WHOIS …? Nicholas Riebesel

What’s your name & what techie cliché is totally true for you?

Hi, I'm Nicholas Riebesel. Very cliché would probably be that I used to play a lot of video games, although I don’t have as much time for them anymore. However, I’m also a passionate fan of classic fantasy and sci-fi epics.

What is your role at BurdaForward?

I'm a Product Owner of the Data platform team at BurdaForward, where I lead the development and strategy for our data products and services, ensuring they meet user needs and business goals.

What do you do as Product Owner?

In my role, I bridge the gap between stakeholders and the development team. I prioritize features, define product visions, and ensure that we're delivering value to our users with each iteration. A large part of my work revolves around communication and making compromises – bridging the gap between technical requirements and business needs.

What is the job of your team at BurdaForward?

On a higher scale we want to improve the company’s data literacy and encourage data-driven products and decisions. More specifically, our team focuses on building and maintaining a solid tracking infrastructure, optimizing revenue and finance models, developing automated data alerts and connecting new data sources to our platform. We enabled various departments to make data-driven decisions already and ensure that data is accessible, reliable, and actionable.

When & Why did you start to work in tech?

During an internship in Cape Town, I fell in love with coding and developing my own digital products like apps and webpages. But even before that, in the early 2000s, I was already building HTML sites and decorating them with rather questionable CSS styles. That curiosity and passion for building things led me to where I am today. By the way, I of course did not only learn to code in South Africa:

What is your favorite part about working in tech?

Aside from the constant learning and innovation, I genuinely enjoy working with the people in tech. I appreciate an environment with fewer buzzwords and corporate jargon and more concrete ideas and solutions for real problems. The variety of personalities and skills in tech makes every project unique and engaging.

What is your “tech superpower”?

I’d say that my superpower is breaking down complex technical solutions or ideas and explaining them in a way that makes sense to the business side – and vice versa. Having been at BurdaForward for many years, I also know a lot of colleagues across different teams, which helps me connect people and push projects forward effectively.

And how did you use it recently? (Maybe insights to a recent project)

Recently, we have been making good progress on improving our Revenue Analytics capabilities. We developed an innovative way to match revenue and traffic data, giving us deeper insights into our products and performance. This not only helps us make more informed decisions but also potentially gives us a competitive edge in the publishing market.

What advice would you like to give techies out there?

Stay curious and keep learning but also make sure to focus on your communication skills. The best technical solutions can fail if they’re not understood or supported by the right people.

Did you find any nice tool/software/technology/… recently that you would like to share?

Recently, I’ve found an AI-based tool called Pieces, and it’s honestly a game-changer. It makes saving, organizing, and reusing code snippets ridiculously easy – plus, it integrates smoothly with IDEs and even understands context. Even though I don’t find time to develop much, it’s very helpful to park a thought and find it later when you have more time and there is another meeting in between.

https://pieces.app/

Can we find out more about you on social platforms (LinkedIn, GitHub, Tech Blogs, Link to an article on our post…)?

Sure, you can connect with me on LinkedIn for updates and insights into my work:

https://www.linkedin.com/in/nicholas-riebesel-12a42022a/

Any famous last words?

In tech, it’s not just about writing good code or having the best tools – it’s about making an impact. Whether it's improving processes, driving business growth, or simply making work easier for your colleagues, the most rewarding part is seeing the real-world results of what you build. Oh, and of course: