About us
It is our shared ambition to revolutionize the world of IT training.
What has happened so far: the idea of acend was initially formulated at a Sammy Deluxe concert in 2019. This was the moment when some of the founders agreed to pursue their vision of revolutionizing IT training. The rest is history. Today, we provide educational, entertaining and rewarding training experiences you won’t forget!
1
extraordinary
acend stands for an extraordinary, enjoyable, and purpose-driven teaching and learning experience. We convey knowledge in a clear, practical, and first-hand manner and ensure excellent framework conditions.
2
adventurous
acend uses inspired methods to challenge training participants and their companies to further develop themselves with new approaches and technologies.
3
open-minded
acend is open to the new and the unexpected; it is inspired by innovative developments and values the diversity of perspectives and attitudes among customers and employees.
The People Behind acend

Brings structure to chaos - loves to optimize processes and can't sit still for a minute when music is playing.
Expertise
After her apprenticeship as an IT specialist and several other positions in IT, Anna took a detour into aviation. She looked after the server landscape of Edelweiss Air as well as the passengers above the clouds. This was followed by further exciting years as a system engineer at HRM Systems and further training as a project manager. For the last four years Anna has been at Puzzle ITC, making sure that all containers and CI/CD engineers, as well as the customers, are happy.

Beat Schärz
Trainer, Puzzle ITC
Not only does Beat have an iron discipline when it comes to sports, but he also steels his brain by constantly building up new knowledge.
Expertise
After his apprenticeship as a computer scientist, Beat immediately completed a bachelor's degree in computer science while working. From Linux Engineering at DXC, he now works in the Kubernetes environment at Puzzle. There he accompanies many customers on their way to Kubernetes and also Observability, which is his passion.

Christian Haller
Trainer, Puzzle ITC
To balance out his hectic day-to-day container life, he makes his sourdough pizza by hand. And then eats it himself right away.
Expertise
After his studies in computer science, Christian gained almost 10 years of project and operational experience as a systems engineer in the network and security area. For more than 3 years he has now been working for Puzzle as a consultant in the area of containers and cloud native technologies.

Christian Schlatter
Trainer
Not only does he enjoy traveling through the real world, but he also discovers new places in the Cloud Native Landscape
Expertise
During his bachelor studies in computer science (2014), Christian gained a lot of experience with Java and Go as a software developer. Since 2020, he has been working as a consultant at Puzzle, helping customers to enable their software development with cloud native technologies.

Christof Lüthi
Trainer, Tim&Koko AG
Christof is back from his trip around the world, has dived a lot and got to know different cultures. With a fresh spirit and curiosity, he is now on a journey of discovery in the Cloud Native world.
Expertise
Christof started his IT apprenticeship around 2000, after which he completed his FH and MAS in Computer Science at Bern University of Applied Sciences. He also worked first as a systems engineer and then as a software developer and architect for many years. It is precisely this interface in the area of middleware with a preference for data that he likes best. He has been a Kafka specialist at tim&koko since 2024 and works a lot in the cloud-native environment for various customers.

Christoph Raaflaub
Trainer, Puzzle ITC
He has visited many places with his RV, and when it comes to the Cloud Native Landscape, he is also an experienced and knowledgeable guide.
Expertise
Christoph has been working in IT for 20 years, so almost no problem can surprise him anymore. He started as a software developer and graduated as a computer science engineer FH on the side. Today he works in the CI/CD area at Puzzle ITC. There he accompanies many customers on their way to qualitative pipelines.

He’s been picking up speed on his bike as of late. He can slow down, though, and make sure our clients proceed through our trainings on sure feet.
Expertise
After his electrical engineering HF studies, he is based in computer science and has been working in different operation teams for more than 15 years. He relies on Python and brings experience from large production environments in Linux, Kubernetes, databases and monitoring. He also shares his great expertise on cloud native tools as a speaker at various conferences. He joined the Mobiliar in 2013 and currently works as a Cloud Engineer.

He is the dream of all mothers-in-law and also us and especially our customers he always brings a smile to the face.
Expertise
David took his first steps in IT after his Bachelor in Business Administration at Swisscom. There he was responsible for the Dev Portal as PM and organized the Software Day. For more than 3 years now, he has been working for Puzzle as a Key Account Manager and explains to customers why they should rely on cloud native technologies.

David Schneider
Trainer, Puzzle ITC
Our gopher is an explorer. Especially of new hip technologies, as well as of fine hoppy variations under the arbors of Bern's old town.
Expertise
During his apprenticeship at Hewlett-Packard, he already came into contact with open source technologies from Red Hat and middleware topics. After further studies at the FHNW as BSc in Computer Science he dives deep into the Cloud Native world and works with topics like Vault, Kubernetes and OAuth.

Lena Fuhrimann
Trainer, bespinian
Head always in the clouds, just look at her hair. Lena loves modernizing software and working with new technologies. She uses Arch btw.
Expertise
After her studies in business innovation, Lena gained experience as a cloud engineer at Swisscom. After another stint as technical lead at a startup, she finally founded bespinian together with This in 2019. She holds various certifications from AWS, Cloud Foundry and more.

Lorenz Bischof
Trainer, Peak Scale
In the calm lies the power. Lorenz shines with his calm and level-headed manner when it comes to the most complex topics in the IT world.
Expertise
Lorenz comes from the Puzzle ITC informatics forge. After his apprenticeship at Puzzle, he expanded his knowledge at the Bern University of Applied Sciences with a BSc of Science in Computer Science, which he then used in various customer projects. Among them are projects in the cloud environment with container technologies, automation and monitoring.

Lukas Grimm
Trainer, Puzzle ITC
Lukas brews his own beer, is a systems engineer and an educator. This makes him the perfect archetype of an acend trainer.
Expertise
Lukas has already studied various things: Geology, civil engineering and also has a teaching certificate. But he was always drawn back to IT, where he can now pursue his passion as a systems engineer. He has been doing this for over 10 years at Puzzle ITC, where he helps customers to set up their infrastructure automatically.

Marcel Groner
Finance & Experience
Our number’s whizz counts altitudinal differences in his free time – and has climbed many mountain tops in the process.
Expertise
In 1999, Marcel founded Puzzle ITC together with friends directly after his IT studies. Until today, he is working there full-time as CFO. In addition to his work as CFO, he has also completed an MAS in Online Marketing Management.

Mathis Kretz
Trainer, bespinian
When he is not deploying microservices or showing others how to do it, he is cooking, preferably with fire.
Expertise
After his PhD in computer science, Mathis worked as a software engineer at various companies and gained a lot of know-how in the cloud environment, especially as Head of Cloud Empowerment at Swisscom. In 2019, Lena and Mathis founded Bespinian, where they have been working as consultants in various topics ever since. Mathis has a certification as CKAD.

Philippe Schmid
Trainer, Puzzle ITC
Philippe has already completed numerous runs and marathons. He doesn't like this kind of effort in IT, so he automates everything that is possible.
Expertise
Having started studying computer science almost 20 years ago, Philippe has already experienced many infrastructures and Linux distributions. Since the beginning, his heart has beaten for systems engineering, where he has currently been working at Puzzle for over 10 years. His specialty is automation, currently preferably with Ansible.

Sebastian Plattner
Trainer
He always has his fingers on the pulse of technological developments and stays one step ahead – the more complex the problem, the bigger his motivation. And because nothing explains itself, he’ll also take care of that.
Expertise
As a consultant and expert for cloud native technologies, he designs and builds Kubernetes platforms for various Puzzle ITC customers. After graduating with a BsC in Computer Science (2017) and a major in Security, Sebastian led a team in Cybersecurity at RUAG Schweiz AG. Various certifications in the Cloud Native environment underline his expertise in containers and Kubernetes. CKA, CKAD, CKS

Simon Stettler
Strategie, Marketing & Sales
Enjoys seeing the bigger picture and strives to bring out the best in himself and organizations. Sometimes also with beer.
Expertise
Having spent years as a marketer, Simon transitioned into management and leadership. In addition to leading teams in the business world, he has also led teams in sports and is convinced that the athlete's mindset is highly relevant in everyday business. Since July 2024, Simon has been responsible for the further development of acend.

He’s been in the IT world for years – and he discovers everything else on his bicycle.
Expertise
Thomas has played a formative role at Puzzle since 2011: After his bachelor's degree in Computer Science, first as a Software Engineer and PL, later as Head of Middleware he was able to establish the topic of Kubernetes at Puzzle, among other things. He was the CTO for several years and then founded his own company tim&koko in 2022. In his new role, as a cloud consultant, he helps customers on their way into the cloud.

Known as “Mr. AI,” he is an AI pragmatist. His goal: to make AI understandable and deploy it wherever it works effectively and adds value.
Expertise
Following his computer science studies and over 28 years in roles such as Software Developer, Solution Architect, CTO at a smart-home startup, and Project Manager, Tobias now guides SMEs through digital transformation with AI. As a C-AI-O and 'technical conscience,' he helps leadership teams set up AI governance, security, and architecture so that innovation and operations align. Through his company, incratec GmbH, he focuses on pragmatic AI implementation: from the effective use of GitHub Copilot and similar tools in development to MLOps in the cloud and stable DevOps processes with AI support.

Tobias Tröhler
Sales & Experience
Colorful socks and wild ideas: he’s just the man to design our visual presence whenever he’s not riding a wave.
Expertise
After his apprenticeship as a computer scientist, Tobias held various roles in automation at Swisscom for 15 years. For more than 4 years he is now at Puzzle and helps to drive the container topics forward. While working, he successfully completed first the HF and then the FH in business informatics and did a coaching training.
You want to be part of our team?
At acend, we create an environment shaped by creativity, collaboration, and innovation. We are constantly looking for talented and motivated people who are ready to explore new horizons with us.
Apply nowWe see ourselves as part of the growing Swiss Cloud Native community and invite you to join us. That’s why we foster exchange during and after our trainings.