He advises Cisco, Disney and John Deere.
Gene Kim in Munich—Recap
The evening to look back on: keynote, discussion and fishbowl.

Recording
The evening
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Topics
Why this evening mattered
Four perspectives, one thread. The companies acting now are defining tomorrow's market.
Infrastructure beats code
The new competitive edge isn't the algorithm—it's the ability to scale AI infrastructure faster than the competition.
Hiring freeze meets talent shortage
Can't find senior developers? Neither can your competitors. Companies that don't bet on AI augmentation now fall behind—in quarters, not years.
Compliance as an advantage, not a brake
GDPR, NIS2, the AI Act—German companies see regulation as a brake. The winners use shift-left as a strategic lead.
Failing as a strategy
Flow, feedback, continuous learning—Gene Kim's core principles. Whoever fails faster learns faster. Whoever learns faster wins.
Books by Gene Kim
The foundations for the evening.
Keynote Speaker
Gene Kim
Founder of IT Revolution.

Advisor to Fortune 500 companies worldwide. His framework is used at Google, Amazon and Microsoft. Author of The Phoenix Project (1M+ copies, 24 languages) and Vibe Coding (2026, Axiom Gold Medal). This was his first talk in Munich. 30+ years of research in DevOps & IT transformation.
Three perspectives from practice
Not a lecture on theory
Three entrepreneurs showed what happens when you take Gene Kim's principles seriously.

Built his own projects with AI without a developer background—the reality check for everyone in the room. Practical experience as a non-developer, an honest account without a sales pitch, the bridge between business and technology.

From Atlassian consultant to AI-first company. How Gene Kim's principles transformed a German consulting firm. DevOps principles across 10 years of practice, vibe coding inside his own company, full circle: theory meets reality.

The entrepreneur's view: what it takes to get teams on board and turn AI from a buzzword into a competitive advantage. Transformation from an owner's perspective, practice instead of a pilot project, strategy meets execution.
Program
The evening in review
Drivers & Business Club Munich · May 4, 2026
Reception & Networking
ReceptionArrive and connect over drinks.
Welcome
OpeningThe evening's theses—and why this room is no coincidence.
Keynote: Gene Kim
KeynoteThe author of The Phoenix Project and advisor to Fortune 500 companies on the next disruption: vibe coding, AI augmentation, and why speed is the new moat.
Three perspectives from practice
PracticeNot a lecture on theory—three entrepreneurs show what happens when you take Gene Kim's principles seriously.
Fishbowl discussion
FishbowlNo fixed panel. Chairs sit in the middle—anyone who wants to contribute joins in. That's how dialogue happens instead of Q&A theater.
Dinner & wind-down
DinnerThe best conversations happen after the program. A shared dinner, deeper connections, and the start of a network that extends beyond this evening.
Photos from the evening
Impressions from the Drivers & Business Club Munich, May 4, 2026.
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Join the wait list for the next event
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Keep the conversation going
Meet us at these user groups
Couldn't make it? Even if you missed this evening—the conversations continue. Regularly, free of charge, with the same people.
The Munich community around OpenClaw, agentic engineering and AI-augmented development. Talks, demos, honest exchange. Munich · monthly meetups.
Munich's largest AI community. Talks, discussions and networking around applied artificial intelligence—from research to product. Munich · regular meetups.
The Leipzig ACE community: users, admins and partners around Jira, Confluence and the Atlassian ecosystem. Pragmatic exchange, real use cases. Leipzig · regular meetups.
The Munich ACE community: users, admins and partners around Jira, Confluence and the Atlassian ecosystem. Pragmatic exchange, real use cases. Munich · regular meetups.





