Johannes Kieven

Innovation Transformation Leader | Digital & AI Adoption | Strategy • Enablement • Change | Turning Innovation into Business Impact

Düsseldorf, North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany

About

Category & Portfolio Growth: Translating market and consumer insights into portfolio choices, product roadmaps, and successful multi-market launches. Adjacency Innovation & New Growth Platforms: Building scalable growth models at the intersection of chemistry, devices, IoT, data, and partnerships (corporates & startups). Corporate Strategy & CIO / CDO Office: Driving enterprise-level strategy, prioritization, and performance management through strategy offices roles, working directly with senior leadership on growth, transformation, and execution discipline. Digital & IT-Enabled Transformation (Non-coding): Leading IT-backed transformation across data platforms, digital architecture, governance, and operating models to enable growth at scale. AI (Hands-on Practitioner): Embedding AI into insights, prioritization, validation, and go-to-market execution to accelerate decision quality and commercial outcomes

Experience

  • Henkel (19 yrs 10 mos)
    • Category Head Consumer Brands – Toilet Care Inno & Expansion (High Growth Markets: LATAM, MEA, ANZ)
      Oct 2025 - Present · 10 mos

      Driving innovation and category expansion across high-growth regions, shaping the Toilet Care portfolio to capture new consumer needs and market opportunities. Leading development and launch of breakthrough concepts, adapts global innovations to local realities, and creates white-spot growth by expanding into new segments, formats, and channels. Acting as growth architect by aligning global strategy with local execution, accelerating penetration, and establishing Toilet Care as a leading growth engine in LATAM, MEA, and ANZ.

    • Global Growth & Innovation Lead Consumer Brands - Toilet Care (Global Marketing)
      Nov 2022 - Oct 2025 · 3 yrs

      Leading global category growth by shaping the innovation pipeline and unlocking new market opportunities in Toilet Care. Managing end-to-end development of breakthrough concepts, portfolio expansions, and business model innovations, ensuring global strategies translate into local market success. Partners with regional teams worldwide to accelerate penetration, capture white spots, and expand into high-growth segments. Acts as a catalyst for consumer-driven innovation, bringing fresh ideas to life and scaling them across diverse markets to deliver sustainable growth.

    • Global Head of Device-enabled Partnerships & Venture Building
      Jun 2020 - Oct 2022 · 2 yrs 5 mos

      Leads the creation and scaling of new growth ecosystems at the intersection of consumer brands, devices, and digital services. Builds global partnerships with technology leaders and startups, driving connected solutions, IoT-enabled platforms, and data-driven business models. Orchestrates venture building from concept to scale, translating emerging technologies into breakthrough consumer experiences and new revenue streams. Acts as growth architect, forging collaborations that expand category boundaries and position the company at the forefront of digital transformation.

  • Guest Lecturer MBA Entepreneurship / MA Strategic Management at ESB Business School, Reutlingen University
    Jan 2022 - Present · 4 yrs 7 mos

  • Regional IT Business Partner Lead North America at Henkel North America
    Nov 2011 - Mar 2012 · 5 mos

  • Marketing Specialist (Marketing) at SAP
    May 2005 - Sep 2005 · 5 mos

  • Forward Sourcing & Thesis at Volkswagen Group
    Mar 2005 - Apr 2005 · 2 mos