Strategy, Innovation, and Efficiency
OPTANO is entering an exciting new era: Dr. Konrad Steiner has taken on the role of Managing Director. With extensive experience in strategic business leadership and innovative optimization technology, he brings fresh ideas to the company. In this exclusive interview, Dr. Steiner shares his vision for OPTANO, his plans for the future, and the challenges he sees in the industry. Discover the strategies he is pursuing to drive OPTANO forward – and what customers and partners can expect in the years to come.
Welcome to OPTANO! What motivated you to take on the role of Managing Director?
I have been following OPTANO’s journey already for more than a decade. OPTANO stood out to me as a key player for translating Operations Research (OR) approaches into business value. First in Germany, then in Europe, now globally. Additionally, I have worked with OPTANO in the past as a customer and I could get to know their great culture focused on values and excellence. It is an honor for me to lead this company into the future.
What are your first impressions of OPTANO and the team?
I am very impressed by the team. It is a great mix of a familiar atmosphere with sufficient space for individuality and human connection on the one hand – and a strong focus on building high-quality solutions that solve our customer’s problems on the other hand. I also had the pleasure to participate in some of the company rituals such as the joint Friday lunch.
What vision and goals do you have as you step into this new role?
I would like to contribute to continued healthy growth of OPTANO. I emphasize “healthy”, because it is important that the strong focus on culture and respect is maintained. However, “growth” is also important not only for our shareholders, but also for ourselves to offer attractive development paths to our talents.
This growth will be achieved by even more focus on international business as well as by strengthening our existing products and venturing into new fields of business. On the more technical side, I am looking forward to transforming OPTANO into an “AI first” company. This will encompass both, rethinking the way customers interact with our product as well as constantly increasing efficiency and efficacy of internal processes. It is important to note that this will not be done in order to jump on a hype. Instead, we will always follow the ambition of creating even more value for our customers.
What challenges do you see for OPTANO, and how do you plan to tackle them?
In times of rapid technological development, it is crucial to stay ahead of the curve. At OPTANO, we will continue to invest into the capabilities of our team and closely follow the development of new fields – with AI certainly being on top of the list. We will need to maintain a culture where we continuously challenge the status quo.
As mentioned before, I see another challenge in balancing these significant change processes while maintaining what makes OPTANO special: our culture and how we interact with each other. This balancing act will always be on my mind whenever we kick off new initiatives.
With your extensive leadership experience, what strategies from your past will you bring to OPTANO?
I have a PhD in Operations Research myself, have worked for nearly a decade for Kearney in global management consulting, and finally I have spent the previous chapter of my career as a Data & AI leader at DB Schenker.
I believe all of this experience will be valuable for my work at OPTANO. OR knowledge allows to speak the same language as our technical experts, a consulting background is always helpful to approach topics in a structured and strategic manner, and finally industry experience will help us to better understand the world from the perspective of our customers.
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What personally drives you as a leader, and how do you plan to inspire your team?
In a nutshell, I would name Psychological Safety, Growth Mindset and Empathy. Psychological safety is a foundational element to me. Every team member should feel valued as a human with all their individual pattern. They should dare to speak up, to challenge ideas independent from any hierarchies and to admit mistakes.
As for the Growth Mindset, I strongly believe in being humble and open to learn. Once mistakes and failures are not censored, they can be addressed constructively and can be translated into learnings. Especially in times with a high velocity of change, continuous learning on the individual as well as the organizational level is a requirement.
Finally, Empathy should drive how we interact with each other, but also how we listen to and work with our customers. Only when we put ourselves into each other’s shoes and understand our underlying needs, can we find approaches and solutions that benefit everybody. I try my best to act consistently in line with these concepts and hope this will inspire others to do the same.
We would like to thank Dr. Steiner for this interview.
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