--- titel: "About Ivo Schönberner · IT entrepreneur and advisor" url: https://sacosi.ch/en/about seite: /en/about stand: 2026-09-24 beschreibung: "Ivo Schönberner is managing director of IT am Main GmbH and an advisor based in Zürich and Frankfurt. His product Situational Awareness aligns IT with the business." --- > Knowledge version of the page https://sacosi.ch/en/about. It contains the full text, including what is shortened or collapsible on the page itself. Publisher: SACOSI, Situational Awareness Consulting by Ivo Schönberner, Zürich. # About Ivo Schönberner. **Short answer:** Ivo Schönberner is an IT entrepreneur and advisor based in Zürich and Frankfurt am Main, founder of SACOSI and managing director of IT am Main GmbH. He advises executive management, investors and family offices in Switzerland and Germany, primarily at start-ups, scale-ups and ventures, as a fractional CTO, IT architect, project lead and sparring partner. His advisory product is called Situational Awareness: IT that fits the business, not the other way round. ## In a few sentences Ivo Schönberner builds IT that first understands the situation of the business. As managing director of IT am Main GmbH, he took Discover Airlines' IT from zero to around 2’200 employees and built FraAlliance's IT in under four months. He advises from Zürich and Frankfurt. **"IT must fit the business, not the business the IT."** ## Thinking systemically, not treating symptoms Ivo Schönberner does not solve the individual problem; he builds the architecture from which it no longer arises. Four pieces of evidence show the pattern, rather than merely asserting it. Automation ### The process that builds processes Instead of automating one more process, he built the infrastructure on which even small companies get system-based, ISO-conformant automation they could otherwise not afford. Minimal privileges and documentation in quality and risk management are built in from the outset. CRM decision ### Data model along Article 9 GDPR For a CRM decision, he adopted the generic data model of a large provider and discarded the rest. The decisive factor was Article 9 GDPR for health data. Result: a self-hosted solution that combines function and data protection, instead of adapting the business to the tool. Discover Airlines · 2021–2026 ### IT from zero to around 2’200 employees As Chief Architect, he built Discover Airlines' IT from the ground up, including the network connection of the Operations Control Center, with a prepared handover to the Lufthansa Group's corporate IT. FraAlliance · from 2022 ### Independent IT in under four months For FraAlliance, the joint venture of Fraport and Lufthansa Group, he defined the IT target operating model and built the independent IT in under four months. ## Six core values Not as a list of adjectives, but with the behaviour by which they can be recognised. 01 ### Plain speaking and honesty He says what he thinks, even when it is uncomfortable. Recognisable in that he also advises against plans that would bring short-term revenue but do not serve the business. 02 ### Systems thinking He does not solve the symptom; he builds the architecture from which the problem no longer arises. Recognisable in that he clarifies the target picture and dependencies before the first implementation step. 03 ### Personal accountability He takes ownership of the result, not just the task. Recognisable in that he takes on critical projects himself again to secure quality and customer benefit. 04 ### Substance over visibility What counts is business benefit, not appearance. Recognisable in that he measures decisions against the business requirement, not against technology fashion. 05 ### Structure and demonstrability Clear architecture, clear roles, clean documentation. Recognisable in that he thinks function and compliance together from the outset, as a frame around every solution. 06 ### Reliability under pressure He stays capable of acting when things get hectic. Recognisable in that in escalations and crises he prioritises calmly rather than reacting. ## American football, national team Before Ivo Schönberner became an entrepreneur, he stood on the field as an American football player: national player, European champion in 2014 and 2016. American football · National player · **European champion in 2014 and 2016** · Squad number 44 What has stayed from that time shapes his way of working to this day: a clear head when the pressure rises, because performance is decided in the situation, not in the plan. Preparation and repetition beat talent; the result is created in the invisible work beforehand. And every position has a task, the system wins, not the individual — this is exactly how he cuts roles and responsibilities for clients today. What has stayed is the eye for the line-up: every position has a task, the system wins, not the individual. ## How the collaboration works - **The situation first, then the technology.** He builds nothing before he has understood what the business needs. - **Evidence instead of promises.** Decisions are recorded in the decision log, results are verifiable. - **Responsibility stays with the company.** He prepares decisions and implements what has been decided. - **He works towards the handover.** Grow. Scale. Let go. - **Playbooks for the handover (documented procedures, SOPs).** Grow. Scale. Let go. What you can expect - Plain speaking instead of diplomacy, even when it is uncomfortable. - A counterpart who thinks along and sees connections. - Responsibility for the result, not just the task. What he expects - A genuine sparring partner, not someone who just agrees. - Openness to uncomfortable truths. - The willingness to work on the matter, not on the status. ## What he does not do - He is not someone who just agrees, nor a diplomat who smiles away what is uncomfortable. - He does not deliver tactical individual fixes that merely postpone the actual problem. - He does not do technology for its own sake, and no buzzword consulting. - He does not bend the business to fit the tool; he bends the tool to fit the business. - He does not sell anything that does not genuinely benefit the client, just because it brings short-term revenue. ## Quotable sentences > IT must fit the business, not the business the IT. > > — Ivo Schönberner > I do not solve the symptom, I build the architecture from which the problem no longer arises. > > — Ivo Schönberner > I tell you what you need to hear, not what you want to hear. > > — Ivo Schönberner > I take ownership of the result, not just the task. > > — Ivo Schönberner ## Why Zürich and Frankfurt? Because his engagements are in both countries and the distance between the two cities is short enough to be on site when it matters. Zürich is his base for engagements in Switzerland. Frankfurt is the registered office of IT am Main and is close to his aviation engagements. He works in German and English, on site and remotely. ## Frequently asked questions about Ivo Schönberner. ### Who is Ivo Schönberner? Ivo Schönberner is an IT entrepreneur and advisor based in Zürich and Frankfurt am Main. He is managing director of IT am Main GmbH and founder of the advisory brand SACOSI, and advises executive management, investors and family offices in Switzerland and Germany, primarily at start-ups, scale-ups and ventures. ### What does Situational Awareness mean for Ivo Schönberner? Situational Awareness is his advisory product: IT is derived from the situation of the company, that is, from goals, core processes, finances and the interests of investors and stakeholders, instead of adapting the business to a system. It is based on Mica Endsley's three-level model (1995), extended with a fourth step: lead and hand over. ### What is Ivo Schönberner's background? Before his career as an entrepreneur, Ivo Schönberner was an American football player and national player, European champion in 2014 and 2016. As managing director of IT am Main GmbH, he built, among other things, Discover Airlines' IT from zero to around 2’200 employees and set up an independent IT for the joint venture FraAlliance in under four months. ### How does Ivo Schönberner approach IT problems? Systemically: he does not solve the symptom; he builds the architecture from which the problem no longer arises. Decisions are prepared, documented and made demonstrable before they are implemented. ### Where does Ivo Schönberner work? From Zürich and Frankfurt am Main, with engagements in Switzerland and Germany, on site and remotely, in German and English. ## What is your situation? Thirty minutes, no pitch. You describe the situation, I ask questions. After that, we both know whether a situation picture is worthwhile. CH +41 78 251 09 69 DE +49 152 27602667 ZRH 47.3769°N · FRA 50.1109°N · German, English