Gunther Verheyen calls himself an independent Scrum Caretaker on a journey of humanizing the workplace with Scrum. He is a long-time Scrum practitioner who started applying Scrum in 2003. Besides having engaged with many teams and organizations, he has published two acclaimed books about Scrum and was partner of Ken Schwaber (co-creator of Scrum) as Director of the “Professional Scrum” series at Scrum.org. As a Scrum Caretaker, Gunther goes beyond merely applying Scrum as a process by actively nurturing and upholding the values, behaviors, and people-centric aspects that make Scrum more effective.
Gunther ventured into IT and software development after graduating as Engineer in Electronics in 1992. His Agile adventures started with eXtreme Programming wrapped in Scrum in 2003. Until 2010 he gained experience with Scrum with various teams in various organizations and diverse domains. He then became the inspiring force behind some large-scale enterprise transformations. In 2011 he acquired his license as a Professional Scrum Trainer for Scrum.org.
Gunther left consulting in 2013 to establish Ullizee-Inc and partner exclusively with Ken Schwaber, co-creator of Scrum. He managed the “Professional Scrum” series of Scrum.org and shepherded its global network of Professional Scrum Trainers. He co-created Agility Path, EBM (Evidence-Based Management) and the Nexus framework for Scaled Professional Scrum.
Since 2016 Gunther is continuing his journey to humanize the workplace with Scrum as an independent Scrum Caretaker; a connector, teacher, writer, speaker. He helps organizations re-imagine their Scrum and re-emerge the organization around it while creating a more humane and therefore more productive workplace. Taking the stance of a Scrum Caretaker, Gunther goes beyond merely applying Scrum as a process by actively nurturing and upholding the values, behaviors, and people-centric aspects that make Scrum more effective. He embodies a broader, ongoing commitment to nurturing Scrum’s spirit and effectiveness, while acting as a mentor, coach, and advocate for both the framework and the people involved. Ultimately, Gunther’s goal is to ensure that the framework’s true intent—organizational agility and humane workplaces—is realized and sustained.
Gunther created his acclaimed book Scrum – A Pocket Guide in 2013, with a 2nd edition published in 2019, a 3rd edition in 2021 and a 4th edition in 2024. In 2020 he published the book 97 Things Every Scrum Practitioner Should Know; a collection of essays from field experts across the world. Several translations of his work are available.
When not traveling to humanize the workplace with Scrum, Gunther lives and works in Antwerp (Belgium). He delivers his Scrum Services through Ullizee-Inc.
