KERSTIN KOLVENBACH

HI I'M KERSTIN

I am Senior Marketing Manager with 9+ years of experience in strategic and operational marketing for B2B and regulated industries. Proven track record in developing regional marketing strategies, adjusting messaging for international markets and cultures (EMEA, AMER, APAC), and leading product launches across digital, event, and field marketing channels. Strong expertise in stakeholder collaboration, competitive positioning, and data-driven decision-making.

I have a passion for creating clear, meaningful, and responsible marketing strategies that support informed decisions and better outcomes for customers and end users.






Experience

  • 2024 - today

    Marketing Manager
    Bauer+Kirch GmbH, Aachen, Germany

    In my current role, I am responsible for defining and executing the end-to-end product marketing strategy for a new SaaS solution, with a strong focus on market positioning, go-to-market execution, and cross-functional alignment across sales, management, and external partners.

    • Build and lead the complete product marketing strategy for a new SaaS solution, including positioning, value propositions, personas, and messaging across the full customer journey
    • Translate business objectives and market insights into clear marketing and communication strategies aligned with sales and management
    • Lead go-to-market activities, including product launches, launch communication, and integrated campaigns across digital and offline channels
    • Plan and execute regional events, trade fairs, presentations, and webinars, acting as marketing lead on-site
    • Collaborate closely with sales, leadership, external partners, and associations to ensure consistent messaging and market readiness
    • Drive digital strategy using performance data, analytics, and KPIs to continuously optimize campaigns and content
    • Own content strategy including website, blog, newsletters, reference customer marketing, PR, SEO/SEA/GEO, and LinkedIn paid and organic campaigns

  • 2019 - 2023

    World Travel
    Career Break

    Traveled along the Pan-American Highway from Alaska to Antarctica in a self-converted campervan. Worked freelance on communication design and marketing projects.

  • 2016 - 2019

    Team Lead Marketing and Media Design
    MACHEREY-NAGEL GmbH & Co. KG, Düren, Germany

    Within a globally operating life sciences company, I held a leadership role in marketing and communication, overseeing global brand initiatives, product communication, and cross-functional projects in a highly regulated environment.

    • Strategic responsibility for global marketing initiatives including corporate identity, product communication, e-commerce, and internal enablement
    • Led an in-house design and marketing team and managed cross-functional projects with international stakeholders and external agencies
    • Managed a 7-figure annual marketing budget with a strong focus on efficiency, consistency, and brand alignment
    • Led the global rebranding and redesign of the corporate identity
    • Oversaw relaunch of the e-commerce platform with over 25,000 products
    • Planned and executed more than 10 international exhibitions and events per year
    • Developed and led internal training programs to improve presentation, communication, and sales enablement skills for employees and executives

  • 2015 - 2016

    Marketing Assistant
    MACHEREY-NAGEL GmbH & Co. KG, Düren, Germany
  • 2013-2015

    Communication Designer
    Grindaix GmbH, Aachen, Germany

    I was responsible for creating marketing visuals and print media, managing events and exhibitions, and developing the corporate design for the new business unit partfactory.

    • Communication & corporate design
    • Web design
    • National exhibitions

  • 2013-2014

    Master's Degree in Design Projects
    Hochschule Niederrhein, Fachbereich Design, Krefeld, Germany

    • Focus: Exhibition booth design, interior design & marketing

  • 2009-2012

    Bachelor's Degree in Interior Design
    Hochschule Ostwestfalen-Lippe, Fachbereich Architektur und Innenarchitektur, Detmold, Germany

    • Major in interior, furniture & lighting design
    • Minor in architecture


Certification & Courses

2024
Content Marketing Course

Hubspot Academy

This course covered content marketing best practices, planning of long-term content strategies, marketing analysis, and data-driven growth marketing. I learned how to develop comprehensive content strategies that align with business objectives and drive measurable results through data analysis and optimization.



2023
Google Digital Marketing & E-Commerce Professional Certificate

Google Inc.

Over a period of 6 months, I completed a comprehensive training course to enhance my marketing skills. The course covered a wide range of topics and helped me develop a deeper understanding of various marketing concepts, tools and techniques. I gained practical experience in different fields of marketing, including social media, email, and content marketing.



2022
Google UX Design Professional Certificate

Google Inc.

During the execution of two hands-on projects from start to finish, I learned how to empathize with the potential user and how to define and ideate problem statements. I mastered the whole design process from sketching and wireframing through mockups and high-fidelity prototypes in Figma and Adobe XD. I also explored UX research processes and practiced user interviews and tests of early concepts.



January-March 2022
The University of Sidney: Design Led-strategy, Coursera

I learned about design thinking tools and explored the elements of corporate strategy. During the course, I explored how to plan and conduct primary market research and how to analyze the results to craft a meaningful problem definition statement. I experienced how to create usable models and frameworks for gathering user feedback and testing solutions through prototypes and a minimum viable product, followed by a case study.



2018
Shopware Seminar

Shopware AG

Training course focused on implementing the Shopware e-commerce platform. I learned how to set up, configure, and customize the platform to meet business requirements, including product management, payment integration, and storefront customization.



2018
Project Management Training, Cologne, Germany

Haufe Academy

In this seminar, I gained a practice-oriented introduction to the most important methods and tools of project management. I learned how to professionally initiate, plan and monitor projects, as well as how to motivate my team from the very beginning within the triangle of time, cost, and quality. I obtained valuable skills that enabled me to successfully tackle complex tasks.



Skills

I possess excellent organizational and managerial skills and enjoy handling large and complex projects. I am adept at working collaboratively in interdisciplinary teams. My strong communication skills enable me to keep my team focused on achieving our goals and delivering high-quality results..

98
Project & Team Management
98
Communication
85
Design & Aesthetics
80
Design Thinking
85
Problem Solving

Tools

Design & Creativity
  • InDesign
  • Photoshop
  • Illustrator
  • Bridge
  • Lightroom
  • Figma
  • Adobe XD
  • Canva
Digital Marketing & E-Commerce
  • Hubspot
  • Google Ads & Analytics
  • LinkedIn Paid
  • Shopify
  • Shopware
  • Wix
  • SEO/SEA/GEO
  • Analytics & Metrics
Web technologies
  • HTML
  • CSS
  • Wordpress
  • Typo3
Project management
  • Jira
  • Confluence
  • Miro
  • Gantt Charts
  • Agile
  • CMS Akeneo
  • Scrum