It has shaped my career and academic efforts for the last 30 years. I was part of the leadership that scaled SuccessFactors to run over 50 million users, and at Gartner, I drove the HRTECH research agenda that helped shape the industry.
Today, I advise leading and emerging HRTECH vendors and their investors, guiding them to build better products and be more successful. In helping my customers achieve their goals, I rely on the wisdom of my past experience, my network, and my relentless curiosity.
Request a meeting with Thomas
Having known Thomas for several years, I recognise him to be exceptionally reliable, straight-forward, and focused, both personally and professionally. As a customer, we at Ingentis feel we are in excellent hands. From the perspective of a globally active software provider in the HR sector, we highly value the extent of Thomas’s knowledge and network.
Managing director & founder Ingentis
I’ve worked with Thomas for the best part of a decade. His knowledge of the HR tech market and scaling product management is top-notch. I rely on his advice to challenge and guide product strategy, as well as building a stronger product organization. While his red doc martens are sharp, his mind is sharper.
CEO, Unit4
Thomas worked closely with our Product and Sales team to streamline our positioning and go-to-market. His advice was really effective and helped us to adapt our offer quicker than expected!
Also, Thomas was closely involved during our M&A process, alongside our financial advisors. His market knowledge and extended network within the HR tech industry was really helpful to target the right strategic parties and build relationships with C Level decision-makers.
Managing Director, iCIMS
Thomas is a hard-working SOB, and you better make your point quickly because he is likely ahead of you anyways.
Since our initial meeting, Thomas's support has been profound, both on a business and human level. You feel his interest is genuine, and his feedback always candid. The executive experience and personal insights he brings to the table are always relevant and push the team forward.
I appreciate that he isn’t always politically correct and will often go to a painful area, the elephant in the room, or plainly provoke a reaction. However, it always remains clear he does so in the interest of enabling us to make a better contribution. Team Otter has a distinct advantage in its deep technical understanding of the product and how to relate it to business strategy. RH is becoming stronger through each iteration with Team Otter, that’s the best I can say about any supporter of our mission to evolve the human condition through work technology.
CEO, Resourceful Humans
Thomas Otter first assisted Clustree from an operational perspective for several weeks, helping our VP Product and myself with our strategic positioning and roadmap, our product marketing, and our product organization & methodologies. He came across as extremely knowledgeable (thanks to his experience working with large software vendors, startups, and large corporates), well-rounded and pragmatic.
We subsequently hired Thomas to help us during our M&A process, which enabled us to leverage his unparalleled network and credibility in the HR industry.
Founder & CEO, Clustree (member of the Cornerstone family of companies)
Thomas is advising us on product and business related topics and is probably the best-informed HR tech market person one could find. Always a big pleasure working with him!
CEOs, Tandemploy
Immedis is delighted to be working with Thomas and Otter Advisory. From the very start, Thomas has provided an impact on our business through his deep and relevant domain knowledge. His experience as Head of Product at SAP SuccessFactors and his extensive industry expertise means that he understands payroll and how it fits into the overall HCM strategy for our customers.
Thomas works closely with our executive team to ensure our platform strategy, the route to market, and partnership strategy are aligned and supporting our continued growth. Thomas had a profound impact already on the business.
CEO at Immedis
I’ve worked with Thomas for over two years. He did product and market due diligence on two investments for SEP, and he is now a NED for one of our portfolio companies. Thomas has a keen mind and a deep understanding of ERP and HR technology. If he doesn’t know the answer, he probably knows someone who does.
Investor at Scottish Equity Partners LLP
Throughout our journey from a start-up to a global Enterprise Software provider in the Total Compensation & Rewards Management space, we received valuable support from Otter Advisory at each critical stage of our company's growth.
The advice given was specific to our needs as an HR Tech solution provider and at the same time covered product, positioning, partnerships as well as marketing aspects with a very positive impact on our business.
CEO at Beqom
We have worked extensively with Thomas and his team, both in due diligence settings and for ongoing support on investments. His advice is thoughtful, actionable, and concise. We look forward to working together in the future.
Growth Investor at Providence Equity Partners
Thomas is an outstanding expert in his field and inspiring person to work with, and a great source of expertise in the area of HRTech in the Enterprise world.
CEO at Firstbird GmbH
We really enjoyed working with Thomas. His knowledge of the industry is unparalleled, and his insights and foresight have proved to be of great value in helping FlexEarn to be a leader in employee benefits. I highly recommend Otter Advisory to anyone who wants to help their business grow.
CEO at Flexearn
"Thomas Otter is just playing at another level. He is that rare combination of strategic thinker and pragmatic operator. He has a rare background of operating at the highest level as an analyst, a software product leader, and an academic. His unique experience gives him perspective across the entire HR and people technology landscape. Further his innate curiosity enables him to provide robust advice about all aspects of building, scaling, and leading business. Lastly he's willing to politely challenge you to do more and to consider a multitude of options. I cannot offer a stronger endorsement for Otter Advisory."
CEO at Utmost
Thomas‘ expertise in HRTech materializes in valuable advice on information architecture, and his network of domain specific experts proved to be of great help for designing new products at Personio.
Co-Founder and CPO at Personio
I empower HRTECH founders, large vendors and investors in building and scaling great product businesses with incisive, actionable, expert advice.