Ingmar WaterlohContact

Finance, Data & AI Transformation · Advisor to Swiss corporates

TurningAIfromaslideintodailyoperations.

I advise large and mid-sized companies across industries on finance, data and AI transformation: from the north star and the roadmap to the initiatives that matter most. More than twelve years at EY and Deloitte, latest as Director and Chief Data Officer. As COO and co-owner of GrowTechnology I run operations AI-first myself.

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Ingmar Waterloh
Based in Switzerland · working across Europe
  • Advisor to Swiss corporates
  • EY Transaction Advisory
  • Deloitte Director
  • Chief Data Officer, Deloitte Switzerland
  • Co-founder, Financial Advisory Analytics
  • COO & Co-Owner, GrowTechnology
  • BBA cum laude, The George Washington University

What I do

Four fields. One operator’s lens.

I prefer concrete over conceptual. If a system does not survive the daily routine of a small team, it is not finished.

  1. 01Core

    Finance, data & AI transformation

    For large and mid-sized companies across industries: defining the finance, data and AI north star, setting the roadmap and executing the highest-priority initiatives. Finance data architecture, AI-ready data design and the first AI use cases in finance, built so that they survive contact with month-end.

  2. 02

    AI in the daily operations of an SME

    What actually works in a small company, with real examples from GrowTechnology: books reconciled to the cent, daily cash matching, demand and cash forecasting, staff-reviewed AI replies to customer mail, pallet planning and a live customer portal.

  3. 03

    Project governance

    Scope, steering and accountability for data and IT projects, drawn from years of Big Four advisory work and from running projects as an operator.

  4. 04Industry focus

    European cannabis & grow market

    One industry I know from the inside: through GrowTechnology I see how manufacturers enter the European market. I advise manufacturers and brands on commercial strategy, market entry and M&A in this space, building on my EY and Deloitte M&A background. My view: Europe will develop much like Canada did, with fast commercial growth followed by consolidation.

Track record

Advisor first, operator now.

For more than twelve years I advised on M&A and CFO topics at EY and Deloitte. Today I split my time between running GrowTechnology and advising clients on finance data and AI.

  • 12+years advising on M&A and CFO topics at EY and Deloitte
  • 2Big Four firms, up to Director and Chief Data Officer
  • 1analytics practice co-founded: Financial Advisory Analytics
  • 4countries lived and worked in
  1. 2025 – todayIndependent consultantFinance, data & AI transformation for large and mid-sized companies across industries in Switzerland and Germany: finance data architecture, AI-ready data design and first AI use cases in finance.
  2. Sep 2024 – todayCOO and co-owner, GrowTechnologyFull-service distributor for indoor grow equipment, founded 2023 and based in Lauchringen, Germany. It brings leading grow brands to Europe, takes over the complete European market entry for manufacturers (import, compliance, customer service, marketing) and supplies specialist retailers from its warehouse in Germany. Operations run AI-first, across finance and daily work.
  3. Mar 2022 – Sep 2024Chief Data Officer, Deloitte SwitzerlandResponsible for data governance.
  4. Jun 2022 – Sep 2024Director, Strategic Finance & Analytics, DeloitteZurich.
  5. Oct 2015 – Mar 2022Senior Manager, Financial Advisory Analytics, DeloitteZurich. Co-founder of Financial Advisory Analytics.
  6. Jan 2012 – Sep 2015Senior Consultant, Transaction Advisory Services, EYDüsseldorf. M&A and CFO topics.
  7. 2008 – 2011BBA cum laude, Finance & Management Information SystemsThe George Washington University School of Business, Washington DC.

Selected work

  • AIBuilt an AI-assisted finance stack at GrowTechnology: books reconciled to the cent, daily automated matching of payments to orders, daily reporting and a data room for the tax advisor.
  • AIReplaced gut-feel purchasing with AI-driven demand and cash forecasting: orders, forecast and bank data show how much can still be ordered above a safety buffer.
  • AIAI across operations: staff-reviewed AI replies to every customer email, AI pallet planning, and a live customer portal hardened with AI-assisted penetration testing.
  • Finance data from up to 65 ERP systems harmonised into one drill-down cube for an industrial group’s joint venture.
  • Interim Head of the European expense budget (USD 600m) at a newly merged global insurer.
  • The valuation model that set the price in a German media acquisition.

Finance meets the shop floor

More than twelve years of M&A, finance and data at EY and Deloitte, and now the day-to-day operations of a distributor that brings leading grow brands to Europe. I built our warehouse in Germany from zero, set up its processes and lead the team that runs it. I know how an ERP really works down to the postings in the books, and I connect it to carriers such as DHL.

I work with freight forwarders and manufacturers in China, from design and production cycles to bills of materials, sort out customs codes and delays, and have routed urgent goods by sea and air via the US. So I know what a ship six weeks late does to working capital, and why packaging rules matter as much as the business case.

Warehouse ERP & bookkeeping Customs & HS codes Freight & containers Manufacturing in China PPWR & WEEE E-commerce end to end Carrier integrations

Worlds I live in

At home in many cultures.

I grew up on the German–Belgian border, studied in the United States and China, and have worked in Germany, Switzerland and the UK. I am at home in many cultures and I get along with people from all of them, which matters when a deal, a market entry or a team spans more than one.

Map of my stations in the order I lived, studied and worked there: Aachen, Hergenrath, St. Gallen, New Haven, Rochester, Beijing, Hong Kong, Washington DC, Düsseldorf, Zurich, London, Pfäffikon SZGermanyBelgiumAachenHergenrathSt. GallenNew HavenRochesterBeijingHong KongWashington DCDüsseldorfZurichLondonLake Zurich
Aachen 1986 → Hergenrath → St. Gallen 2003 → New Haven 2006 → Rochester 2006–08 → Beijing 2007 → Hong Kong 2007 → Washington DC 2008 → Düsseldorf 2012 → Zurich 2015 → London 2016–17 → Pfäffikon SZ today
  1. 01

    Germany

    Aachen · Hergenrath (BE) · Düsseldorf · Lauchringen

    Born and raised in Aachen, with primary school just across the border in Hergenrath, Belgium. My first job, straight after university: Transaction Advisory at EY in Düsseldorf, with many projects in Berlin and Munich. Today GrowTechnology runs from Lauchringen in southern Germany.

  2. 02

    United States

    New Haven · Rochester · Washington DC

    Summer 2006, straight after the Abitur: a six-week intensive English programme at Yale in New Haven, then the Rochester Institute of Technology in upstate New York. Later business school at The George Washington University in Washington DC: a BBA cum laude in Finance and Management Information Systems.

  3. 03

    China

    Beijing · Hong Kong

    Study and time in Beijing and Hong Kong, and family ties, made China and Chinese business culture part of my life rather than a market on a slide.

  4. 04

    Switzerland

    St. Gallen · Zurich · Pfäffikon SZ

    School and Abitur at the Institut auf dem Rosenberg in St. Gallen. Later nine years at Deloitte in Zurich, up to Director and Chief Data Officer, with 2016–2017 spent almost entirely in London on client projects in financial services and insurance, long enough to pick up a British accent. Switzerland is home today.

Writing

What works in a real company.

All articles

First articles in preparation

On AI in daily operations, finance data and project governance: real examples, no hype.

Contact

Let’s talk. Bring it on.

For advisory on finance, data and AI transformation, or a conversation about running a lean company with AI. I answer personally.