Service Desk Team Lead · TOPPAN Security

Alexandra
Hinkel

IT Solutions & People-First Leadership

Multilingual technology professional with 20+ years of experience spanning IT support, customer success, and team leadership, now leading service desk operations in the secure identity and payment solutions industry.

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Alexandra Hinkel
Mġarr · Malta
About

People & Technology,
in balance

I'm a multilingual IT and customer service professional based in Malta, with a background that spans technology support, financial services, and over a decade in photography and hospitality.

I bring a calm, solution-focused approach to complex technical problems and thrive in environments where people and technology intersect. Currently, I'm Service Desk Team Lead at TOPPAN Security, where my day-to-day centers on internal and customer stakeholder meetings and recurring incident/service reporting in a security-critical environment, alongside building out process automation and modern ITSM tooling for the team.

My path has been anything but linear, and that's exactly what makes me effective. I've led restaurant teams, managed client relationships for commercial photography, supported thousands of customers across telecoms, banking, and gaming, and now I work within a technical team in secure identity and payment solutions. Every chapter added a layer of understanding that I bring to my work every day.

20+
Years of Experience
3
Languages
20+
Certifications
9
Industries Served
Career

Experience

Mar 2026 — Present
Service Desk Team Lead
TOPPAN Security · Malta, On-site
Leading the Service Desk team, overseeing IT support operations in a secure identity and payment solutions environment. Ensuring high availability, team performance, and alignment with ITIL best practices.
  • Produce recurring incident and service-level reports for international customer sites, including SLA compliance/breach analysis, root cause analysis (RCA), problem and change tracking, and incident trend statistics.
  • Lead internal stakeholder meetings and customer meetings on incident status and service quality.
Also designed and built three internal automation tools in this role; see Projects & Automation Highlights below.
Mar 2024 — Nov 2025
Technical Support Specialist
Deutsche Telekom · Remote (Freelance)
Supported German-speaking customers with complex home setups, including internet, Wi-Fi, TV, routers, and smart home devices. Performed structured remote diagnostics and guided customers step by step to stable, long-term solutions. Worked in a KPI-driven environment while maintaining a calm, solution-focused approach.
Sep 2023 — Mar 2024
Customer Service Officer
Novum Bank Group · Msida, Malta
Supported customers across the full lifecycle of financial products. Handled sensitive enquiries with clarity and empathy, and collaborated with risk and operations teams to resolve issues efficiently.
Nov 2022 — Sep 2023
European Customer Account Advisor
bet365 · Malta
Managed German-speaking customer accounts in a high-volume environment via chat and email. Maintained compliance, resolved account and payment queries, and identified patterns in customer feedback to support process improvements.
Sep 2022 — Nov 2022
Customer Service Advisor
Intrum · Athens, Greece
Supported customers in challenging financial and emotional situations. Applied active listening and de-escalation techniques to maintain constructive, solution-oriented conversations.
Aug 2020 — Jun 2022
Technical Support — Canon Products
Teleperformance · Athens, Greece
Delivered technical support for Canon products via phone, chat, and email for German-speaking customers. Reduced repeat contacts by explaining not just the fix, but how to prevent recurrence. Used Zendesk throughout.
Jun 2009 — Jul 2020
Photographer & Client Relations
Hellenic Media Service · Athens, Greece
Planned and executed commercial photo shoots, translated client briefs into visual concepts, and managed scheduling and delivery. Built long-term relationships with recurring clients through reliable follow-up and service.
Feb 1998 — Apr 2007
Owner & Manager — Greek Restaurants
Self-Employed · Germany & Pylos, Greece
Owned and managed four Greek restaurants, three in Germany over eight years, followed by one in Pylos, Greece, for a further year. Responsible for daily operations, team leadership, hiring, training, scheduling, supplier management, and delivering a consistently high quality guest experience.
Hands-On

Projects & Automation Highlights

Custom ITSM & SLA Reporting Engine
Designed and built an internal incident management tool in Python that processes raw data exports, automates validation, and generates SLA/RCA reports, architected with a keyless, privacy-by-design approach (zero external API calls).
Python Privacy-by-Design SLA/RCA Reporting
Automated File Classification Tool
Developed a desktop application (Python/Tkinter) for automated multi-department file organization using custom keyword matching; packaged and deployed via CI/CD pipelines in Azure DevOps.
Python / Tkinter CI/CD Azure DevOps
AI Security & Governance Digest
Built an automated intelligence tool aggregating RSS feeds from cybersecurity and AI governance bodies, utilizing the Claude LLM API to automatically compile PDF briefings for decision-makers.
LLM / API Integration Automation Security Governance
Credentials

Licenses & Certifications

PeopleCert
ITIL Foundation (Version 5)
Jul 2026
LinkedIn
(ISC)² Certified in Cybersecurity (CC): Cert Prep
Jul 2026
Tech Diplomacy Academy
Transformational Leadership for Tech Diplomacy
Feb 2026
IBM
Agile Operations Fundamentals
Dec 2025
HubSpot Academy
Service Hub Software
Jan 2026
Gainsight
Customer Success Manager Certified Professional
Dec 2025
Udemy
Cisco Customer Success Manager Specialist
Dec 2025
LinkedIn
Putting ITIL® into Practice: Incident Management
Jan 2026
LinkedIn
Learning ITIL®
Jan 2026
LinkedIn
Managing a Customer Service Team
Jan 2026
LinkedIn
Communicating Across Cultures
Jan 2026
LinkedIn
Cross-Cultural Communication for B2B Marketing Executives
Jan 2026
LinkedIn
Nano Tips for Managing Across Cultures
Jan 2026
LinkedIn
How to Have Productive One-on-One Meetings
Feb 2026
LinkedIn
Leading Productive Meetings
Jan 2026
LinkedIn
Introduction to Web APIs
Dec 2025
LinkedIn
HTML, CSS, and JavaScript: Building the Web
Dec 2025
Microsoft & LinkedIn
Career Essentials in Generative AI
Apr 2026
LinkedIn
Ethics in the Age of Generative AI
Apr 2026
LinkedIn
Learning Microsoft 365 Copilot for Work
Apr 2026
LinkedIn
What Is Generative AI?
Apr 2026
LinkedIn
Your Top AI Questions Answered: AI Literacy for Everyone
Apr 2026
Expertise

Skills

IT Service Desk Team Leadership ITIL & Incident Management Agile & Kanban HubSpot Service Hub Remote Diagnostics Technical Troubleshooting Cross-Cultural Communication Customer Experience KPI Management Zendesk Web APIs HTML & CSS De-escalation Mentoring & Coaching Customer Success SLA Reporting Root Cause Analysis (RCA) Process Automation Python Automation Privacy-by-Design LLM/API Integration CI/CD (Azure DevOps) Security Risk Assessment
Languages
Deutsch
Native / Bilingual
English
Professional Proficiency
Ελληνικά
Professional Proficiency
Creative Eye

Photography

For over a decade, photography was my craft and my livelihood, capturing light, moments, and the quiet beauty of Mediterranean life. These images are from my time in Santorini, where I specialised in hospitality, lifestyle, and wedding photography.

Silhouette at sunset over the Aegean Sea Golden Hour
Classical statue overlooking Santorini caldera Caldera View
Cruise ship framed through a window Framed
Old building with blue doors in Greece Blue Doors
Pottery and succulents with caldera panorama Santorini Terrace
Portrait with a beagle in Santorini Companion
Elegant table setup with ocean view Hospitality
Wedding figurines at sunset Wedding Details
Inner Foundation

What Drives Me

The way I lead, solve problems, and connect with people is shaped by something deeper than experience alone. A consistent practice of meditation, yoga, and mindful living gives me the clarity and calm that I bring to every challenge, professional or personal.

"The mind is everything. What you think, you become." Dhammapada
🧘‍♀️
Meditation
A daily practice that sharpens focus, builds emotional resilience, and brings a steady calm to high-pressure situations. What begins on the cushion carries into every meeting, every decision, every conversation.
🌿
Yoga
More than movement, a discipline of breath, awareness, and presence. Yoga teaches me to stay grounded when things move fast, and to approach challenges with both strength and flexibility.
☀️
Mindful Leadership
Listening before speaking. Responding instead of reacting. Leading with compassion without losing clarity. These aren't just ideals; they're daily practice, shaped by years of inner work and self-inquiry.
Triratna Buddhist Community Logo
Triratna Buddhist Community
GfR Mitra · since January 2023
Active member and volunteer, serving as Centre Manager, maintaining a regular meditation and study practice, participating in retreats, and supporting community activities. A commitment to clarity, compassion, and continual growth that informs every aspect of my life.
Get in Touch

Let's Connect

Whether you're looking to collaborate, hire, or simply connect, I'd love to hear from you.

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