Michal Kováčik

Michal Kováčik

AI Strategy, Vision, and Implementation Leader

michal.kovacik@icloud.com | michal.kovacik@telekom.com

www.linkedin.com/in/michalkovacik

github.com/MKovacik

gitlab.devops.telekom.de/michal.kovacik

Slovakia

Professional Summary

I operate on the firm belief that the most effective technology leaders remain deeply connected to the craft of software development and the customer needs it serves. This philosophy guides my approach to leadership: I build and scale high-performing engineering teams that are empowered, innovative, and focused on delivering excellence. With over 15 years of experience, my current focus is on spearheading the strategic implementation of Artificial Intelligence, transforming not just how we create software, but what's possible for our products. My ultimate goal is to harmonize technology and talent to solve complex challenges, deliver outstanding customer value, and drive the organization toward its most ambitious strategic goals.

Professional Experience

Deutsche Telekom IT Solutions Slovakia

15 years 6 months
AI Strategy, Vision, and Implementation Leader
Capability and Cluster Lead AIH - DX (from April 2024)
DTIT AI program co-leader (from April 2024)
Engineering lead for Hungary and Slovakia (from September 2024)
April 2025 - Present
  • Driving the vision, strategy, and execution of AI to ensure meaningful adoption and alignment with business goals across the Deutsche Telekom IT ecosystem.
Key Achievements:
  • Spearheaded the enterprise-wide adoption of AI developer tools (e.g., GitHub Copilot), growing the active user base by 21% to over 3,000 developers. This initiative has enabled the generation of over 5.3 million lines of code within the last 12 months.
  • Established a framework for tracking and reporting the ROI of AI initiatives, consistently demonstrating positive returns to the VTI Management Board and securing ongoing executive buy-in for the AI strategy.
  • Selected to present key AI achievements and strategic progress directly to the Deutsche Telekom AG CEO, Timotheus Höttges, highlighting the business impact of our innovations.
  • Drove group-wide AI strategic alignment by collaborating with leaders from all major DT business units to maximize investment ROI and ensure a unified market approach.
  • Executed a company-wide AI awareness campaign, reaching over 4,000 employees and leading to increase in AI tool adoption and a surge in new cross-departmental project proposals.
  • Acted as the key technical evangelist for AI, translating complex topics into actionable insights for both technical and non-technical audiences across the company.
Chapter Proxy - Software engineering, QA and Data
September 2023 - March 2025
  • Provided disciplinary leadership for 15+ People Leads overseeing 350 software engineers, QAs, and data scientists.
  • Responsible for strategic personnel and competence planning for the chapters.
Key Achievements:
  • Led a strategic rebranding of the local chapter to align with global standards, directly resulting in a 30% growth of the software engineering organization in Slovakia.
  • Designed and implemented a transparent career progression framework for Software Engineers, boosting team satisfaction and reducing annual attrition to an industry-leading 6%.
  • Fostered a culture of innovation and knowledge sharing by launching dedicated communities (SWE, QA, Data) and orchestrating large-scale events, including a hackathon with over 300 participants.
  • Spearheaded the alignment of local chapter practices with global DTIT standards, collaborating with international counterparts to harmonize processes for SWE, QA, and Data chapters.
Concurrent Role: Product Owner | Chatbot Factory & ACA
January 2024 - December 2024
  • Acting in a capacity driven by a passion for AI innovation, I took full ownership of two key AI projects on top of my primary responsibilities.
  • Led the ideation and development of the Chatbot Factory and the Advanced Coding Assistant (ACA), managing cross-functional teams to deliver impactful AI solutions.
Key Achievements:
  • Spearheaded the Chatbot Factory project from concept to delivery as a self-initiated venture, proving the value of the solution which was subsequently handed over for formal development.
  • Played a key leadership role in the development of the Advanced Coding Assistant (ACA), contributing to its successful delivery as an open-source project on the official Telekom GitHub.
Head of Software Engineering
April 2020 - August 2023
  • Provided leadership for 65 software engineers, shaping the team's direction and fostering robust Agile development and DevOps cultures.
Key Achievements:
  • Played a pivotal role in designing and prototyping the new Software Engineering chapter structure, shaping the foundational processes for a 65-member engineering organization.
  • Led an initiative to optimize and standardize software development processes across multiple enterprise projects, resulting in increased efficiency and predictability of deliveries.
  • Successfully embedded Agile and DevOps principles within the team, which led to a measurable improvement in deployment frequency and team velocity.
  • Successfully delivered the "eRegistracia" public-facing application for COVID-19 testing in the Kosice region, leading a rapid development cycle to address an urgent public health need.
Head of Software Development & Design
Aug 2017 - Nov 2020
  • Led and scaled a department of over 50 software developers, implementing modern CI/CD practices and fostering a culture of innovation and knowledge sharing.
Key Achievements:
  • Orchestrated a 100% growth of the development department within one year, scaling from ~25 to over 50 engineers and establishing 3 new, fully-functional teams.
  • Spearheaded the successful implementation of Azure DevOps and CI/CD pipelines, which significantly reduced manual deployment errors and accelerated release cycles.
  • Acted as the Product Owner for multiple internal innovation projects (e.g., an enterprise Chatbot), guiding them from initial concept to successful prototype and demonstrating business value.
  • Championed the company's role in the local tech ecosystem by leading and supporting key community initiatives like 'City of Developers' and the 'Museum alone' interactive project.
Senior Software Engineer & Consultant
September 2006 - August 2017
  • Served as a key technical expert across various roles including SharePoint Developer, Consultant, and Web Developer (ASP.Net, C#, Angular, JS, TS).
  • Delivered on critical projects such as DealFile 2.0, Business Trip Portal, and large-scale Portal Migrations.
Key Achievements:
  • Achieved Microsoft Certified Professional (MCP) status, formally validating a high standard of technical expertise and commitment to professional development early in my career.
  • Progressed to a senior role, taking on leadership responsibilities within multiple project teams to guide technical implementation, define architecture, and mentor junior developers.
  • Acted as a key developer on several successful enterprise projects, including the "DealFile 2.0" and "Business trip portal," contributing to all phases from design and implementation to final deployment.
  • Successfully executed complex SharePoint portal migration projects, ensuring data integrity and minimal downtime for business users during critical transition periods.

Siemens

1 year 6 months
Software Engineer
August 2008 - January 2010
  • Developed software for the Siemens Medical Solutions RTT-PT project, a critical application in the field of radio treatment.
  • Collaborated with customer engineers on defining system architecture and created key development in documentation of threatment part of software.
Key Achievements:
  • Contributed as a key developer on the Siemens RTT-PT (Radio Treatment) project, delivering robust and reliable C# code for a critical medical software solution.
  • Actively collaborated with customer engineers to define and refine software architecture and interfaces, ensuring the final product met precise technical and user requirements.
  • Authored comprehensive development documentation, including Software Design Specifications and Unit Test Procedures, to comply with strict medical industry quality standards.
  • Demonstrated ownership of code quality by participating in rigorous code reviews and supporting the full testing lifecycle, from unit and pre-integration to final system testing.

T-Systems Slovakia s.r.o.

1 year 3 months
Software Engineer
June 2007 - August 2008
  • Contributed to the development and maintenance of internal web applications and tools using C# and the .NET framework.
  • Worked as part of a team to deliver features for projects such as the "AllRegion wiki" and "ProKom WebBrowser".
Key Achievements:
  • Successfully delivered assigned features for internal applications, consistently producing well-documented and functional C# code.
  • Rapidly developed proficiency in company-specific development processes and tools, becoming a reliable and productive team contributor.
  • Collaborated with team members to troubleshoot and resolve software defects, contributing to the overall stability of internal applications.

NESS Slovensko, a.s.

10 months
Junior C# Programmer
September 2006 - June 2007
  • Applied core C# programming skills to develop and maintain features for enterprise-level client projects.
  • Gained hands-on experience in a professional software development lifecycle, from requirements to testing.
Key Achievements:
  • Successfully applied academic knowledge in a professional environment, quickly becoming proficient in writing and debugging C# code for enterprise applications.
  • Contributed to the development of features for a key client project in the financial sector (National Bank of CZ), adhering to strict coding standards.
  • Demonstrated a strong ability to learn and adapt by quickly mastering internal development tools and workflows.

Publications & Public Speaking

Theses & Research

Performances (Presentations & Talks)

  • Conference Presentation on Internal AI Conference in Kosice: Exploring new solutions with your data and AI
  • Conference Presentation on Internal Techcelerate Conference in Kosice and AI Accelarate Conference in Budapest: Chatbot Factory
  • Conference Presentation on Internal All DTIT Management Conference in Essen: How to code with AI (500 leaders)
  • Conference Presentation on WeAreDevelopers Conference in Berlin: How to code for visual impairment people (+workshop)
  • Conference Presentation on AWS Quarterly Telco meetup: How to code with AI
  • Internal Talk Show: Cafe with Developer (approx. 12k views per episode, max. 40k.)

Projects & Community Involvement

Community Projects

  • Led development of the "eRegistracia" application for COVID-19 testing, which reduce the time of registration from hours to minutes. Team receive also Badge of City Kosice from Mayor of Kosice.
  • Knowledge sharing on LEX sessions
  • Supported local developer communities
  • Served as a mentor at developer hackathons.

Certifications

  • PRO: Designing and Developing Microsoft SharePoint 2010 Applications (70-576)
  • MCTS: Microsoft SharePoint 2010, Application Development (70-573)
  • MS: Programming in HTML5 with JavaScript and CSS3 (70-480)
  • MCPS: Microsoft Certified Professional
  • Certified Scrum Product Owner

Skills

Leadership & Strategy

Leadership Storytelling Strategic Thinking Budget and Cost Management Entrepreneurial Acting Conflict Resolution Emotional Intelligence Virtual Leadership

Methodologies & Culture

DevOps Agile Methods Ability to Innovate Analytical Thinking Disruptive Thinking Product Management Customer Orientation DevOps (CI/CD)

Technical Stack

C# Python Angular TypeScript JavaScript, HTML, CSS SharePoint

Languages

  • Slovak: Native
  • English: Professional working proficiency