About

About

SAP Cutover Management & Project Leadership – professional profile at a glance

About2026-05-19T19:29:59-04:00

About my services

Who I am

As a Senior IT Project Manager fluent in German, English, and Spanish, I bring over 15 years of experience bridging cultures and leading global teams. My focus is on fostering collaboration across continents and developing structured methodologies that enable faster, more predictable SAP S/4HANA transformations.

What I deliver

I specialize in end-to-end SAP S/4HANA cutovers, data migrations, and hypercare exits, leading global, remote-first teams. My consulting focus lies in project management and SAP cutover governance, supported by proprietary methodologies that ensure structured rollouts and full transparency through KPI-driven dashboards.

Why it matters

By combining language fluency with agile governance and data-driven decision-making, I eliminate communication barriers and accelerate project lifecycles. Stakeholders gain clarity, risks are reduced, and business-as-usual resumes faster – regardless of where your teams are located.

Guido Nageldinger – SAP Cutover Consulting

Professional Summary

Senior IT Project Manager and SAP Cut-over Lead with over 15 years of cross-industry experience managing complex implementations, migrations, and integration projects in Europe and LATAM. Known for delivering mission-critical rollouts under pressure, coordinating distributed stakeholders, and navigating hybrid technical/business environments.

Proven record of remote project leadership, Cut-over orchestration across S/4HANA landscapes, and strong vendor/partner alignment. Passionate about optimizing digital business processes and cross-border team collaboration.

Competencies

  • Project & Program Management – PRINCE2®, PMP®
  • IT Service & Strategy Consulting – ITIL® Expert, COBIT® 5
  • Enterprise Architecture – TOGAF® 9 (Levels 1 & 2)
  • SAP S/4HANA & Activate® Frameworks
  • Cutover Planning & Execution
  • Agile & Scrum Methodologies
  • Organizational Change & Conflict Management
  • Remote & Offshore Team Leadership & Coaching

Experience

Senior IT Project Manager & Cutover Lead | Founder, GESWO – Encarnación, Paraguay (mainly remote work) | 06/2025 – today

Why not take a look at my latest book on cutover management (see right), which will also be published in English shortly.

Program Manager Cognizant – Hamburg, Germany (mainly remote work) | 08/2019 – 05/2025

Core Responsibilities

  • Management of complex international projects and programs in the area of SAP S/4HANA (brownfield and greenfield) as well as ServiceNow® over the whole project cycles (Discover, Prepare, Explore, Realize, Deploy, and Run) in EU and Saudi Arabia
  • Developed and rolled out Cognizant’s SAP Activate® interpretation & FocusedBuild® methodology in the area of test management and rollout management
  • Management of multi-vendor/offshore teams (India), driving 15% cost reduction via process & resource optimization
  • management of complex system integration tests with test strategy and tool implementation
  • business development and presales (initial assessments, pre-projects)

Selected Projects

  • Refresco (Retail Industry) – UK (mainly remote work) | 12/2024 – 05/2025
    Successful management of the realization phase for a GREENFIELD implementation with multi-vendor offshore teams
  • SEFE (Energy Industry) – Germany (mainly remote work) | 06/2024 – 11/2024
    Successful Management of a ServiceNow® implementation project
  • Refresco (Retail Industry) – Rotterdam, Netherlands (mainly remote work) | 08/2022 – 05/2024
    Overall delivery responsibility with successful rollout on behave of Cognizant Technology Solutions (CTS) for the Aspire BROWNFIELD Conversion program which covered a business and technical transformation with focus on business process harmonization, process improvement initiatives and standardization of master data objects supported by a new digital framework with one core S/4HANA.
    Refresco is the world’s largest independent bottler of beverages for leading retailers and A-brands with production in Europe, North America and Mexico. Refresco has 6 Business Units including Europe Holding, Benelux, Poland, Germany, Spain and France configured in one single ERP instance 3 different clients.
  • Public Sector – Jeddah, Saudi Arabia (remote work) | 01/2021 – 07/2022
    Successful introduction, implementation and rollout of SAP Focused Build® as a test management solution for a SAP BROWNFIELD conversion project. Activities include negotiations related to the SOW, stakeholder management, creation of the test strategy, implementation and execution of training courses and workshops, planning, implementation and management of the integration test, definition and recording of KPIs.
  • Merck (Chemical & Pharmaceutical Industry) – Mannheim, Germany (on site) | 01/2020 – 06/2020
    Implementation of a cut-over methodology for the joint commissioning of four larger SAP projects

Project Manager ad-interim T.CON GmbH & Co. KG – Hamburg, Germany | 07/2018 – 04/2019

  • Orchestrated the turnaround of a derailed SAP implementation for a mechanical-engineering client by redefining the scope baseline, revising cost forecasts, and rebuilding the MS Project® schedule with earned-value tracking.
  • Rebalanced cross-functional team workloads and standardized delivery tracking, restoring on-track progress within months.
  • Transformed JIRA from a generic ticket system into a defect-centric integration-test management tool, boosting error traceability and resolution efficiency.

IT Project Manager OTTO GmbH & Co. KG (Retail Industry) – Hamburg, Germany | 02/2012 – 06/2018

Core Responsibilities

  • Cut-over Management: Built and executed a reusable cut-over framework across multiple SAP/non-SAP releases—from go-live strategy and dependency workshops to KPI-driven test cycles and hyper- care, culminating in a peer-reviewed methodology publication. Nageldinger G. (2015): A framework for cut-over management. PeerJ Computer Science: e29 https://doi.org/10.7717/peerj-cs.29
  • IT Service Transition & Improvement: Led end-to-end transition planning, change and release management, service validation/testing, and continuous improvement (PDCA) for critical IT services.
  • Project Portfolio Oversight: Oversaw diverse internal initiatives, aligning cross-functional teams and ensuring on-time, on-budget delivery.

Selected Projects

  • Category Management Automation (Jan 2017–Jun 2018) – Conducted supplier evaluations, developed POC and ROI business cases, unlocking €7 M+ in cost savings.
  • Logistics KPI Framework (Oct 2017–Dec 2017) – Designed and deployed automated KPI dashboards for a logistics system, cutting downtime by 20 % via real-time alerts.
  • Product Data Model Optimization (Mar 2017–Sep 2017) – Architected a streamlined data model for product requirements, improving data consistency and cross-team collaboration.

Previous roles

Previous roles as Consultant/Senior Consultant for SAP AG | 06/2005 – 06/2009 | and SAP SI | 01/1999 – 06/2005 | for clients such as SAB Miller Beverage Industry in Colombia, ExxonMobile in USA, NIS in Serbia, TNK-BP in Russia, Pemex Gas in Mexico and Orbian in UK.

My latest work

Technical Skills

  • SAP & Enterprise Tools SAP S/4HANA, ECC, Solution Manager, Focused Build
  • Microsoft & Collaboration Microsoft 365 (Excel, Teams, SharePoint, Project)
  • Agile & DevOps Jira, Confluence, Azure DevOps
  • Service Management ServiceNow, Remedy, Test Management Tools
  • Web & Publishing WordPress, Web Design, Adobe InDesign, Photoshop, Acrobat, Premiere
  • Creative & AI Tools Canva, DeepL, Copilot/ChatGPT (AI‑assisted publishing & design)
  • Media & Communication Video Production, Professional Voice Training (Ursula Luhn, Hamburg)

Education

  • PhD, Nuclear Physics – Kingston University, London (1999)
  • Diplom Physiker (Dipl.-Phys.) – University of Bremen, Germany (1994)

Certifications

  • PMP® (2016–2028)
  • PRINCE2® Practitioner (2015)
  • ITIL® Expert (2015)
  • TOGAF® 9 (2015)
  • SAP Activate® (2020)
  • Cobit® 5 (2016)

Languages

  • German (C2, native)
  • English (C2, near native)
  • Spanish (C1)

Frequently asked questions

Key information for international clients

Can you also work on‑site?2026-05-18T19:57:52-04:00

Yes, if required, I can attend in‑person meetings or workshops at the client’s location. Travel expenses are covered by the client. On‑site presence is typically limited to a few days per month, as my focus is on efficient remote collaboration.

Which languages do you speak?2026-05-18T19:56:32-04:00

I am fluent in German, English, and Spanish. This enables efficient communication and collaboration across different regions and cultures.

Can you adapt to US or European working hours?2026-05-18T19:54:24-04:00

I work remote‑first and adapt flexibly to both European and American time zones. Meetings and project phases can be scheduled to fit your team’s availability, ensuring smooth collaboration regardless of location.

What are the tax implications for companies outside Paraguay?2026-05-18T19:52:16-04:00

Paraguay operates under a territorial tax system. This means that income earned outside Paraguay is tax‑exempt locally. For clients abroad, no Paraguayan taxes apply – you only pay the agreed consulting fee.

How does invoicing work?2026-05-18T19:50:00-04:00

Invoices are issued directly from Paraguay. Payments can be made easily via international bank transfer, Wise, or other common payment services. For companies in the USA or Europe, the process is straightforward and legally compliant, with no additional local tax obligations.

Go to Top