Matthias HolzerIntro call
// ai agents · enablement · coaching — vienna & dach

Transformation with common sense.

AI agents that take work off your plate — in days, not quarters. Enablement and coaching for teams that want to be out front: agents built together, impact made visible. Engineer, coach and mediator in one — so speed does not fail on people.

Book an intro call — 30 min, free →What you get
20 years of experience in
Austria's largest railway groupa global insurance group's ITfederal government ITmy own software company
// why this works

Code, boardroom, people — three worlds, one language.

The most expensive friction happens where tech, management and team talk past each other. Here: all three worlds from the inside.

lang="code"

The Engineer

From developer in federal government IT to founder of my own software company. AI: built myself, not just discussed.

lang="boardroom"

The Transformer

Led transformations with 400+ people, guided C-level through business agility. Outcome over activity theatre.

lang="human"

The Mediator

Systemic coach, mediation training under the Austrian Civil Law Mediation Act. Conflicts are information about the system — read them, and you change faster.

// services

Three areas, one point of contact.

The value is in how they connect — technology, ways of working and people, thought together. Every engagement starts with a free intro call.

EnableAI & Automation

Hands-on instead of slides: from idea to a running AI workflow in days, not quarters.

  • AI readiness workshop — use cases & roadmap worked out together
  • Hands-on AI practice workshops inhouse — prompting & tools on real everyday work
  • Process automation with AI agents — individual solutions in days
  • AI excellence & lean coding for development teams
Start here: AI practice workshop · 1 day inhouse →
GuideBusiness Agility, Coaching & Leadership

Business agility instead of method bingo: making the system better, not just adding ceremonies.

  • Business agility in programme environments — Scrum, Kanban, SAFe, pragmatic
  • Interim roles — transformation lead, RTE, agile coach
  • Leadership & founder sparring — 1:1, systemic
  • Leadership trainings & keynotes — leading through change & with AI
// coach the coaches

Mentoring & shadowing for Scrum Masters, agile coaches, POs and RTEs — from the method role to the impact role.

Start here: coaching package · 6 sessions →
ResolveMediation & Conflict Management

Resolved where it's most costly: at the seam between business, IT and leadership.

  • Workplace mediation under the Austrian Civil Law Mediation Act — structured & confidential
  • Conflict resolution in teams & leadership duos — typically 2–6 sessions
  • Firefighter mandates — stabilising escalated projects
  • Prevention & conflict competence for leaders
Start here: intro call · 30 min · confidential →
// comes together

Rarely does it take only one of the three areas. Which one applies to you becomes clear in the intro call — 30 minutes, free.

// track record
20+years in IT & transformation
400+people guided through change
100+inhouse workshops & trainings facilitated
1book about common sense
Stations
// transformation
“Matthias is Mr. Agile to me — the partner I trust for every major transformation. He built and steered a transformation for us at a global level: from the first idea to running operations.”
— CIO, international insurance group
// automation
“Within a few days the first automated workflows were running — and the savings were immediately noticeable. No studies, no slides: just done.”
— Managing director, construction SME
// ai workshops
“The AI rollout and use-case workshops were hands-on and exactly tailored to us. We're finally on track — and no longer feel like we're behind.”
— Legal & financial forensics boutique
// ai agents
“The agent orchestrates calls, calendar and appointment reminders automatically. Missed and lost appointments have dropped drastically — that saves real money every month.”
— Practice manager, dental practice
// method

What whitewater teaches about organisations.

Years on the whitewater kayak. No seminar teaches more about change than a river with its own opinion.

01

Read the river

Understand the system before you move it. Diagnosis before method: where does it flow, where does it back up, where does it pull you under?

02

Choose the line

Not the perfect route — the doable one. A strategy that fits this organisation, not the textbook.

03

Paddle

Execution in short, strong strokes. Visible results instead of a concept graveyard — hesitate in the rapids and you capsize.

04

Master the roll

Capsizing is part of it. What matters is how fast you're back up — resilience is trainable, for people and organisations alike.

Where's it backing up for you right now? Let's talk for 30 minutes — free.

Soča, Slovenia · Photo: Krzysztof Golik, CC BY-SA 4.0
// the book · 2025

Error 404: Common Sense Not Found.

A survival guide for anyone who has ever quietly asked "why?" during an agile transformation. No method religion, no framework bingo — just what actually matters between the ceremonies: common sense.

Buy on Amazon →Book as a keynote

want a preview first? request a sample chapter →

// engine room

Stories, not slides.

Short real-world cases — anonymised, honest, with the part that's missing from glossy references. Currently published in German only.

All stories →
coach the coachesscrum master

Coach the Coaches: Warum gute Scrum Master an schlechten Systemen scheitern

Scrum-Master- und Agile-Coach-Mentoring in der Praxis: Wie Shadowing und ehrliches Feedback aus Methodenhütern Wirkungsträger machen — eine kurze Geschichte aus dem Maschinenraum.

11 July 2026Read →business agilitytransformation

Business Agility: Wenn das Framework wichtiger wird als das Ergebnis

Agile Transformation gescheitert? Meist ist nicht Agilität das Problem, sondern Framework-Religion. Eine kurze Geschichte über gestrichene Meetings, Outcome-Metriken und den Mut zum Weglassen.

30 June 2026Read →kiautomatisierung

KI einführen: Warum dein erster Use Case kein Chatbot sein sollte

KI-Beratung ohne Buzzwords: Wie ein unscheinbarer Automatisierungs-Use-Case einem Team vier Stunden pro Woche zurückgegeben hat — und mehr für die KI-Akzeptanz getan hat als jede Strategie-Folie.

9 June 2026Read →
// about

Who's writing this — the short version.

Ing. Dipl.-Ing. Matthias Holzer, BSc. Engineer, systemic coach, mediator — and allergic to corporate theatre: buzzword bingo, meetings without decisions, frameworks as religion.

20 years in IT and transformation — enterprise, startup, my own company. Today: large transformation programmes and C-level sparring on business agility. The focus has always been the same — making teams, processes and whole systems more efficient and more humane. People at the centre, outcome as the yardstick, everything else is decoration.

What I like most: AI that takes work off your plate instead of filling slides. Processes that disappear instead of getting documented. Teams that deliver without bending out of shape.

"You're one of the few people who actually use AI fast, precisely and in everyday work."— my wife. She's sparing with compliments, so I'll take this one.

The rest: three daughters, a wood workshop, a whitewater kayak. Three very effective humility trainings.

Education & Certifications

  • Ing. — HTL for Internet & Media Technology, Vienna
  • Dipl.-Ing. & BSc — University of Natural Resources and Life Sciences, Vienna (Process Optimisation & Management)
  • Mediation training under the Austrian Civil Law Mediation Act (ZivMediatG) — paulschindler.at & AAZB (Academy for Applied Future Education)
  • Systemic coaching — Wirtschaftsakademie Wien
  • Certified Agile Coach — boris gloger consulting
  • SAFe — Release Train Engineer (practised in enterprise environments)
  • Kanban University — certified training
  • Certified ScrumMaster — Scrum Alliance
  • Professional Product Owner — scrum.org
  • Project management — PMA Austria
  • Corporate leadership programme (#Lead)
  • Author — "Error 404: Common Sense Not Found" (2025)
A child climbs a rock face while an adult belays from below
Leadership means belaying, not pulling.
// frequently asked questions

What you probably still want to know.

What does working together cost?

Workshops and coaching packages have a fixed scope; longer engagements are billed by effort. After the free intro call you get a concrete offer with a fixed price — no day-rate surprises, no small print.

Who do you work with?

Enterprises and mid-sized companies across the DACH region who want to seriously tackle AI, change or conflict — and founders looking for sparring at eye level. Typical contacts: C-level, division and IT leadership, HR, and the people who actually carry the transformation.

Remote or on-site?

Both. I'm based in Vienna and work on-site across the DACH region — workshops and mediation work best in person. Coaching, sparring and trainings also work remotely, across Europe, in German or English.

How fast can we start?

I reply to requests within 48 hours — personally, not automated. The intro call usually happens within a few days. One-day workshop formats can be scheduled short-term; longer engagements we align with your timeline.

How confidential is the mediation?

Completely. Confidentiality is contractually fixed in my mediation agreement and applies from the intro call onward. What's discussed in the mediation room stays there. My training follows the Austrian Civil Law Mediation Act; I am not currently listed in the Austrian Ministry of Justice's register of mediators.

What happens in the intro call?

30 minutes, free, no slides and no pitch. You describe your situation, I ask questions and tell you honestly whether and how I can help. If I'm not the right person, I'll say so — and if I know someone who's a better fit, that too.

// contact

Let's talk about your plans.

30 minutes, free, no slides. We'll look at your situation together — and honestly clarify whether it's a fit. If it's not, you'll hear that too. That's just common sense.

Intro callRequest a time — reply < 48 hE-mailmatthias@holzerm.atLinkedInmatthias-holzer-at