Sophia Mueller Profile — Quick Win Guide

Meeting Purpose: Presentation of AutoTrack and TrustCore concepts. Positioning Promwad as strategic R&D partner for innovation acceleration. Make Sophia an internal Promwad champion at [Company Name].

How to Win the Meeting in 2 Minutes

What to Do

  1. Speak the language of processes and metrics, not technologies

    • Show concrete numbers: "Time-to-market reduction by X months", "R&D cost reduction by Y%"
    • Demonstrate structured processes: Agile frameworks, Engineering-as-a-Service models
    • No vague promises — only measurable results and methodologies

  2. Show understanding of her organizational challenges

    • Demonstrate knowledge of R&D fragmentation problems (Munich vs Vienna)
    • Emphasize experience working with distributed teams and cultural differences
    • Respect her focus on efficiency and process optimization

  3. Come with ready frameworks and methodologies

    • Not just ideas, but structured approaches to R&D collaboration
    • Proven Engineering-as-a-Service models with metrics
    • Ready processes for integrating external teams into existing workflows

  4. Focus on risk reduction and manageability

    • Show staged approach (PoC → pilot → scaling)
    • Demonstrate managed risk through clear milestones and governance
    • Traceability from strategic goals to execution

What to Avoid

  1. Technology jazz without business context — she values processes, not technology for technology's sake
  2. Ignoring organizational dynamics — need to understand internal conflicts and politics
  3. Lack of collaboration structure — need clear frameworks, not just "let's work together"
  4. Process change without alignment — show risk mitigation and stakeholder alignment
  5. Vague ROI promises — only specifics with metrics and timelines

Personality Profile

Sophia Mueller — Vice President, Head of Center of Competence R&D Excellence at [Company Name] (since January 2020), former researcher and organizational development consultant.

Education and Academic Path

  • Diplom Wirtschaftsingenieurwesen (2012) — Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (KIT)
    • Specialization: Industrial Engineering with focus on process optimization
  • PhD in Management Science (2017) — University of Mannheim
    • Dissertation on effectiveness of distributed R&D teams in high-tech companies
  • Current Position: Adjunct Professor at KIT (part-time), teaches course "Agile Transformation in Hardware Companies"
  • Certifications: SAFe Program Consultant (2019), PMI-ACP (2020), Design Thinking Facilitator (2021)

Work Experience and Projects

  • "R&D Excellence Initiative" Project: Launched R&D process transformation program at [Company Name] — increased development speed by 30% through Scaled Agile Framework implementation
  • Research Projects: Distributed teams, cross-cultural collaboration, innovation ecosystems
  • Publications: 8+ articles in top journals (Information Systems Research, Journal of Product Innovation Management), including research on Engineering-as-a-Service model effectiveness
  • Consulting: Worked with Robert Bosch on R&D process transformation (2015-2019)
  • Grants: Participated in 3 EU Horizon projects as innovation process coordinator

Domain Areas

  • Cinema & Broadcast Equipment: Cameras, lighting systems, virtual production
  • R&D Excellence: Process optimization, Agile transformation, innovation methodologies
  • Strategic Partnerships: Building partnership ecosystems for innovation acceleration

Scientific Specialization

  • Organizational development and process optimization
  • Distributed R&D teams and cross-cultural collaboration
  • Innovation ecosystems and partnership models

Work Style

  • "Processes > technologies" — structured approach, requires frameworks and methodologies
  • Organizational discipline — systematicity, traceability, process reproducibility
  • Staged approach — PoC → pilot → scaling, managed risk through governance
  • Coaching leadership style — mentoring, process optimization, knowledge sharing

Roles and Influence

  • Makes R&D strategy decisions — key decision-maker in innovation processes
  • Responsible for R&D efficiency — measures and optimizes Time-to-Market, cost efficiency
  • Bridge between HQ and R&D centers — solves fragmentation and coordination problems

Psychological Profile

Cognitive Style

  • Process-oriented: Loves structured frameworks, methodologies, metrics. Reacts poorly to chaotic proposals
  • Systemic: Sees connections between processes, teams, strategy. Values holistic approach to transformation
  • Incremental: Managed risk, step-by-step milestones. Doesn't like "big bang" changes without structure

Motivation

  • Efficiency and speed > trendy technologies
  • Passion for processes: "I love creating structured systems, measuring, optimizing, and seeing measurable results"
  • Respects partners with methodologies — not just expertise, but structured approaches to collaboration

Values

  • Proactivity, structure, transparency — values these qualities in partners
  • Process and metrics — important: frameworks, governance, measurable results
  • Reproducibility and scalability — everything must be structured and repeatable

Agreement Triggers (what will make her act)

  1. Structured collaboration frameworks — not just ideas, but ready methodologies
  2. Clear metrics: Time-to-Market reduction, cost efficiency, quality improvement — concrete numbers
  3. "Governance-ready" processes — ready for integration into existing workflows
  4. Organizational risk reduction — measurable improvement in coordination and efficiency

Stop Factors (what will push her away)

  • Technology jazz without business context — won't believe without understanding processes
  • Lack of collaboration structure — need frameworks, not just promises
  • Ignoring organizational dynamics — values understanding of internal processes and politics
  • Process change without alignment — need governance framework and stakeholder alignment

How to Communicate with Her

Communication Style:

  • Structured-expert leadership — she is a process expert herself, values when spoken to in her language
  • Let her speak 60% of the time — she loves sharing process vision and challenges
  • Listen to her organizational pain — she will tell about coordination problems if given space

How to Interest:

  • Show structured approaches from your experience — frameworks, methodologies, metrics
  • Demonstrate understanding of her context — distributed teams, process optimization, R&D efficiency
  • Come with ready frameworks — collaboration models, governance structures, metrics

How to Make Her an Internal Champion:

  • Position her as Process Owner — she owns transformation, you are methodology executor
  • Give her metrics for C-level — she can show measurable results to management
  • Help her with EU projects — propose joint application (strong consortium)
  • Close her pain points — team coordination, process optimization, R&D efficiency — she will become your advocate

Strengths (where to hit)

  • Deep understanding of processes and organizational development — speak her language
  • Systemic thinking — show holistic solutions
  • Evidence-based approach — always with metrics and frameworks
  • Academic background — trust credit, but need to prove practicality

Weak Spots (our opportunities)

  • Enhancement zone: mature processes Engineering-as-a-Service, Agile frameworks for hardware, R&D efficiency metrics
  • Embedded/FPGA/AI expertise deficit — can close with our resources
  • Distributed team coordination problem — we can offer structured models
  • "Idea to execution" problem (Time-to-Market) — we accelerate this path through ready processes

[Company Name] — Company Context

What They Have

  • Products: High-end cinema cameras, lighting systems, virtual production solutions
  • Clients: Rental houses, film studios, broadcasters, virtual production studios
  • Expertise: Optics, sensors, color science, precision mechanics
  • Reputation: Industry "Gold Standard", 100+ years of heritage

What They DON'T Have (critical vulnerability!)

  • AI/ML expertise — lag in autofocus, tracking, automation
  • Cloud-native solutions — no own platform for workflow
  • Software gap — losing workflow battle to players like Adobe, Blackmagic
  • Recurring revenue model — dependence on one-time sales, no SaaS/Subscription

Risk: Without these competencies they may lose share in growing segments (sports/virtual production) and miss transition to subscription model. This is her pain point — she understands risks, but doesn't know how to quickly close them through internal resources.

Contacts

  • Email: [Anonymized]
  • Phone: [Anonymized]
  • LinkedIn: [Anonymized]

Note: Document is a working hypothesis based on open data. At first meeting we clarify priority directions (AutoTrack vs TrustCore), R&D processes, and current organizational challenges. Then adapt proposal to her real process optimization needs.