Sebastian Kister is one of the leading minds in cloud platforms, agentic operations, and cultural change in international corporations. As a multi-award-winning IT visionary, he has been shaping the digital transformation of large organizations for over a decade—always with a focus on people. In the automotive industry, he was responsible for the operation of business-critical cloud platforms and was the first to implement a production-ready Agentic AI Operations architecture in an enterprise environment. With his credo “People first – then tools, then processes,” he accelerates innovation cycles, redefines IT architecture, and inspires decision-makers worldwide.
Kister actively shapes open standards in the Cloud Native Computing Foundation and the Linux Foundation and is both an entrepreneur and an investor with a keen sense for future technologies. On international stages, he inspires with practical success stories, clear visions, and the conviction that transformation is a mindset – not a project. Whether in IT, as a successful distiller, or in his roles in start-ups and media platforms, Sebastian Kister combines technological excellence with entrepreneurial spirit and a passion for genuine, people-centered change.
Interview with Sebastian Kister:
1. What are the core subjects of your keynote speeches?
- People-First Transformation – focus on people to innovate, processes to scale
- Transformation as a Mindset – change as an attitude, not a project
- No “Greenfield” Approaches – enabling change despite existing structures
- End-to-End Value Streams iwith Silos – removing friction in value chain creation
- Business Case for Change – initiating transformation with solid economic grounding
- DevOps & AI Ops Tool Culture – practical use of modern platform methods
- Human-Driven AI – human involvement is key when applying AI
- Security-First Culture for Time-to-Market – security as a lever for speed and sustainability
- Deterministic, auditable AI – Progress through security and traceable reasoning
2. Which audience or which branch do you reach with your speech?
- Strategic decision-makers (C-level)
- IT transformation managers / leaders
- Technical specialists / platform engineering teams
- Cloud-native developer community
- People interested in AI-driven corporate culture and platforms
- Anyone interested in how the digital world works
- Anyone who wants to help shape the digital world (e.g., through open source, their company, startups, SMEs, corporations)
3. Are you a PREMIUM SPEAKER? Where do you get your insights from?
I am a premium speaker because I convey complex transformation topics with authentic passion, clear language, and practical depth in such a way that people leave the room inspired—and want to take action immediately.
- Authenticity and approachability
Despite my in-depth expertise, I always remain accessible, speak in a language that even non-experts can understand, and never lose my personality. I don’t come across as someone who is “putting on a show,” but as someone who is truly passionate about their topics. - Storytelling instead of slide fireworks
I package technical or organizational content into comprehensible stories, images, and analogies. This way, listeners not only retain the facts, but also the “feeling” of my message. - Combining strategy and practice
Many speakers are either very visionary or very practice-oriented—I can do both: I show the big picture (transformation, culture, platform strategies) and at the same time concrete, actionable steps. - High relevance for current challenges
My topics—people-first transformation, AI deployment, DevOps, security-first culture—strike a chord with companies that need to react quickly in a complex, digital world. - Multidimensional target group approach
I address C-level executives, technical teams, developer communities, and transformation managers simultaneously without anyone feeling “left behind.” - Credibility through real experience
I have worked for many years on large and complex IT and transformation projects. What I say is not based on theory, but on practical experience. - Energy & stage presence
I bring a mixture of humor, passion, and clear structure to the table. This keeps my audience engaged—even with topics that might seem dry in less capable hands.
4. What will be in the future? Does «time» play an important role in your work?
Time is not an absolute factor in transformation – it is relative. Every organization moves along its own timeline. In my talk on Aristotle’s time paradox, I explore how transformation unfolds at different speeds and dimensions – and how it can be consciously shaped.
My predictions about the future of technology are precise because I don’t just observe them – I actively shape them. Within the Linux Foundation and the Cloud Native Computing Foundation, a global community of up to half a million people is building the technologies of tomorrow. Trends like OpenTelemetry or the Operator Framework were initiated and driven by us years ahead of the broader market.
These open-source ecosystems form the foundation of the digital world. Almost every computing resource and software on the planet touches technologies like Linux or Kubernetes – technologies we create. We guide global leaders like Microsoft, Alibaba, Amazon, and Google to adopt our open standards. In doing so, we redefine what is considered ‘commodity’ today and lay the groundwork for innovation, progress, and the democratization of key technologies – for humanity and industries worldwide.
5. Tell us your life motto? What do you want to give your listeners to take with them?
“Passionate People create Great Products!”
“There is no sustainable change without a business case!”
“If you transform people-first, people solve problems. If you transform process-first, people satisfy processes!”
Private: “Quality of life is the triangulation of good food, good drink, and good company.”