# Marcin Karkocha — Chief Technology Strategist

> Marcin Karkocha is a Chief Technology Strategist and Fractional Technology Strategy Director based in Gdansk, Poland, working across Europe. He helps ScaleUps, large companies, and enterprises transform IT from a cost center into a business growth engine.

## About

Marcin has 20+ years of experience across software engineering, architecture, DevOps, and C-level advisory. He works with a small number of clients simultaneously, deeply and long-term, focusing on measurable business outcomes rather than buzzwords.

## Organizations

- **Caterpillar Garden** — Main consulting brand. IT transformation for ScaleUps and Enterprise: Value Stream Management, Operating Models, Digital Sovereignty. Website: https://caterpillar.garden
- **LearnSynth by CG** — Training and education programs for technology leaders. VCPS, VSM Workshops, 5pillars Ninja, Transformation Leader Mentoring. LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/showcase/learnsynth
- **On Technologies Innovation Hub** — Parent technology company. LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/mkandcotech

## Core Expertise

- Value Stream Management (VSM) — identifying bottlenecks and eliminating waste in value delivery
- Digital Sovereignty — control over digital assets, vendor lock-in audits, Digital Sovereignty Score, NIS2, eIDAS 2.0
- Operating Models — organizational structures balancing innovation with operational excellence
- Centers of Excellence — internal competency centers standardizing best practices
- Legacy Modernization — cloud native transformation of legacy systems
- Transformation Mentoring — coaching CTO, CIO, VP Engineering

## Engagement Modes

### Interim & Advisory
Joins organizations as Interim CTO / Head of Transformation. Works with teams from the inside: assessments, strategy, implementation.
- VSDA — Value Stream Discovery & Assessment
- Executive Advisory for C-level
- Transformation program leadership
- Digital Sovereignty & Lock-in Audits

### Training & Mentoring (via LearnSynth)
- VCPS — Value-oriented Consulting Pre-Sales
- VSM Workshops — value stream mapping
- 5pillars Ninja — Goal Alignment Training
- Transformation Leader Mentoring

## Published Work

- **Book Chapter**: "Risk-Management Practices to Manage Digital-Sovereignty Concerns" (Chapter 3) in "AI and Resilient Organizations: Human-Centered Design for Industry 5.0" — Routledge / Taylor & Francis, 2025
- **Blog**: https://blog.caterpillar.garden (Substack, Free + Paid)

## Conference Speaking

- InfoShare 2026 (Gdansk, May 2026) — "Value is an (new) Emperor"
- Flowtopia Live 2026 (Online, June 2026) — "Value Stream Mapping is a Business Swiss-Army Knife"
- Warsaw IT Days (Online VoD, March 2026) — "Gen-Z, Business Value and Hypothesis-driven Development"
- The Hack Summit (Online, November 2025) — "Digital Sovereignty — how we missed this risk?"
- Infoshare (Online, September 2020) — "Empower Business by Technology"

## Notable Clients

SoftwareOne, Intel, Nordea, Nokia, Plus (iPlus), Standard Chartered, Cyfrowy Polsat

## Contact

- Email: marcin@karkocha.tech
- LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/mkarkocha/
- WhatsApp: +48 579 637 860
- Location: Gdansk, Poland (available across Europe)
- Website: https://marcin.karkocha.tech