Sophie Steffen

BI Product Owner and Business Development Manager Otto Group Digital & Consulting

My Job as Inhouse Consultant:

Is extremely versatile. For almost two years now, I’ve been taking care of the evaluation of new business models, for example in the area of ​​programmatic advertising, the overarching data strategy of the Otto Group, but also the organization of internal innovation events, or I temporarily (for a few months) take on the technical management role of one of our Development teams as early stage product owner.

My daily challenges:

My first daily challenge is to show up for the stand up at 9 a.m. on time – whether in the office or at home in front of teams. Then, I try to juggle my time more or less sensibly between the different topics and stakeholders and usually hop from meeting to meeting. With a master in business administration between many developers, I then try, not every day but several times a week, to penetrate technical topics to the point that I can decide together with the team what and how we will do next.

Why I like to work as Inhouse Consultant:

Firstly, I very much appreciate that no day is like another and new challenges pop up pretty much all the time, such that I never get bored. Secondly, I like our exciting products and projects, their strategic relevance and our proximity to the decision-makers of the Otto Group strategy.
Third, I particularly appreciate our diverse, dynamic and super smart team. Our skill mix of classic consultants, UX designers, market research experts, frontend developers, data engineers and scientists and many more professions, give us great implementation strength. I enjoy that we manage to get shit done.

What I like most about being an Inhouse Consultant:

The high degree of personal responsibility and the flat hierarchies in the Otto Group as well as the many different opportunities that make no day like another. Additionally I very much appreciate that a good work-life balance is valued very high and also the management takes care of it.

My life before joining the Inhouse Consultancy:

I started my career as a classical business administration student with my bachelor’s degree at the University of Muenster, majoring in Marketing and continued with my master’s degree at the University of Cologne in a finance major. Due to my great enthusiasm for new technologies, e.g. blockchain, augmented reality, RPA, I then completed the international digitization management programme in the banking industry. After that, I was able to work in business development and as a product owner for various big data and business intelligence topics at Commerzbank before I went to the Otto Group.

What I like to do in my spare time:

Tennis, Biking, Kitesurfing, Skiing…