Head of Growth in Germany
I am Michael Wutzke from Frankfurt, and I support companies in Germany as Head of Growth, as a freelancer or as a permanent employee, also for interim work. I work remote for the most part, with on-site days in Frankfurt Rhine-Main. My growth work starts in the funnel: I measure where visitors leave between the first visit and the order or the signed contract, then change and test that step. Let's talk about your needs in a free 30-minute video call.
What I bring to your team
-
Growth experience
For more than twenty years I have built websites, shops and portals that customers buy through. I read a funnel from the customer's side and work on the step where most of them leave.
-
Order funnels and payments
I programmed shopping carts and order funnels for shops of Lidl and REWE and connected them to PayPal, WorldPay and Amazon Pay. I can change a checkout myself and read the analytics behind it.
-
Measurement and tests
I hold the Google Analytics and Google Mobile Sites certifications and have worked with Google Tag Manager, Google Optimize and Google Ads. I test a change against the current version before it goes live.
-
Product marketing in B2B
I was CIO of a Frankfurt fintech, and growth and marketing were part of that position. I designed the product marketing of a market data product and onboarded its institutional customers myself.
-
Social selling and press
At an online event of Siemens AG I spoke about winning prospects through websites and social media. FAZ, ZDF, Manager Magazin and Handelsblatt have interviewed me, and I did the press work for my projects myself.
What a Head of Growth does in your company
A Head of Growth owns the path from the first visit to the paying customer and the numbers along it. Job ads for the title in Germany ask for customer acquisition across channels, a command of analytics and tracking, responsibility for conversion rates and onboarding, and the hands-on lead of a small team.
For acquisition I built social media channels on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram and YouTube for the projects I managed, and on April 23, 2021 I spoke at Siemens AG, Central Region Germany, on winning prospects through websites and social media. In 2022 I onboarded the institutional customers of a new market data product and the cooperation partners that came with them.
My growth work, newest first
- 2022 to October 2024: at the Frankfurt-based company Blocksize Capital, Head of Decentralized Finance and Node Operations, then Chief Information Officer from January 2023. Growth and marketing were part of the CIO position. In 2022 I designed the product marketing of a real-time market data product, spoke with decision-makers at stock exchanges and banks, and onboarded its institutional and professional customers.
- 2016 to December 2021: Project Manager and Web Developer at Policen Direkt. I planned and built the web portals of the group and ran their conversion optimization. In the digital insurance manager, thousands of customers managed their policies and ordered products of external partners (customer count from 2016 to 2021).
- 2011 to 2016: Project Lead and Developer at Valentins (Burda Digital). I programmed shops for Lidl and REWE with millions of transactions, dedicated mobile shops and a reminder service that emailed hundreds of thousands of customers, and I ran the conversion optimization of the shops. The news channel n-tv named Valentins the best online shop for ordering convenience.
Details: Career stages.
Five steps from a funnel problem to a result
I run conversion work in five steps, the process on my page Conversion optimization. The table names each step and the question it answers.
| Step | Question | What happens |
|---|---|---|
| Research | Where does the funnel lose visitors? | Tracking the metrics and finding the part of the funnel that needs fixing |
| Hypothesis | Why do they leave there? | An educated guess, built on the research, and the change that could keep them |
| Prioritization | Which change goes first? | Planning the hypotheses and ranking them |
| Test | Is the change better? | The new version runs against the current one as an A/B test |
| Learning | What now? | The winner goes live, or the lesson feeds the next test |
My tools for research and tests were Google Analytics, Google Tag Manager and Google Optimize. In my e-commerce years, changes to the funnels raised the sales of a top e-commerce brand on mobile devices by up to 22 percent. I track micro conversions such as a newsletter sign-up next to macro conversions such as a checkout, because a visitor who is not ready to buy can still take a first step that I can measure.
Profile at a glance
| Role | Head of Growth, growth lead, conversion optimization |
| Engagement | Permanent, remote for the most part, on-site days in Frankfurt Rhine-Main; freelance; interim |
| Location | Frankfurt, Germany; remote across Germany and Europe |
| Analytics | Google Analytics and Google Mobile Sites certifications; Google Tag Manager, Google Optimize, Google Ads |
| Funnels | Order funnels, mobile shops, PayPal, WorldPay and Amazon Pay, 2011 to 2016; insurance portals, 2016 to 2021 |
| Leadership | CIO of a Frankfurt fintech, January 2023 to October 2024; Professional Scrum Master I |
| Languages | German, English |
Who I am
I am Michael Wutzke. I have worked in IT and media for more than twenty years, as an employee and as a consultant, and for a long stretch of it I was the link between content, marketing and customers. At Valentins I was the IT contact for management and marketing. Today I use Claude and Codex daily and teach at Claude Hacker House, and I am interested in open-source AI models that a company runs on its own servers. Details: Teaching and certifications.
How we get in touch
-
Message or call
Write to me on LinkedIn or book a 30-minute video call. A few lines on your product and your growth targets are enough.
-
Video call
We talk about your channels, your conversion rates and the team, and about the engagement: permanent, freelance or interim.
-
Documents
My career page lists my positions newest first. Certificates follow on request.
-
Meeting the team
I meet your team by video or on site. From Frankfurt I travel for on-site days in Germany and Europe.
Questions companies ask
Which engagements do you take on?
Permanent positions as Head of Growth, remote for the most part with on-site days in Frankfurt Rhine-Main. Freelance and interim growth work, part time or full time, is possible as well.
What is the difference between a Head of Growth and a Head of Marketing?
A Head of Marketing owns the brand and the campaigns. A Head of Growth owns the numbers of the funnel, from the first visit to the paying customer, and changes pages and product steps to move them. My experience sits on the growth side: I built and tested funnels myself.
Which growth channels have you worked with?
Order funnels and dedicated mobile shops, email through a reminder service that reached hundreds of thousands of customers (count from 2011 to 2016), social media channels on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram and YouTube, and press work.
Have you worked in B2B or B2C?
Both. The shops for Lidl and REWE and the insurance portals served consumers. The market data product of a Frankfurt fintech served institutional and professional customers, among them banks.
Do you work remote?
Yes, for the most part. I live in Frankfurt and work with teams across Germany and Europe, in German and English. On-site days in Frankfurt Rhine-Main are easy to arrange; for other cities I travel.
Details on the work behind this page
-
Conversion optimization
On the Internet, it is increasingly important to move customers and users to the next step. Conversion optimization is therefore part of every good website.
-
E-commerce and conversion
Front ends, back ends, order funnels and payment connections of online shops.
-
CIO and Head of DeFi at a Frankfurt fintech
Node operations, a market-data product, teams, budgets and procuration at a Frankfurt fintech.
-
Social Media Talk
On April 23, 2021 I gave an online presentation on social selling at Siemens AG, Central Region Germany.
Your Head of Growth in Germany
I am Michael Wutzke, based in Frankfurt, and I take on the position of Head of Growth for companies in Germany, remote for the most part. In a free 30-minute video call we look at your funnel and your needs, and you learn whether my experience fits your team.
Searches this page answers
- head of growth
- head of growth meaning
- what is head of growth
- what is head of growth role
- what does a head of growth do
- what does head of growth mean
- head of growth roles
- head of growth role description
- head of growth job description
- head of growth marketing
- head of growth B2B
- head of growth vs head of marketing
- what is fractional head of growth
- fractional head of growth
- fractional head of growth meaning
- fractional growth lead
- fractional growth leader
- head of growth remote
- head of growth marketing remote
- freelance growth manager
- growth consultant
- growth lead job description
- growth leader job description
- growth manager
- growth manager role
- growth manager job description
- growth marketing lead
- growth marketing manager
- growth marketing strategy
- ecommerce growth manager
- conversion rate optimization
- conversion rate optimization (CRO)
- funnel optimization
- funnel optimization strategies
- sales funnel optimization
- mobile conversion rate optimization
- mobile vs desktop conversion rates
- checkout conversion optimization
- checkout process optimization
- customer acquisition strategy
- customer acquisition funnel
- customer onboarding funnel
- A/B testing marketing