Playing the Role of a Lifetime – A Work Anniversary feature

Marty: Happy 15^th work anniversary, Daniel! You’re a core part of this company and we’re glad you’ve been with us for so many years.

Daniel: Thank you, I’m happy to be here.

Marty: We can start with your background. For those who are unfamiliar, how did you get into your field and what brought you to INVENSITY?

Daniel: I was in Canada for a year where I took computer science classes for the first time, which made me decide to study Math and Computer Science in Darmstadt later. In the middle of it, though, I realized that I wanted something more practical. And so, I switched to Business Informatics, which is a combination of Computer Science and Business Economics. I knew early on that I was more of a generalist than a specialist.

I discovered INVENSITY when I was looking for a job at the konaktiva career fair. From all the companies whose booths I visited, INVENSITY was my favorite from the start. It was a smaller company, and I felt like I could make a bigger impact here than in a large corporation. I also liked that it was in Wiesbaden which is my hometown.

Marty: Following up from the first question, what does your career look like at INVENSITY?

Daniel: If you’re familiar with the company’s pillars – Consulting, Academy, and Innovation – I worked across all three.

I started in Consulting and worked on projects for industries like rail, automotive and aerospace. After some time, I was looking into how I could make more business for INVENSITY. So, in 2013, I made a big switch to do business development fully which lasted for 8 years.

During that period, I was building networks, connecting with alumni, and expanding our collaborations with clients. There was one project where we initially supported the client with project management, and we were able to expand our support into cybersecurity and software architecture, engineering, and testing. Aside from that, I supported the establishment of our international offices. I helped a colleague in his transfer to the Manila office and recruited the first Head of the Barcelona office and their employees.

From all the roles that I felt could make the most impact, becoming the Head of Academy was one of them. I’m a ski instructor and badminton trainer, so I have experience teaching other people. But more importantly, this was always my dream job, as a coach and trainer at heart.

Marty: What do you find meaningful from working at INVENSITY?

Daniel: I genuinely love INVENSITY, the culture, and the people. I want to see us succeed and so whenever there’s a challenge, I’m there to help us overcome it.

When Covid-19 happened, I was tasked to get everyone ready for remote work within two weeks. After that, when the consulting industry was struggling a few years ago, I set aside my plans for pushing new business cases and products to focus on helping our business development department to keep us in the market.

Recently, I took on the role of Lead for the IT Department. This was an area where I felt like I could make us stronger, provide the best tools for our colleagues, and help everyone do things securely, effectively and efficiently.

Marty: As you’ve said, the past few years have brought a lot of challenges for us and many others. I wanted to get your insights on how you’re adapting to these.

Daniel: For me, I focus on what makes sense for INVENSITY, staying true to our core values and beliefs, and generating true value for our partners.

In our context, I’m looking to restart the INVENSITY Innovation Center where we focus on optimization and the enablement for new business cases, which was my mission for a long time now. Parts of which I can already achieve in the current role as Head of IT.

Marty: Before we end this interview, what advice would you like to offer to people beginning their careers?

Daniel: Here’s my advice:

• Focus on your “why” because the “what” can always change. When you’re aware of who you are and why you get up in the morning, it becomes easier to know what you want to do.
• I believe that generalists prevail over specialists. Understanding the connections between things will help you succeed in work and life. Especially with AI at our fingertips.
• Learn about as many things as possible. Whether it’s a new skill, sport, or topic, treat your environment as a place that can offer you endless knowledge.

Daniel Pfeifer is INVENSITY’s Head of IT. His work spans across different internal and external projects. He is also the Vice President of Business Development for OceanX – the CDR company, a climate tech startup focused on removing CO2 from the atmosphere.

Aside from his professional responsibilities, his hobbies include but are not limited to badminton, chess, and developing & playing (board-)games and apps.

Interested in working with the people that make things happen? Check out our career website and start your career journey with us!