face-to-face relationship and was already in India before everybody realized what was going on. Simon can realize things where politics are involved and where some people might think that things cannot be realized.”

HealthcareLead POP&L

PinkRoccade Healthcare

Lead Product Owner Apr 2017 to Mar 2018 1 DevOps team, 4 product lines Healthcare / BoZ

Cobol plus REACT on new API architecture Design First co-creation 4 product lines, 1,600 bugs

Four healthcare products modernised with one team, under strict healthcare regulations, while revenue was contractually secured before development.

Four product lines compliant with healthcare regulations and SLA norms. Revenue secured before development through Design First co-creation. Backlog reduced from 1,600 PBIs to 150 actionable stories in the roadmap.

Context

Business Support Healthcare (BoZ), a business unit within PinkRoccade Healthcare, managed four on-premise products in Cobol and partly REACT: DRP (duty roster planning), Bomas (finance), VILA (procurement and logistics) and ProCare. One DevOps team had to comply with regulations, eliminate legacy, win tenders and build new functionality, with 1,600 bugs on the backlog. Capacity was limited, expectations were not.

Approach

As Lead Product Owner in the management team, introduced the “Design First” principle: UX designs and bullet-point feature descriptions were presented to clients and contractually agreed before development. This secured revenue and enabled winning tenders. Legacy Cobol systematically replaced by web-based user layers on a newly developed API architecture. Underlying Product Owners coached and directed on content.

Role

Lead Product Owner in the management team, connecting client, business and development. P&L over the business unit and responsible for the development and content direction of underlying Product Owners.

Result

• ✓ Four product lines compliant with healthcare regulations and SLA norms
• ✓ Revenue contractually secured before development through Design First co-creation
• ✓ Next to roster planning system DRP, developed the self-rostering app PlanyWhere: care workers plan their own shifts, integrated with HR and payroll systems
• ✓ Legacy Cobol progressively replaced by web-based layers on new API architecture
• ✓ Backlog of 1,600 PBIs worked through in pressure-cooker sessions, reduced to 150 actionable stories on the roadmap

“With his strong combination of technical and commercial knowledge, Simon knows exactly how to get organizations on board with his ideas. Through his personal approach, Simon quickly integrates into any team. I admire his calm demeanor and empathy, which were incredibly valuable additions to our team.”

Real estate2 teams10 countries

Mileway (Blackstone)

Senior Product Owner Aug 2022 to Feb 2023 2 DevOps teams Real estate international

Microsoft Azure and SharePoint Agile Scrum with coaching 2 teams, 10 countries, 380+ employees

Got two DevOps teams running for the internal tooling of Europe’s largest “last mile” real estate company, with local processes spread across ten countries.

Document management, contract management and intranet live on Azure and SharePoint; combined finance and timesheet application delivered. Requirements from 10 countries resolved centrally.

Context

Mileway, with 380+ employees and 20+ offices in 10 countries, needed streamlined internal tooling: document management, intranet, contract management, finance and timesheets. The challenge: local processes and needs varied significantly per country, while one central Azure infrastructure had to emerge.

Approach

Took product development from loose requests to a structured approach: product roadmap, prioritised backlog, two-week sprints and a fixed release cadence with sprint demos. Requirements from 10 European markets translated into central tooling: no local forks, local flexibility through configuration. Set up a key-user structure with representatives from the countries for requirements, local validation and acceptance testing. For the existing document flow, AI classification with OCR was deployed, developed with data scientists inside the teams. Agile coaching and mentorship deployed to increase team delivery.

Role

Senior Product Owner with leadership over two DevOps teams and direct alignment with local user groups in multiple countries.

Result

• ✓ Document management, contract management and intranet systems live at handover, on Azure and SharePoint
• ✓ Combined finance and timesheet application delivered, from quote and work order to approved invoice
• ✓ Local requirements from 10 countries resolved centrally, not branched per country; the UK, Germany and the Netherlands among the countries connected
• ✓ Two DevOps teams delivering autonomously, coached to more effective ways of working
• ✓ Products handed over to an internally recruited Product Owner once the foundation was in place

“He is an experienced Product Owner that guides the teams he works with. He is focused on value, working with the stakeholders and then translating that into a comprehensive backlog. He worked with multiple teams at Mileway and helped them with starting to work with Scrum and Agile.”

Healthcare52 practicesLow Code (Silicon)

Orthocenter: Smile 2.0

Product Owner Aug 2023 to Aug 2024 52 practices plus headquarters Healthcare orthodontics

Silicon Low Code via Fenetre Agile Scrum introduced 52 practices

Renewing the vital business software of Orthocenter (41 years active), with an external development team and 52 practices as stakeholders.

Smile 2.0 runs on Silicon Low Code, with predictable sprint rhythm. 52 practices steer prioritisation, where no Agile rhythm existed before.

Context

Orthocenter manages 52 orthodontic practices across the Netherlands and has been active for 41 years. Their vital business software “Smile” needed a thorough renewal. Development takes place externally at Fenetre on the Silicon Low Code platform. The organisation had no Agile way of working and no daily leadership on the external team.

Approach

First complete Agile Scrum cadence for a 41-year-old organization with 52 practices. Package renewal Smile 2.0 on Silicon Low Code, external Fenetre development team managed, ceremonies and backlog consolidation introduced where ad-hoc development used to be the rule. Brought functional requirements from 52 practices, headquarters and developers together in one backlog. Fixed feedback cycles and demos so practices steer during development, not just at the end.

Role

Product Owner with final leadership over headquarters, 52 practices and the external Fenetre team. Product vision established and kept leading throughout the engagement.

Result

• ✓ Smile 2.0 in continuous delivery on Silicon Low Code, with predictable sprint rhythm
• ✓ Organisation’s first Agile rhythm in place: demos, refinement, retros
• ✓ 52 practices steer prioritisation through fixed feedback cycles
• ✓ External Fenetre team works on fixed sprint rhythm under final leadership
• ✓ Product vision kept leading throughout the engagement, in one direction

Education€300M revenue3 Scrum teams

The Learning Network: education e-commerce + Bundle exam platform

Product Owner May 2015 to Mar 2017 3 Scrum teams E-commerce education

Microsoft Azure with SSO architecture SAFe PI Planning 3 teams, €300M annual revenue

Directing three Scrum teams for one of the largest e-commerce platforms in the Netherlands, with strict GDPR governance around student data and chain partners moving alongside.

Three Scrum teams directed on content, from Twinkle100 position 21 to 7, a fully new Azure platform and Bundle platform for open-book exams co-created with UMCG/RuG.

Context

The Learning Network (Van Dijk Educatie) operated one of the largest e-commerce platforms in the Netherlands with €300 million annual revenue, three own and hundreds of white-label webshops. Three product lines needed direction: the core e-commerce platform, digital distribution and specials propositions. The complexity: building a completely new Azure cloud platform with Single Sign-on for students and teachers, while alignment ran with Kennisnet, publishers, Surf and saMBO-ICT and strict GDPR and security requirements around sensitive student data had to be met.

Approach

Content-responsible Product Owner for three Agile Scrum teams: e-commerce, digital distribution and specials. Developed a completely new Azure e-commerce platform that unified purchasing, distributing and granting access to educational resources. Introduced SAFe PI Planning for cross-team alignment. Represented the company externally at user groups, conferences and seminars. At launch, contracted and onboarded educational institutions and trained their staff.

Role

Product Owner with content responsibility over three Scrum teams. Budget and contract responsibility over all three product lines. Connector between business, development, clients and chain partners.

Result

• ✓ Bundle platform live: students work with their own e-book licences, notes and summaries, while access to data outside the approved context is shielded during the exam
• ✓ From #21 to #7 in the Twinkle100 (Netherlands’ e-commerce ranking) within one year
• ✓ New Azure cloud e-commerce platform with Single Sign-on for students and teachers
• ✓ GDPR-compliant architecture for student data, in alignment with Kennisnet, Surf, saMBO-ICT and publishers
• ✓ SAFe PI Planning operational across three Scrum teams
• ✓ Budget and contract responsibility across all three product lines

“Simon successfully got us on board with the products he had in mind, even when it meant extra work for us during a very busy project phase. Through his transparent workflow, no-nonsense approach, and solid understanding of both the customer and IT, he served as an excellent liaison between the client, the business, and the tech team. I would not hesitate to start another project with Simon or to bring him in as product owner or as the hinge between business and IT.”