Barbara Hoisl

Founder of Exponential Strategy Labs, providing strategy consulting, training, and executive education for leaders in European software and technology businesses.

Photo by ISPMA / K. Blöcher

Where the Expertise Comes From

I spent 14 years inside Hewlett-Packard's enterprise software business: I started as a developer in the German lab and my final position was with HP's Strategy & Corporate Development function, contributing to the global growth strategy and M&A for HP Software. By the time I left, the software business had grown to over three billion US dollars in annual revenue.

That journey provided me with a hands-on education in how exponential technology markets actually work: how platforms get built, how ecosystems form, how disruption arrives from unexpected directions, and that companies need to navigate these dynamics deliberately to succeed – that just running on autopilot isn’t enough.

After leaving HP, I started out as an independent consultant in 2010, working with European technology companies: software startups, IoT vendors, and high-tech vendors creating software-based innovations.

In parallel, since 2014 I've taught software product strategy through ISPMA (International Software Product Management) certification courses to hundreds of product managers and executives, and contributed to ISPMA's body of knowledge as an invited Fellow – one of roughly 60 worldwide.

I'm a native German, based in Germany, and I deliver my services, from workshops to the Executive Program, in English or German, whichever fits your team better.

What I Focus On

Exponential technologies, such as software, AI, robotics, biotech, new materials, or renewables, create market environments that move fast, are hyper-competitive, and subject to regular disruption.

The strategy approaches that work in these environments are different from what traditional management education focuses on.

Approaches matching the reality of exponential technologies do exist, they've been proven, and applying them systematically is what Exponential Strategy Labs is about.

My flagship offering is the Exponential Strategy Playbook: an 8-week executive program for senior leaders in deep-tech and software businesses. I also work with companies directly through focused workshops, 1-on-1 strategic advisory, strategy process facilitation, and strategy consulting.

Why This Matters to Me

I've spent most of my career in and around the software industry, and I've watched exponential technology create enormous value and enormous disruption in repeated waves.

Right now, we are in the early stages of a new wave of exponential technologies emerging, and Generative AI is only the most prominent example.
I strongly believe that Europe can make a unique contribution here, by innovating and shaping these new technologies in line with European values.

Europe cannot afford to fall behind technologically because that would mean losing influence over the direction things go. That would be a real loss, given what European societies have achieved in the areas of human rights, democratic accountability, and solidarity.

But succeeding here requires European tech companies to fully embrace these technologies, to compete, and to win.

Publications and Speaking

My book on software-driven product innovation, Produkte digital-first denken, was published by Springer-Gabler in 2019 (in German).

A full list of my conference talks, workshops, and webinars since 2013 is available on my Speaking page

Contact

Email:  info@exponentialstrategy.eu
Social:  LinkedIn

In Brief

• Computer Science degree, University of Kaiserslautern (1993)
• 14 years at Hewlett-Packard's software products business (1995-2009)
• Independent consultant since 2010
• ISPMA Fellow and instructor, teaching software product management certification courses since 2014
• Author, "Produkte digital-first denken" (Springer-Gabler, 2019)
• Founder, Exponential Strategy Labs (2023)
• Native German speaker, delivers engagements in English or German