Engagement Configuration Draft — Dr. Max — Day 0 (current reality)

For internal VV use, then negotiation with client. Working draft generated 2026-09-02 from current platform state. Edit freely; re-generate after major edits to platform state to refresh derived sections.

1. Executive summary

Client: Dr. Max — Day 0 (current reality)

Archetype: Elevation — Amplify an existing internal AI lead — capability exists but lacks authority, scope, or executional discipline. Partner extends, never replaces.

Duration: 6 months core engagement + 12 months long-tail compensation tail

Primary VV win: _[Anton to fill — reference engagement / methodology validation / pharma vertical entry / Penta relationship]_

Primary client win: _[Anton/Michal to fill — likely AI Act compliance + AI capability foundations + measurable operational benefits in 12 months]_

Indicative engagement value: €240K – €375K across 18 months (T1+T2+T3+T4 combined).

Today's diagnostic shape: 8 active obstacles, 5 carrying critical/large engagement-value-at-risk. Cumulative delay if unresolved: 34–84 weeks. Illustrative € exposure: €1.5M–€4.8M across 6 measured obstacles.

2. Engagement structure

This is not a typical outside-in consulting engagement. It is a co-leadership pattern for 6 months:

VV roles

• Michal Lickó — Interim CAIO / AI Transformation Partner. Titled role, 1/4 FTE, ~5 days/month. Board-facing. Sits inside Dr Max leadership topology, not externally. Owns: strategic AI portfolio, board reporting, exec sponsor relationship, methodology installation.
• Anton Rakhmanov + 1–2 VV consultants — Delivery rota. Hourly billing within agreed advisory cap. Owns: workshops, analysis, mentorship of Kateřina + her team, methodology IP transfer, document/report drafting.
• VV (entity) — Delivery arm Michal recruits as needed for workshops, PoCs, analyses, reports. Commercially separate from Michal's CAIO retainer. Engaged through Michal but invoiced independently.

Client-side counterparts

• Leonardo Ferrandino (CEO) — CEO since 2016, target sponsor.
• Luca Demarchi (CIO) — Per 2024 sustainability report; tenure UNCERTAIN — possible move to Bata Group.
• Miguel Martins da Silva (CSCO) — Already AI-active (VusionGroup, Geek+, Rinkai, dark warehouse).
• Kateřina Lesch (HeadOfAI) — Newly appointed Head of AI at Dr. Max (internal). Was the engagement introducer in her former Deloitte / EmbedIT role; now holds the seat we needed her to influence. Reports to CIO (likely; verify with Kateřina). Methodology implication: O-031 External Champion Conflict no longer applies.

Unknown / open questions on counterparts:

• PEOperatingPartner — UNKNOWN — Penta operating partner not identified; open question for validation.

Commercial responsibility split

• Michal owns the CAIO engagement contract (T1 retainer) and the commercial framing of VV delivery scope (T2). Recuses on technical decisions of which VV consultant does what.
• VV owns delivery quality and consultant assignment. Michal does not invoice for delivery work; Anton et al. do not invoice for CAIO advisory work. Independent invoice trails.
• Recusal protocol declaration signed at M0 acknowledging the structure. This is the methodology's response to obstacle O-008 (VV Commercial Capture) — by declaring the structure, the obstacle does not fire.

3. Commercial structure

Four-tier compensation. Tiers are independent — each negotiated and invoiced separately to keep the structure clean.

T1 — Advisory time (CAIO + delivery rota)

Michal as Interim CAIO (1/4 FTE @ €2,000/day × 5 days/month = €10K/month) + Anton + 1–2 VV consultants on advisory rota (~20h/month @ €250/h = €5K/month). Capped monthly. Invoiced monthly against logged time.

• Monthly cap: 60 hours (capped, not minimum)
• Monthly cost: ~€15,000
• 6-month total: ~€90,000

T2 — Delivery scope (workshops + PoCs + analysis)

Workshops at €2,400/day (60K CZK/day) for facilitation + delivery; analysis, PoCs, reports invoiced separately at agreed rates. Indicative envelope of 6 workshops + 4–8 analysis pieces over 6 months. Budget capped at €120K with explicit scope ladder (must-have / should-have / nice-to-have).

• Workshop rate: €2,400/day (≈ 60,000 CZK/day)
• Indicative budget envelope: €60K – €120K
• Scope ladder: must-have (workshops with Kateřina + C-suite, AI Act conformity scoping, BDN sessions per market) → should-have (PoC support, decision register stand-up, training) → nice-to-have (advanced analytics, vendor evaluation, deeper coaching)

T3 — Exit-criteria bonus (paid at M6)

€40K bonus paid at M6 if methodology-defined exit criteria satisfied. Each criterion independently observable. Weighted partial payout if subset achieved (e.g., 65% criteria met → €26K paid). Independently verifiable from platform state — no measurement debate.

Target: €40,000

Weighted criteria (sum = 100%):

Weight	Criterion
20%	Heavy Gate 2 fired ≥ once
15%	AI Council met monthly for ≥ 4 consecutive months
20%	Track 3 (AI OS) at L4 maturity
20%	Track 5 (Risk & Compliance) at L4 maturity
15%	AI conformity assessment (L3-329) operational
10%	≥ 2 of 6 markets running cross-market sync forum

T4 — Benefits-realization tail (paid at M+6 and M+12 post-engagement)

Two long-tail compensation packages tied to measurable Dr-Max-side business benefits, paid 6 and 12 months after engagement closes. Designed jointly during M0–M2 with Kateřina + CFO Bornemann; specific metrics, baselines, targets, and bonus sizes locked at M2. Pre-condition: measurement plumbing for the chosen benefits must be operational by M3.

M6+6 months (≈ post-engagement Q2)

• Indicative size: €25K – €50K
• Tied to: Tied to a single high-confidence operational benefit measurable within 6 months of engagement close (e.g., stockout reduction in CZ retail, forecasting accuracy improvement, decision cycle time on first-wave initiatives).
• Pre-condition: measurement plumbing operational by M3 of engagement.

M6+12 months (≈ post-engagement Q4)

• Indicative size: €25K – €75K
• Tied to: Tied to a slower-cycle compounding benefit (e.g., portfolio-level AI initiative ROI, % of revenue running through AI-supported decisions, AI Act compliance audit pass).
• Pre-condition: measurement plumbing operational by M3 of engagement.

Total indicative engagement value (18-month horizon)

€240K – €375K

Note: the actual T2 and T4 sizes are negotiated. T1 is fixed-rate. T3 is fixed-target with weighted partial payout.

4. Authority asks for the Interim CAIO seat

These are the L1 partner authorities Michal needs to function as Interim CAIO. Methodology defaults for Elevation engagements are filtered below; current state has all 32 set to Out (Day-0 baseline).

Must-have (engagement cannot deliver without)

Information:

• L1-113 — Right to interview anyone (incl. cross-market)

Hiring:

• L1-116 — Co-design Internal AI Lead role
• L1-117 — Veto on succession candidate

Communication:

• L1-129 — Direct board access on AI
• L1-130 — Speak to regulators on AI

5. Mechanisms to install

L3 mechanisms (forums, gates, escalation paths, protocols, cadences, artifacts) the engagement stands up over 6 months. Currently none stood up at Dr Max for AI specifically.

Forum (11)

• L3-301 — AI Council
• L3-302 — Portfolio Council
• L3-303 — Scale Decision Forum
• L3-304 — Exec Sponsor 1:1
• L3-305 — Internal AI Lead 1:1
• L3-306 — Board AI committee / chair 1:1
• L3-314 — Portfolio-BDN review
• L3-315 — Strategy-BDN review
• L3-324 — Exit Review
• L3-326 — Cross-market sync forum
• L3-327 — Vendor portfolio governance

Gate (4)

• L3-307 — Heavy Gate 1 (Validated → Pilot)
• L3-308 — Heavy Gate 2 (Pilot-Validated → Scaling)
• L3-309 — Risk gate at Scoped
• L3-310 — Risk gate at Pilot-Validated

ArtifactEvent (3)

• L3-311 — Initiative-BDN snapshot v0 (at Scoped)
• L3-312 — Initiative-BDN snapshot v1 (at Pilot-Validated)
• L3-313 — Initiative-BDN snapshots v2/v3 (Realizing)

Path (4)

• L3-316 — Escalation L0 (Initiative team)
• L3-317 — Escalation L1 (AI Council)
• L3-318 — Escalation L2 (Exec sponsor + CEO)
• L3-319 — Escalation L3 (Board chair)

Protocol (6)

• L3-320 — Stop-the-line right
• L3-321 — Recusal protocol (commercial)
• L3-322 — Conflict-of-interest disclosure (5d SLA)
• L3-328 — External Champion handover protocol
• L3-329 — AI conformity assessment process
• L3-330 — Post-acquisition AI integration template

Cadence (1)

• L3-323 — Velocity checkpoint

Artifact (1)

• L3-325 — Decision register

6. Exit criteria — what "engagement complete" means

Tied to T3 bonus (Section 3). Independently observable from platform state at M6.

• ○ Heavy Gate 2 fired ≥ once (weight: 20% of T3 bonus)
• ○ AI Council met monthly for ≥ 4 consecutive months (weight: 15% of T3 bonus)
• ○ Track 3 (AI OS) at L4 maturity (weight: 20% of T3 bonus)
• ○ Track 5 (Risk & Compliance) at L4 maturity (weight: 20% of T3 bonus)
• ○ AI conformity assessment (L3-329) operational (weight: 15% of T3 bonus)
• ○ ≥ 2 of 6 markets running cross-market sync forum (weight: 10% of T3 bonus)

Methodology exit criteria reference: methodology/exit-criteria.json defines 8 hard criteria + 5 soft; the ones above are a curated subset weighted for this archetype + scope.

7. Long-term benefits to design with Kateřina + CFO

These are placeholders. Specific benefit pairing, baselines, targets, and bonus sizes are co-designed with Kateřina + Thomas Bornemann (CFO) during M0–M2 and locked at M2.

Candidate operational benefits for Dr Max (to validate)

• Stockout reduction (CZ retail or group-wide): baseline TBD, target -X% over 6–12 months. Tied to forecasting + replenishment AI capability.
• Decision cycle time for first-wave AI initiatives: baseline TBD (likely 8–16 weeks for Heavy Gate decisions today), target ≤ 4 weeks. Tied to Heavy Gate + AI Council operational rhythm.
• AI Act compliance audit pass at first formal review: pass/fail. Tied to L3-329 operational + risk classifications fired on every initiative.
• % of customer-facing decisions touched by AI (Benefit Card audience targeting, marketplace ranking, pharmacy operations): baseline TBD, target X% by M+12. Tied to Track 4 (Value Chain Coverage).
• Cross-market parity on AI initiative roadmap: degree of alignment, measurable via initiative pipeline + cross-market sync forum cadence.

Pre-condition before commercial commitment to T4 packages

Measurement plumbing (data pipelines, baselines, monthly reporting cadence) must be operational by M3 for any benefit selected for T4 compensation. If plumbing isn't ready by M3 for a candidate benefit, it cannot anchor a T4 package — drop it and pick another.

8. Known risks (active obstacles + recovery)

Top 5 active obstacles in current diagnostic. Each has methodology-defined recovery actions.

O-001 — Pipeline Stall at Gate 2 [severity: high]

Initiatives accumulate at Pilot-Validated; Scale decisions don't happen

Impact: 4–8 weeks delay · MEDIUM VaR · schedule / cost / scope

Initiatives accumulate at Pilot-Validated; pilot budgets are spent without scale-up commitment. Engagement loses credibility within 60 days as the Sponsor sees outputs but no decisions.

Recovery actions during engagement:

• Negotiate L1-108 mid-engagement
• Escalate to L3-318 (Exec sponsor)
• Document scoping limitation if irrecoverable

O-003 — Risk Function Disengaged [severity: high]

Regulated profile but CRO/DPO not integrated; risk classification skipped

Impact: 8–16 weeks delay · LARGE VaR · compliance / relationship / schedule

Risk classifications skipped; one bad initiative kicks off and blows up audit/regulatory window. Pharma-high regulatory profile makes this catastrophic — potential SUKL / EMA exposure.

Recovery actions during engagement:

• Force trigger via L1-124 (veto) on next initiative requiring classification
• Surface to L1 escalation
• Direct to L3-319 for regulated industries

O-008 — VV Commercial Capture [severity: high]

Recusal protocol breached; Partner advocates for VV scope expansion; ethics violation

Impact: 0–4 weeks delay · CRITICAL VaR · relationship / scope

Recusal protocol breached; Partner advocates for VV scope expansion; ethics violation. Potential to be told to leave the engagement entirely.

Recovery actions during engagement:

• Reset recusal explicitly with client commercial counterpart
• Document case in conflict log
• Replace Partner in extreme cases

O-010 — Heavy-Gate Decision Drift [severity: high]

Forums standing but not deciding; gates become advisory; portfolio prioritization becomes politics

Impact: 4–12 weeks delay · LARGE VaR · schedule / quality

Forums standing but not deciding; gates become advisory; portfolio prioritization becomes politics. Engagement output quality drops as the methodology is used for theatre.

Recovery actions during engagement:

• Reassert L1-101/L1-102 chair authority
• Time-boxed decision protocol (each PC closes ≥ 1 decision)
• Escalate to L3-318 if blocked

O-013 — Sponsor Escalation Stalled [severity: high]

Engagement begins with a sub-C-suite sponsor; CEO never engages substantively; engagement stays advisory and never reaches structural authority

Impact: 8–20 weeks delay · LARGE VaR · scope / relationship / schedule

Engagement begins with sub-C-suite sponsor; CEO never engages substantively; engagement stays advisory and never reaches structural authority. Outcomes degrade to slide-decks.

Recovery actions during engagement:

• Pre-stage CEO at one Configuration session before M0
• Use first decision requiring exec sign-off as natural escalation moment
• Make sponsorship escalation an explicit charter milestone (not implicit)

9. Open questions to validate with client

Items below need direct confirmation from Kateřina or Leo before final engagement commitment.

• PEOperatingPartner: UNKNOWN — Penta operating partner not identified; open question for validation.
• Leonardo Ferrandino (CEO) — currently named but not engaged on AI; confirm (CEO since 2016, target sponsor.)
• Thomas Bornemann (CFO) — currently named but not engaged on AI; confirm (Capex sign-off, Heavy Gate 2 counterparty.)
• Luca Demarchi (CIO) — currently named but not engaged on AI; confirm (Per 2024 sustainability report)
• Dimitrios Tritaris (CMCO) — currently named but not engaged on AI; confirm (Owns 12.5M Benefit Card members, e-shop, marketplace, retail media.)
• Ivo Šenkyřík (HeadMA) — currently named but not engaged on AI; confirm (Continuous M&A pipeline (Žalfija Q3 2025 + ongoing).)
• Engagement structure approval: confirm Dr Max is comfortable with interim-CAIO + VV-delivery commercial structure (recusal protocol declaration to sign at M0).
• T4 benefit selection: which 2 of the 5 candidate operational benefits in Section 7 are Dr Max's highest-priority + highest-confidence to anchor T4 packages.
• AI Act timeline confirmation: is "3–6 months pressure" still accurate? Has the deadline shifted?
• PE involvement at M0: should Penta operating partner be in the room for M0, or briefed afterwards?

10. Proposed sequencing (next 4–6 weeks)

1. 7 high-severity obstacles firing — engagement risk profile is elevated

• When: this-week
• Who: AR + Michal — (in this engagement structure: Both — joint conversation)
• Why: When 5+ HIGH-severity obstacles fire concurrently, the engagement is structurally fragile. Consider whether this is the right week to commit to M0, or whether to invest 1–2 weeks in pre-mitigation.

2. Pre-stage 30-min CEO briefing before M0

• When: before-m0
• Who: AR — (in this engagement structure: Anton (delivery) → escalates to Michal (CAIO) for board-level moves)
• Why: Sponsor is not actively driving (Board state = Aware). M0 will not get the air cover it needs unless the CEO arrives pre-aligned on what is at stake.

3. Stand up L3-329 (AI conformity assessment process) within 30 days

• When: next-30-days
• Who: CIO + GC — (in this engagement structure: Luca Demarchi + General Counsel)
• Why: EU AI Act pressure is Months_3_to_6 and the conformity assessment process is not yet stood up. The legal exposure window is closing; this is a hard deadline, not a soft target.

4. Negotiate 3 authorities during M0

• When: before-m0
• Who: AR + Sponsor — (in this engagement structure: Michal (CAIO) leads, Anton supports)
• Why: 3 L1 authorities are currently Out and are gating active obstacles. These are the actual horse-trade items for the M0 conversation.

5. Charter cross-market sync forum (L3-326)

• When: next-30-days
• Who: IAL — (in this engagement structure: Kateřina)
• Why: Multi-market engagement with no cross-market sync mechanism. Markets will diverge (different vendors, different decision cadences) within the first quarter unless the sync is stood up early.

6. Confirm Luca Demarchi still in seat (or identify successor)

• When: this-week
• Who: AR — (in this engagement structure: Anton (delivery) → escalates to Michal (CAIO) for board-level moves)
• Why: CIO is the structural reporting line for the Internal AI Lead and the convening counterparty for Track 3. If the seat changes during the engagement, the AI Council charter has to re-anchor.

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Draft generated by VV Engage. Methodology v0.2.1 · Engine v0.2 · Recommendations v0.1 · Engagement structure: Interim Senior Role.

Edit freely. Re-generate after material edits to platform state to refresh derived sections (sections 1, 4, 5, 8, 10).