Twenty years in bikes.

Consulting for bike brands on everything it takes to bring a bike to market: portfolio and pricing, suppliers, processes, quality and launch.

• Integrating AI agents into everyday work
• Improving project management
• Getting the most out of the tools teams already use

Client: 41 Publishing (E-MOUNTAINBIKE and ENDURO Magazine). Field testing and technical writing, plus:

• Improved editorial and testing processes
• Took the team’s use of AI to the next level
• Made the test criteria more precise and comparable

As Director of Product Development I led R&D, design, product management, packaging, software and electronics, the development workshop and product marketing, a team of 26, with a multi-million euro budget and as a member of the executive leadership team reporting to the CEO. After my promotion to VP in November 2023 I ran the whole product development department of 32 people and took on quality management.

• Key achievement: transparency on where projects stand and departments working together, through the structure and tools I introduced
• Introduced Jira and Confluence, cloud working, a PDM tool and FEA simulation for aluminium and plastic parts
• Established OKRs and the Amazon meeting method
• JEFFSY CORE 5: the first bike in ENDURO Magazine history to receive both Test Winner and Best Buy

As Head of Product Management from 2016, I was responsible for Merida’s complete global lineup, from kids’ bikes, road bikes, e-bikes and trekking to mountain bikes and gravel, with several hundred million euros in annual revenue; for model year 2022 that meant 211 models, 346 colour variants and 54 frame platforms. I led a team of eight across product management and design, covering lineup positioning, R&D project management, distributor presentations and market analysis. With such a small team this was only possible because I introduced efficient structures: they reduced the effort for recurring tasks and freed up time for development projects such as the eONE-SIXTY.

• Created the eONE-SIXTY platform, a game changer for Merida: when I started in 2011, selling a Merida in the premium segment was almost impossible, while the eONE-SIXTY sold in large numbers. Merida’s most awarded and best-selling model to date
• eONE-SIXTY 900-E: Test Winner and Best Value in E-MOUNTAINBIKE Magazine
• Battery development in cooperation with Shimano
• Analysed the international sales figures and built the structure for it
• Introduced Asana for project management
• Led the development of a new full-suspension platform that became the basis of Merida’s full-suspension lineup; in its 2023 launch year it won Enduro Bike of the Year and Trail Bike of the Year from MBUK/BikeRadar

Before that, from 2011 to 2016:

• Senior Product Manager MTB: introduced competitive full-suspension and performance e-bike lines
• Product Manager & Marketing Gravity: product strategy, marketing and budget for the full-suspension and gravity lineup
• Product Manager UMF: specifications, marketing, team riders and R&D for Merida’s sub-brand, supporting Thomas Genon, winner of Red Bull Joyride 2012

Coordinated the development of the company’s ERP system and IT support, and introduced business intelligence software (Pentaho).

Took part in comparison tests, wrote technical articles and tested products across categories, including endurance testing. Built a measurement system for centre-of-gravity analysis of bikes.

Advised riders on mountain bikes, maintained the website and supported purchasing. Where I learned how customers actually choose a bike.