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Dennis Mende
Professional History

Curriculum Vitae

Senior Technology Leader with 19+ years of experience bridging technical execution and commercial strategy. Proven success leading large-scale engineering organizations (120+ FTEs) and managing multi-million Euro P&Ls.

Professional Experience

diconium

Nov 2021 - Present

Director, Digital Engineering & Strategy

Nov 2021 - Present

Senior leadership role bridging engineering operations and commercial strategy. Currently driving strategic growth for enterprise accounts, following a successful tenure as Unit Lead for a 120-person engineering organization. Progressed through key leadership positions (Unit Lead, Hub Lead, Account Management Partner) with focus on P&L and organizational scalability.

  • Unit General Management (Unit Lead): Directed an engineering organization of 120+ developers and architects with full P&L responsibility.
  • Commercial Strategy (Current): Managing the commercial forecast, yearly planning, and profitability for multi-million euro enterprise accounts.
  • Organizational Transformation: Co-led the strategic transition to a new operating model (Client Hubs), defining governance frameworks for the shared leadership structure.
  • Technical Vision: Established the 'T-Shaped' engineering competence strategy across the division, modernizing the talent pool to align with future market needs.
General ManagementP&L ManagementOrg TransformationDigital Strategy

Foot Locker

Apr 2015 - Oct 2021

Director, Global Frontend Development & Architecture

Oct 2020 - Oct 2021

Rapidly promoted through the ranks to lead global frontend strategy for a Fortune 500 retailer. Held a dual mandate: defining the global architectural frontend roadmap while maintaining operational ownership of critical data systems (PIM/SIM) across EMEA and APAC.

  • Business Impact & Growth: Served as a key technical driver behind a ~40% growth in DTC revenue. Modernized the e-commerce platform to improve UX/UI performance.
  • Enterprise Architecture: Spearheaded the global transition from legacy monoliths to a scalable Micro-Frontend Architecture (AEM integration).
  • Global Operations: Owned the Product & Store Information Management ecosystems for EMEA & APAC, ensuring data integrity across multiple continents.
  • Team Scaling: Built and aligned distributed engineering teams to execute complex, multi-region platform initiatives.
Global StrategyMicro-FrontendsRevenue GrowthCross-Functional Leadership

Manager / Senior Manager Software Development

Apr 2015 - Sep 2020

Led cross-functional engineering teams (Frontend & Backend) in the development of critical global platforms. Acted as a hybrid Product Owner and Technical Lead to drive the transition from legacy workflows to modern cloud architectures.

  • Cloud-Native Modernization: Architected a scalable CI/CD infrastructure, significantly reducing deployment times and operational overhead.
  • Global Delivery: Successfully delivered multi-continental projects for EMEA & APAC markets ahead of schedule.
  • Agile Transformation: Established Scrum methodologies and DevOps cultures as a certified SCRUM Master.
  • Community Building: Launched and managed a Germany-wide tech meetup group to foster knowledge sharing and recruiting.
Cloud StrategyDevOps CultureAgile TransformationTechnical Program Mgmt

Early Career & Engineering Foundation

Jun 2006 - Mar 2015

Software Engineering & Leadership (Microsoft, Fraunhofer, Tredex)

Jun 2006 - Mar 2015

Foundational years building scalable web architectures and leading agile development teams. Progressed from hands-on software engineering to technical leadership.

  • Technical Leadership: Conception and implementation of complex web applications.
  • Process Optimization: Integrated project management systems to improve workflow efficiency and shorten release cycles.
  • Team Development: Mentored engineers regarding technical skillsets and workflow efficiency.
Technical ArchitectureProduct EngineeringTeam LeadershipProcess Optimization

Certifications & Training

2025

Generative AI Basics

DECAID Academy

2024

Certified Agile Leadership

die.agilen GmbH

2022

C-Level Communication

DVAK Deutsche Vertriebs Akademie GmbH

2019

Professional Scrum with Kanban - PSK 1

Scrum.org

2018

iSAQB Certified Professional for Software Architecture

iSQI Group

2018

Professional Scrum Product Owner - PSPO 1

Scrum.org

2015

Professional Scrum Master

TÜV SÜD Akademie GmbH

Education

M.Sc. Computer Science

Ruhr University Bochum

2012