I build and fix things
that are supposed to be hard.

COO & Co-Founder at CloudStage. Former SVP Operations at ARRI. Turnaround operator, marketplace builder, Dr.-Ing. TUM.

01
Christoph HollauerPortrait · Munich
Thesis · 2026

Most "transformation" projects fail because they're led by people who've never run the thing they're transforming.

A decade on the inside — restructuring operations, building systems, and shipping product in industries that don't move fast and don't forgive mistakes. Now I'm applying that experience to building infrastructure from scratch — a B2B marketplace for an industry that still runs on phone calls and PDF quotes.

Track Record

Where I’ve been, and what I did there.

2025now
CloudStage GmbH · Munich
COO & Co-Founder

Building Europe's first transactional B2B marketplace for professional production services — equipment rental, studio bookings, and crew. Product, operations, and commercial strategy.

MarketplaceProduct0 → 1
20222025
ARRI Lighting · Munich
SVP Operations

Manufacturing, supply chain, and outsourcing operations for up to 90 people during significant structural change. Operational turnaround including production restructuring and strategic outsourcing decisions.

TurnaroundManufacturingSupply Chain
20192022
Wacker Neuson Group · Munich
PMO & Operations

Executive board reporting. Cross-functional cost reduction programs in the €20–25M range across construction equipment and e-mobility. Process optimization at group level.

Cost ProgramsE-MobilityBoard Reporting
20142019
Technical University of Munich
Research & Doctorate

Dr.-Ing. in product development, systems engineering, and complexity management. Dipl.-Ing. Mechanical Engineering & Management (1.6).

Systems EngineeringComplexityResearch
Numbers

A few that stuck with me.

01 / 0490 peopleOperations team led at ARRI Lighting through manufacturing restructuring and strategic outsourcing.2022 – 2025 · Munich
02 / 04€25M+Cost reduction programs delivered at Wacker Neuson — across construction equipment and e-mobility, reported to the executive board.2019 – 2022 · Group level
03 / 0440+ papersPeer-reviewed publications across journals and conferences — engineering design, complexity, product-service systems.2013 – 2019 · TUM
04 / 041 companyCo-founded and currently building — transactional B2B marketplace, zero to one, from Munich.2025 – now · CloudStage
Speaking & Advisory

Three talks I’m currently giving.

01
The Turnaround Myth — why restructuring fails when you follow the playbook
Keynote25 minOperators & PE

What actually happens when you restructure a manufacturing operation from the inside — not from a slide deck. Decision-making under ambiguity, organizational friction, and why most playbooks don't survive contact with reality.

02
The Analog Problem — why digital transformation isn't a technology project
Keynote25 minIndustry · Tech

Why "digital transformation" fails when it's treated as a technology project. Lessons from bringing transactional infrastructure to an industry that's been analog for decades.

03
The Engineer's Founder — why structure beats hustle in early-stage chaos
Keynote & PanelVariableFounders · VCs

The founder's transition from operator to builder. Making irreversible decisions with incomplete information, and why a structured engineering mindset is an unfair advantage.

Selected Publications

A few from 40+ peer-reviewed papers.

2019
Doctoral Thesis
Christoph Hollauer · Technical University of Munich, 2019.
2022
Christoph Hollauer · 2022 IEEE 28th International Conference on Engineering, Technology and Innovation (ICE/ITMC) & 31st International Association for Management of Technology (IAMOT), 2022.
Conference Paper
2019
Christoph Hollauer · Proceedings of the 20th European Conference on Knowledge Management (ECKM 2019), 2019.
Conference Paper
2018
Assessing the Agility of Teams within Mechatronic Product Development
Christoph Hollauer · 2018 IEEE International Conference on Industrial Engineering and Engineering Management (IEEM), 2018.
Conference Paper
2018
Development and Evaluation of a Workshop Concept to Support Tailoring of Complex Product Development Processes
Christoph Hollauer, Julia Rast, Udo Lindemann · 2018 IEEE International Conference on Industrial Engineering and Engineering Management (IEEM), 2018.
Conference Paper
2018
Context-oriented Modularization of Product Development Processes using Matrix-Based Clustering
Christoph Hollauer, Robin Thomas, Donna H. Rhodes, Udo Lindemann · Proceedings of the 20th International Dependency and Structure Modeling Conference (DSM2018), Trieste, Italy, 2018.
Conference Paper
All 47+ publications
Writing

Recent posts.

All posts
Contact · Munich

Let’s talk.

Available for select speaking engagements, advisory roles, and the occasional conversation that's actually interesting.