Thomas Gläser

Leading a meetup series which unites around 90 professionals from the Munich UX & Product community each month at Google IsarValley as well as other Munich based companies to exchange and learn about our profession. Furthermore I mentor meetup members. Success: Fast growing community with currently almost 2.000 members

I'm a seasoned Moonshot Orchestrator with 14 years of experience dedicated to transforming imaginative product visions into the sphere of realization. I bring a uniqueblend of empathy, intuition, and analytical acumen to empower teams and drive lasting business success. I worked at the intersection of design, business and technology for well-known companies like BMW, Mozilla, Arduino. I'm passionate about helping teams to build better products and executives, to build the right system to support that.

- Led onlyfy 2025 vision, shaping the future of recruiting across the organization. - Pioneered AI use to boost HR managers' productivity using GPT models. - Conducted foundational JTBD research in the mid-market, guiding product strategy and UX improvements. - Oversaw an 18-member UX team across four sites, uniting efforts with strategic product goals.

- Led XING Events' COVID-19 strategy, launching a live video service to sustain revenue. - Directed a 12-person team to refine the Event Marketplace with AI for better content and personalized recommendations. - Collaborated with leadership to focus on key events, overseeing the roadmap for marketplace, groups, and event manager. - Built a transparent team culture, embedding values that enhanced engagement and user profiles.

Moderating workshops for cross-functional teams to develop and test an app from idea to concept in two days using design thinking and lean startup methods (eg user research, insight synthesis, jobs-to-be-done, user story mapping and rapid prototyping). Success: Average satisfaction rating of 9 (out of 10) from my participants

- Directed RYTE's product strategy, aligning short-term wins with long-term vision while balancing tech debt reduction with innovation. - Led the AI-driven SEO Anomaly Detection initiative, cutting manual analysis and boosting marketing efficiency. - Managed a six-member team of product managers and designers, improving processes for user engagement and revenue, and preparing a successor for continuity.

Co-creator of a two-day conference and workshop event around celebrating the craft, impact and strategy of great product design. I am responsible for shaping the conference vision, defining topics, curating professional speakers from industry leading companies as well as acquiring media partners and sponsors. Leading experimentation efforts to explore new growth channels and revenue streams. Success: Launched a profitable event with 600 paying guests, sold out 8x in a row

- Championed customer-centricity within Arduino's Education unit, refining products and pioneering new concepts through established discovery rituals. - Unearthed a lucrative customer segment with a spending potential 10x greater, simultaneously bolstering team assurance in product delivery. - Led a 10-person team, working closely with the Managing Director and Co-founder, employing strategic tools like the Value Proposition Canvas and User Story Mapping to guide development.

- Championed the Scent AI project, enhancing an AI algorithm for personalized scent diffusion, resulting in reduced returns and improved user satisfaction. - Collaborated with SMP founders to steer product strategy, leveraging data-driven insights to refine fragrance technology and secure startup funding. - Guided research and development efforts, establishing test setups critical for algorithmic advancements and the startup's successful exit.

I accompany and co-construct innovation and transformation efforts for small startups and established corporates by conducting workshops and projects. Helping them to become a more innovative and agile market players. Challenging the status quo by integrating measurable success metrics into the workflow and supporting teams to maintain focus.

I coached the CPO, product owners and contributors to enable their smart home business units to become more autonomous and gain speed. Assisting the teams to identify the USP, acquire new customer segments and leverage new channels to achieve the sales goals. Success: Tripled sales through a renewed amazon seller account, dramatically reduced the CPO of social media activities

Facilitating a weekend course focusing on how to develop digital products, starting with the customer. Participants execute research and extract insights to continue defining early sketched prototypes which can be tested right away.

- Led the product vision and UX concept for the 'DinoPark' project, aimed at enhancing volunteer and employee collaboration within a truely remote team. - Played a pivotal role in enterprise collaboration and IT security, facilitating the integration of Open Authorization standards for the open-source community. - Conducted comprehensive user and market research, setting the stage for a successful product launch one year later.

- Spearheaded Delightex's strategic pivot from a coaching platform to CoSpaces, an award-winning educational tool for AR/VR spaces, driving global adoption, notably in the US and Asia contributing to the firm's expansion. - Led design and product teams in developing 'AI Arena', enhancing interactive learning in coding and ML. - Influenced business growth by identifying new opportunities and forging strategic partnerships, guiding the company through a product evolution.

- Founded a boutique agency, securing BMW and the Deutsche Museum accounts, and drove growth. Led BMW iDrive's 7-year vision. - Created interactive museum installations and concepts using Microsoft HoloLens and Generative Design for immersive experiences. - Expanded the agency's portfolio with projects like Skoobe's top-rated Android app in the German Google Play Store, improving logistics and digital engagement.

- Developed interaction concepts for BMW Radio Professional and iDrive, leading trend research that garnered company-wide recognition. - Initiated in-house experimentation by introducing team members to rapid prototyping tools for hardware like Arduino and software such as Adobe tools.

User Experience Design (UX), User Interface Design (UI), Usability, Human Computer Interaction (HCI), Media & Interaction Design

Schwerpunkt Interaktionsgestaltung