Michal Kováčik

Our internal developer customers needed simple, innovative tools to improve their coding experience, but existing AI tools had low adoption and developers weren't achieving their productivity goals.

Understand different developer views and needs, then design and deliver a human-centered AI solution that would help them achieve their goals while challenging the status quo of traditional development approaches.

I incorporated developers' point of view through listening tours and feedback sessions, challenged internal processes by advocating for GitHub Copilot adoption despite initial resistance, and created simple, innovative experiences through company-wide AI awareness campaigns reaching 4,000+ employees. I passionately championed understanding customer needs and served developers fairly and equally across all teams.

Helped developers achieve their productivity goals - grew active user base by 21% to over 3,000 developers generating 5.3+ million lines of code. Created trusted companion relationship with our internal customers, demonstrating measurable ROI to VTI Management Board.

Being a trusted companion means putting customer needs at the heart of everything - understanding their views, challenging barriers that hinder their needs, and co-creating solutions that help them achieve their goals through simple, innovative and human-centered experiences.

Public health crisis required immediate action - COVID-19 testing registration in Košice was taking hours, creating critical bottlenecks during a public emergency. Traditional processes weren't adequate.

Deliver a fast, high-quality solution by thinking end-to-end from citizen registration to health authority data management, staying ahead of the crisis through entrepreneurial, solution-oriented action.

I tackled the challenge proactively and promptly, leading the team to go straight for the solution without waiting for perfect requirements. We went for it - started small with MVP and continuously improved based on real user feedback. I thought end-to-end about the entire registration flow, coordinating with health authorities while maintaining entrepreneurial spirit to overcome bureaucratic obstacles.

Delivered fast and high-quality solution - reduced registration time from hours to minutes. Our execution-focused, solution-oriented approach helped us stay ahead, earning the team Badge of City Košice from the Mayor for community impact.

Being entrepreneurial and solution-oriented means tackling challenges proactively, going for it even without perfect conditions, and thinking end-to-end to deliver fast, high-quality solutions. This mindset helps us stay ahead of competition and make things happen when it matters most.

Engineers faced unclear career paths and perceived unfairness in advancement decisions. Some leaders avoided difficult conversations about performance and growth, creating disrespectful experiences and eroding trust.

Always do the right thing - design transparent, fair career framework that treats all 350+ engineers with respect and ensures our actions align with our values of integrity and diversity.

I committed to upholding our values by creating clear, objective criteria that treated everyone fairly. When faced with challenges about existing practices, I demonstrated decisive action - not afraid to express disagreement with status quo or raise concerns about disrespectful advancement decisions. I became a strong advocate for a framework that embraced diversity, inclusion, and fostered respectful interactions by ensuring criteria were objective and transparent. I openly communicated the rationale and took a transparent stance on advancement decisions.

Our actions spoke louder than words - boosted team satisfaction and reduced attrition to industry-leading 6%. The respectful, fair approach grew engineering organization by 30% as people wanted to work where integrity mattered and diversity was embraced.

Respect and integrity are fundamental to success. We must always do the right thing, be actively committed to respectful interactions, and not be afraid to express disagreement when we see misconduct or disrespectful behavior. Our actions define us - taking a transparent stance on important issues like fairness and diversity creates lasting positive change.

AI initiatives across Deutsche Telekom were siloed - business units worked in isolation with fragmented strategies, duplicated efforts, and missed opportunities. We needed to be one team but were operating apart.

Stand for strong collaboration to overcome silos, challenge and empower leaders across units to work as one team where we win and lose together as one company.

I stood for strong collaboration, actively breaking down silos by bringing leaders from all major DT business units together for open discussion. I accepted and gave constructive feedback across organizational boundaries to grow personally and as a team. I openly communicated our shared vision, shared my AI knowledge and built on the ideas of others to get to the best results. I valued different opinions, openly discussing them to make better decisions and standing together to drive group-wide alignment.

We became one team - established unified market approach that prevented duplication and maximized ROI. Through collaboration, we won together as one company, accelerating AI adoption while empowering and challenging each other to achieve more than any unit could alone.

We are one team who challenge and empower one another. Strong collaboration overcomes silos, constructive feedback helps us grow, and openly communicating and building on each other's ideas gets us to the best results. When we work closely together and stand together, we win and lose as one company.

Customers and colleagues needed innovative AI solutions (chatbot and coding assistant), but no one formally owned these initiatives. It was unclear who would take responsibility and build the trust needed to deliver.

Act with passion, responsibility and commitment - personally live our T identity by taking ownership of Chatbot Factory and Advanced Coding Assistant, building trust through delivery so people could count on me.

I personally lived our T identity in my daily work - taking ownership beyond my formal role because I'm proud to be T. I delivered what I promised, leading both projects from concept to reality, building strong relationships with cross-functional teams and gaining the trust of customers and colleagues through consistent, committed action. I enjoyed having fun with colleagues while striving for success, creating innovative solutions driven by passion and sense of responsibility. Trust meant everything - so I acted with full commitment.

People could count on me - Chatbot Factory proved value and was trusted for formal development. ACA successfully delivered as open-source on official Telekom GitHub. Built strong relationships and earned trust of leadership and teams through delivering on promises with passion and commitment.

We are proud to be T - this means acting with passion, responsibility and commitment in everything we do. Trust means everything to us. When we personally live our identity, deliver what we promise, build strong relationships, and enjoy the journey while striving for success, we become the committed individuals people can count on.

Our 350+ engineers were working in routine patterns without enough opportunities to learn, experiment, and grow. The organization risked stagnation without a culture that embraced curiosity and continuous learning.

Foster end-to-end responsibility for growth across the organization, creating supportive culture where curiosity drives us to embrace continuous learning and grow both as individuals and as an organization.

I took the initiative and fostered end-to-end responsibility by launching dedicated learning communities (SWE, QA, Data) where engineers owned their development. I tried out new ways with curiosity and courage - orchestrating hackathon with 300+ participants where experimentation was celebrated. I shared my knowledge through mentoring at developer events, asked questions to spark curiosity, and took time to reflect and learn from outcomes. I created supportive culture where everyone felt empowered to proactively seek opportunities to grow.

The curious mindset let us grow as an organization and as individuals - vibrant learning culture emerged with increased cross-departmental innovation proposals. Engineers took full ownership for their growth, showing responsibility to continuously learn, positioning us as innovation leaders.

We are curious and embrace continuous learning - this mindset lets us grow. Taking initiative to create supportive culture, trying new ways with curiosity and courage, and sharing knowledge while taking time to reflect transforms both individuals and organizations. Curiosity drives us to proactively seek every opportunity to grow.