# 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. Website: https://learnsynth.net
- **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

### Keynotes & Corporate Talks (available for booking)
Board-level talks that turn technology from a cost center into a growth engine. Delivered in Polish and English, on-site (based in Tricity, travelling across Poland and Europe), online, or hybrid. Formats: keynote, corporate talk + Q&A, half-day workshop extension. Fees start at 12 000 PLN net for a keynote; every quote is individual and depends on format, customization scope, and travel. Booking process: 3-minute brief → proposal within 48 business hours → alignment call → the talk with follow-up materials.

Speaking page: https://marcin.karkocha.tech/speaking-en.html (EN) · https://marcin.karkocha.tech/speaking-pl.html (PL)

Flagship talk topics:
1. **From Cost Center to Growth Engine** (conference variant: "An F1 Helmet on a Bus Driver — Why Your IT Modernization Isn't Working") — a shared value language for the board and IT, plus three transformation levers. Best for executive boards, C-level offsites, business & technology conferences.
2. **Your Roadmap Is a Wish List** (corporate variant: "Hypothesis → Experiment → Evidence → Decision") — a decision cycle for uncertainty: how to place small, measurable bets and retire bad ones without political drama. Best for leadership teams, strategy & PMO functions, tech conferences.
3. **AI Won't Replace Your Organization. Chaos Will** (corporate variant: "Resilient Organizations in the AI Era — Industry 5.0, Human-Centered") — an AI-readiness frame and the risks vendor demos never show, including data sovereignty. Delivered by the author of a chapter in "AI and Resilient Organizations" (Routledge, 2025). Best for boards planning AI adoption, industry conferences, leadership summits.
4. **Digital Sovereignty: How We Missed This Risk?** (corporate variant: "No Longer a Hostage — Vendor Lock-in, Optionality and Exit Strategies") — a Digital Sovereignty Score for the organization and how to build optionality and exit strategies into vendor contracts. As delivered live at The Hack Summit 2025. Best for boards and CIO/CTO audiences, risk & compliance events, industry conferences.

Tech rider: own clicker and adapters; standard needs — projector/LED, wireless mic, HDMI. Recording allowed by prior agreement.

## 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)
- **Article**: "From Engine Room to Boardroom: When VSM Became a Strategy Tool" — Digital CxO, 2026. https://digitalcxo.com/article/from-engine-room-to-boardroom-when-vsm-became-a-strategy-tool/
- **Interview**: "Value Stream Mapping as the Swiss Knife for Business" with Alan Shimel — TechStrong TV, 2026. https://youtu.be/VOX7FfiWkzA

## Conference Speaking

- Flowtopia Live 2026 (Online, June 2026) — "Value Stream Mapping is a Business Swiss-Army Knife"
- InfoShare 2026 (Gdansk, May 2026) — "Value is an (new) Emperor"
- 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