Michael Virnich has been Partner Manager at amberSearch since September 2024. Michael has made a very special change: After 38 years of corporate experience at Deutsche Telekom, he is now with us, a young and fast-growing digital company. In this blog post, you can find out where his motivation came from and what he is now doing with us.
Michael, you’ve been part of our team for a few days now. How were your first few days and the onboarding process?
Firstly, I would like to thank you for the excellent onboarding. I was very well received and have already had the opportunity to speak to everyone in the team. A positive for me: It started straight away without any fuss. I started directly with hands on work on the very first day and was able to utilise my existing network.
Hands on – that’s a good keyword. What will your role be at amberSearch?
After 38 years in sales at Telekom and several years as sales manager for the SME West region, I can look back on a lot of experience and know how large corporations ‘think’. As the amberSearch team has already successfully demonstrated that one can sell their solution successfully – both directly and via partners – I am starting out in partner management. My job is to be the first point of contact for our partners – currently Telekom, d.velop or BCT-Software, for example. I work strategically with them so that their sales staff can offer our solution. On the one hand, it’s about support, on the other hand it’s about planning joint activities and enabling the sales staff. Then there is the structured development of partner sales and the acquisition of new partners.
Sounds like the perfect job for you. There are many interesting digital companies in Germany. Why did you decide to join amberSearch in particular?
Good question… On the one hand, my team has known amberSearch practically since day one and looked after it on the Telekom side. As a result, we always had a close relationship with them and closely followed their entrepreneurial steps. It was exciting to see how quickly they evolved and developed a product that delivers undeniable added value. Making internal knowledge accessible is a challenge that I recognise not only from my time at Telekom, but also from all the other customers I have supported over the years. And over the years, the challenges have become ever greater due to more and more data silos, growing IT infrastructures and demographic change. In this respect, amberSearch has simply developed a very mature and contemporary solution. And then, of course, the topic of AI and the change to a dynamic environment also appealed to me…
…Can you elaborate on that?
Well, I think I once said to one of the founders: ‘When I stop working at Telekom, I’ll come to you.’. At the time, it was more out of instinct because I was excited about the idea, the solution and the team. Looking back, I never actually said that to another customer. And now I’m part of the amberSearch team!
What a compliment! Thank you! You’re still quite new to us. What will be your next milestones?
The next big event is already just around the corner for us: Digital X, Europe’s leading digitalisation initiative, a Deutsche Telekom initiative. For years I was there in magenta – now I’m changing the magenta colour to amber. Over the next few days, I will be making some preparations accordingly and I expect that some of my former colleagues will also be visiting me at the amberSearch booth in the Stadtgarten.
From now on, they will jointly scale the partner sales of amberSearch. At Digital X, Michael can be recognised by his trademark – the host carriers. But he swaps the magenta colours for amber-coloured host carriers and Bastian is already wearing them for a trial run!
So you didn’t take some time off?
Yes, it was immediately clear to me that I didn’t want to take a break, but wanted to take the momentum with me and launch straight into amberSearch. In addition to the already mentioned milestones, the medium-term goal is of course to further increase the percentage of revenue that we generate through our partners and to build on the foundations that have already been laid.
Where do you think the biggest differences and challenges will lie in a young company compared to a group like Telekom?
One of the biggest differences is that I can now also work strategically and my impact on the overall development of the company will be significantly greater. I hope to be able to use my experience and insights from the Telekom to set the right course for further rapid growth at amberSearch at an early stage.
There are far fewer processes, guidelines and the like at amberSearch – so it will certainly be an adjustment for me. But I’m looking forward to being able to ‘reinvent’ myself at amberSearch. In the past, I’ve always said that I admire people who dare to take this step again.
You’re right about that. We are delighted that you are part of the team and have taken the ‘leap’. Where can companies that are interested in a partnership get in touch?
Ideally, you will contact me via LinkedIn. There you will be able to reach me.