About me

Hi, I’m Karen Schmikl, a fractional CPO, product advisor, and coach with over 20 years of experience helping B2B software companies simplify, modernise, and scale.

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I didn’t start in shiny start-ups. My career began inside a legacy payroll & HR software business, where I learned the realities of on-prem, compliance-heavy products. From there, I helped Sage launch its first SaaS payroll in South Africa and then scale its SaaS payroll products globally.

Later, at inet Logistics and Alpega, I led transformations that turned bespoke solutions into scalable SaaS products and navigated the chaos of M&A - from product rationalisation to aligning teams across cultures and countries.

Most recently, as CPMO at MIXMOVE, a founder-led business, I worked closely with the founding team to bring structure and scale to the organisation. Beyond the product work, I took ownership of marketing and business development, learning firsthand how commercial strategy and product need to work together closely. That experience reinforced something I believe deeply: the best product companies are built on tight cooperation between product, engineering, marketing, sales, and customer success.

Along the way, I’ve co-founded software companies, stepped into interim CEO responsibilities, worked across Europe, Africa, and global markets, and built teams that could operate confidently without me.

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I’ve spent my career at the crossroads of product, operations, and commercial strategy. I know the challenges scale-ups and mid-sized software companies face, including messy portfolios, legacy-to-SaaS journeys, post-merger complexity, or teams stuck in a sales- or consulting-led culture. My approach is pragmatic, no-nonsense, and focused on outcomes that stick.