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CTO · CIO · CEO · Board Member · Advisor

Bosse Küllenberg

C-level technology leader with 15+ years of executive management in Europe and the US — at the intersection of technology, creativity and business transformation.

Hamburg 15+ years C-level 4 companies founded
Bosse Küllenberg
Profile

Proven three times over in leading organizations through fundamental technology shifts — from the digital transformation of traditional companies to building an enterprise AI platform with 150+ GenAI applications in production. Entrepreneurial DNA from four founded companies, international leadership experience — several of those years operating out of New York, and a recognized thought leader in agentic AI. Reporting directly to owners and managing shareholders for more than a decade. What the market now calls forward deployed engineering has long been practice in this career: leading embedded inside the company, delivering in production, staying close to the code. Nominated CIO of the Decade (2020).

AI transformation with P&L judgment: decided at ownership level, built with the teams, measured by results.

At a Glance
150+
GenAI applications in production
1.100
Employees across organizations under his remit
4
Companies founded
8+
International awards
Mandates & Focus

Advisory & Board Work

Board and advisory work on technology and AI — sparring partner to ownership circles and executive teams.

AI Value Creation — Private Equity & Family Offices

AI-driven value creation in portfolio companies: from the first-100-days agenda to a productive agentic platform.

Interim & Executive Mandates

C-level on demand (CTO · CIO · CDO): leading transformation, building teams, delivering — forward deployed, up to building dedicated forward deployed engineering (FDE) functions.

Technology Due Diligence

Tech and AI readiness assessments for investments, succession and carve-outs.

News & Publications
Career
since 2026

PAIDAI GmbH

Interim CTO — Technology Leadership
Hamburg-based AI company building the Working Life Operating System: a personal Human × AI infrastructure for the entire working life on a sovereign data foundation. Moved from the advisory board into operational technology leadership in August 2026.
  • Technology leadership for the next product phase: architecture, AI and the interplay of data foundation and services
  • Security, governance and European data sovereignty as core design principles
  • Supporting the company's first external financing round
2023 – 2026

pilot Agency Group

Group CTO — Managing Director Technology, Operations & Creation
One of Germany's largest owner-managed media agency networks. Approx. 600 employees, 8 locations. Remit: technology, operations, creation and BI/big data — around 60 people in his line, reporting directly to the managing shareholder.
  • Enterprise AI platform (pilotAI): sovereign LLM infrastructure with 150+ GenAI use cases in production
  • Agentic services architecture: multi-agent framework; BVDW/ARIC best practice
  • Cloud-native data fabric on Kubernetes; significant reduction in campaign turnaround and data preparation times
  • Createch Labs: first AI-augmented campaign with measurable brand impact uplift
  • Hyperautomation: numerous end-to-end workflows with substantial efficiency gains
2019 – 2022

ETERNA Mode GmbH

CTO — Member of the Executive Board
Shirt and blouse specialist, heritage company est. 1863, approx. 1,100 employees internationally. First CTO in the company's history, reporting directly to the managing shareholder.
  • Pandemic crisis management: navigated the lockdown slump in business wear — and used the crisis as an investment phase; first German StaRUG restructuring
  • Complete technology rebuild: new ERP platform (8-figure budget) and end-to-end process automation
  • E-commerce replatforming on modern shop systems, dynamic pricing and dynamic replenishment
  • Salesforce marketing automation; new sub-brands and sustainability lines with dedicated online shops
2017 – 2019

Sparq Corp., New York / Hamburg

CDO — Chief Digital Officer
Blockchain-based ticketing platform headquartered in New York — led from there. ML/predictive analytics. Parallel mandate alongside Youpooly.
2015 – 2018

Youpooly Corp., New York / Hamburg

CDO — Chief Digital Officer
Offices in Germany and the US, led primarily out of the New York headquarters — transatlantic teams, commuting between NYC and Hamburg. Cloud microservices. Run in parallel with the Sparq mandate from 2017.
2014

SYZYGY Deutschland GmbH

Executive Creative Director (interim)
Interim creative lead for the Frankfurt office. As ECD, won the international pitch for BMW Motorcycles worldwide for the group.
2012 – 2013

Brand University of Applied Sciences

Lecturer — Digital Branding
Teaching appointment alongside the management role at Heye/DDB: digital branding strategies, social media, performance measurement of interactive media, SEO/SMO.
2008 – 2014

Heye Digital Lab / DDB Germany (Omnicom)

Director Digital & Member of the Management Board
Digital agency incubator. Transformation of Heye & Partner. Clients: J&J, McDonald's, Mont Blanc, Sixt.
2005 – 2009

Heye & Partner / DDB Worldwide

Digital Creative Director, Member of the Management Board
2002 – 2008

spielplatz.cc Gruppe

Co-founder & Managing Partner
One of Europe's first mobile marketing agencies — founded when brands were just discovering the phone. Offices in Hamburg, Munich, Vienna and Innsbruck; associated partner of Tribal DDB (Omnicom Worldwide). Clients included Coca-Cola Switzerland (full brand portfolio), Raiffeisen Bank and Swarovski.
1997 – 2002

Early Career

Elephant Seven (Mercedes, Coca-Cola) · HIEL · BBDO (BMW X5) · Freelance journalist (SZ) · Co-founder Dreamfactory
Boards & Advisory

BVDW e.V. ↗

Head of Lab 3: AI Technology

Leading the technology lab at Germany's Federal Association for the Digital Economy (BVDW). Bridging AI research and practice. Industry standards for agentic AI.

PAIDAI GmbH ↗

Interim CTO & Advisory Board Member

The Working Life Operating System — a personal Human × AI infrastructure for the entire working life, built for Europe. After advising from the board, now leading technology operationally: AI-first architecture combining security, governance and European data sovereignty from the ground up.

medsox ↗

Founder & Shareholder — non-operative

The digital medical-supply store: prescription compression stockings, fully digital from a photo of the prescription through guided at-home measurement to direct billing with all German statutory health insurers — to our knowledge unique in this completeness in the German market. A measurement-point data model matches across manufacturers by true fit instead of size charts; AI agents carry prescription checks, ordering and service — allowing two founders to run the entire operation. Live since 2025.

ZK Sanitätshaus UG

Co-Founder & Shareholder — non-operative

The regulated company behind medsox: an accredited medical-aids provider under German health-insurance law (pre-qualification per § 126 SGB V) — the license without which no one may dispense prescription compression stockings and bill statutory health insurers. Founded in Hamburg in 2022 and conceived from the start as the carrier of a digital care model: accreditation, insurer billing and professional review of every fitting remain, while software replaces the physical store.

waiwai

Strategic & Technical Advisor

AI identity startup (formerly ultimate identity). Digital identities and AI. Equity stake.

Voices
Ralf Polito
Ralf Polito
COO & Executive Board Member, Wolford
“One of the most innovative and most knowledge-driven people I have ever met. Unlike almost all other executives, he is occupied almost exclusively with the future — and is therefore able to explain, with full transparency, why change is necessary.”
LinkedIn recommendation · 2025 · translated from German
Friedhelm Rücker
Friedhelm Rücker
Former CIO, Rittal Group
“An outstanding moderator of difficult topics, with natural authority and leadership competence — plus deep expertise across IT and digitalization. Working with him is exceptionally pleasant, focused and goal-driven.”
LinkedIn recommendation · 2019 · translated from German
Harald R. Fortmann
Harald R. Fortmann
C-level executive search · Managing Director five14 · Vice-President BDU
“Bosse stands out through his conceptual and strategic strength — and he is someone who executes and prevails: not only painting the picture of a colorful new world, but actually building it.”
LinkedIn recommendation · 2022 · translated from German
Dr. Axel Klingmann
Dr. Axel Klingmann
Tech Advisor
“As CTO, he leads the technological direction of the pilot group with a strong focus on transformation, organizational maturity and long-term impact. Our collaboration was defined by mutual trust and a shared commitment to turning strategic direction into robust technical and operational reality.”
LinkedIn recommendation · 2025
Tobias Endl
Tobias Endl
CEO, xalution group (ERP)
“I was consistently impressed by his ability to stay ahead of the curve when it came to emerging technologies. Bosse has a deep understanding of the latest technological advancements, including artificial intelligence, machine learning, blockchain, and more.”
LinkedIn recommendation · 2023
BG
Bert Gogolin
CEO & Founder, Enterprise AI Infrastructure
“Conceptually very strong, a thinker with real execution power — my first choice for the CDO topic, whether start-up or corporation.”
LinkedIn recommendation · 2022 · translated from German
Andreas Andresen
Andreas Andresen
Partner, IBM Consulting
“The sort of very rare person with whom you can go for a brainstorming session over lunch to come back with an industry-influencing, client- and award-winning idea building on technology.”
LinkedIn recommendation · 2015
MJ
Mathias Jahn
Founder & Creative Director
“The only talent you need to be truly creative is originality. If you’re searching for someone who’s able to think outside of the box — and if you really mean it — then Bosse is it. Listen to him.”
LinkedIn recommendation · 2014
From the LinkedIn recommendations — complete and unedited there.
Publications

Cited as a subject-matter author on Mobile Marketing (Wikipedia)

Talks & Keynotes

Regular keynote speaker on enterprise AI, agentic architecture and digital transformation in the German Mittelstand.

Embrace Festival DMEXCO OMR SXSW AI-Kongress BVDW ZEIT x FUTURE NDR brand eins Marketing Automation Trends Brand University
Bosse Küllenberg on stage at DMEXCO 2026
Latest on stage
DMEXCO · Cologne · September 24, 2026 · Stage MC7C · BVDW masterclass: four experts and the audience rate the fair’s key AI theses live — with theses on Data & Infrastructure and AI Strategy & Adoption (session in German).
Photo: Burmann / City-Press
Awards & Recognition (Selection)
2024
Agentic services architecture recognized as best practice (BVDW & ARIC)
2020
Nominated CIO of the Decade
2015
D&AD Wood Pencil · The ONE Show Bronze Pencil
2013
ADC Deutschland · GWA EFFIE Finalist
2011
Deutscher Mediapreis
2002
Cannes Cyber Lion · Golden Award Montreux
2001
The One Show New York
Technology Focus
Agentic AI & Multi-Agent Orchestration Forward Deployed Engineering (FDE) MCP & Agent-to-Agent Protocols Context Engineering & RAG Enterprise AI & LLM Platforms Sovereign AI & EU Data AI Governance & EU AI Act LLMOps & Evals Hyperautomation GenAI Content & Creative Tech Kubernetes & Cloud-native Data Fabric Dynamics 365 / Salesforce Blockchain & Web3
Curriculum Vitae

Full CV with detailed career history, publications and awards.

Download CV (PDF)