PROBLEM SOLVER, ANALYTICS EXPERT, and GROUP LEADER
with a track-record of leading teams to achieve, a knack for finding and seizing profit opportunities, and deep experience in the development and application of quantitative methods.
2000 - Present
CURRENT EMPLOYER
Publicly held Internet-based consumer credit issuer.
July 2001 - Present
VICE PRESIDENT, STRATEGIC INFORMATION MANAGEMENT
The Strategic Information Management group was created following discussions with the President and Chief Operating Officer in which I highlighted the benefits of improving our decision support capabilities and analytical data infrastructure. With focused attention, we could improve analytical and MIS integrity and productivity, create a true strategic analytic capability, and reduce exposure to the risk of regulatory intervention or class action litigation.
Several existing functions were consolidated, and I was asked to lead the newly formed Strategic
Information Management team. Reporting to the Group Vice President of Platform Management, I have 15
people (four matrixed) to help me achieve our goals. Our mission has been to reengineer the company's
decision-support capabilities, and do it while delivering our previously existing responsibilities.
These inherited responsibilities include managing enterprise-wide MIS; implementing and executing
operational processes generating $5 million in annual revenue; providing analytical support for model development and implementation; and acting as an internal consultant for analytical teams.
In less than four months, the SIM team delivered the first functional data warehouse in the company's
history. We took ownership of a data warehouse project that had languished for over two years but
produced few results. The lack of progress stemmed from two core problems: an idealistic attempt to
deliver the "perfect" design, and poor communication between business users and developers. The SIM
team implemented an action-biased development process that yields bimonthly releases, formally
includes business users in the design process, and focuses on rapid deployment of high-priority data.
With these efforts our data warehouse is rapidly achieving the approval of analysts and continues to
improve.
The SIM team has also effected a 30% improvement in analytical productivity, measured by the number of
FTE's required to produce the same volume of analyses. We accomplished this by deploying data marts to preprocess data, optimizing both processes and code, implementing a program through which analysts
leverage the knowledge of our corporate MIS group, and implementing data integrity controls to minimize
repeated effort. We have formalized these efforts into an ongoing improvement program. We continue to
realize productivity gains.
October 2000 - July 2001
VICE PRESIDENT, MARKETING ANALYTICS
After being recruited to my current employer by a former manager, I joined the company as the
leader of the Marketing Analytics team. Reporting to the Group Vice President of Acquisitions Marketing,
my team of five analysts and I transformed the group from a passive support role to an influential
decision-making unit that drove strategy and tactics, changed the way acquisitions performance was
measured, and implemented new income-producing programs.
When I arrived, Marketing Analytics was a provider of MIS, forecasting, and ad hoc analyses associated
with Internet ad buys, campaign performance, and testing of copy, design, and placement. We continued to meet these responsibilities, and took on new ones: capitalizing on customer information from the thousands
of website and email sources we used; developing targeting and optimization models and methods; and
implementing profitability-based measures of acquisition performance.
My team also seized opportunities to directly contribute to the bottom line. We discovered, tested, and implemented a program that generated an immediate and sustained $15 million (16%) increase in monthly acquisition balance transfers. We achieved this with essentially no additional cost while simultaneously reducing risk (expected peak loss rates 300 basis points lower than the portfolio average), and from concept to production implemented the program in less than six weeks. Through another program MA conceived, we eliminated $3 million in annual fraud losses without eliminating good customers.
While I led Marketing Analytics, monthly acquisition balance transfers grew by over 40% and the cost of those balance transfers dropped by more than 20%.
1996 - 2000
FORMER EMPLOYER
A start-up consulting, statistical modeling, and software company serving consumer credit issuers
and direct marketers. Our primary products were account-level decision systems for credit management,
and portfolio forecasting systems. As a complement to these systems, IA provided assistance in
establishing underwriting, account maintenance, and collection strategies.
1996 - 2000
PRESIDENT AND COFOUNDER
After launching the company, I managed all aspects of this seven-person company and helped lead
us to operational profitability within our first year and revenue growth in excess of 100% for every year
of operation. I led the majority of our engagements and directed all of our research activities. I also
played a key role in sales and marketing, writing the majority of our marketing literature and closing our
five largest engagements.
IA developed and implemented over 100 credit scoring and portfolio forecasting models for various market
leaders in consumer credit, including five of the 20 largest bankcard issuers; a top-five auto lender; two
of the largest retail issuers; and a number of firms in the sub-prime, collections, and bad debt markets.
Our models were applied in several contexts, including acquisitions, direct mail response, account
maintenance, attrition and pay-down, collections triage, recovery, and capital/reserve planning.
At the behest of one of the three largest retail issuers, we developed a unique decision simulation and
forecasting system that was described by a prominent consulting firm as "state of the art". The two-tier
client-server user interface, supporting database, and statistical modeling engine provided for forecasting
and policy-, economic-, and marketing-scenario simulation of all income statement line-items for 70,000 dynamic segments of a portfolio with over 30 million revolving accounts.
IA also sought to improve the tools used in consumer credit management. Among our successes was the
development of "Simetrix," an innovative mixture Markov model and software system for account/loan
maintenance that better enabled the application of decision and portfolio theory similar to that used by
managers in capital markets. Through a separate effort we developed an expertise in the relationship
between the economy and consumer credit risk, and in one engagement applied this research to assist a
leading auto lender seeking a more favorable rating on its asset-backed debt.
1995 - 1996
[MONEY-CENTER BANK]
Card Products division of one of the largest diversified financial services companies in the United
States. At the time, the Card Products division had a consumer bankcard portfolio of over $ 5 billion in managed assets.
1995 - 1996
ASSISTANT VICE PRESIDENT, CREDIT POLICY
As a member of an analytical team responsible for management of credit policy, I supported both
acquisitions and account maintenance. I developed and implemented credit scoring models, generated
delinquency and loss forecasts, provided ad hoc analytical support for direct mail and branch-based
acquisitions, and introduced macro-economic based forecasting.
I received a "Star Performer" award after devising, promoting, and implementing an overhaul of our branch
application decision process that included radical changes in both underwriting criteria and line assignment. Influential regional managers initially blocked the changes, but after meeting with me not only threw their weight behind the project but also recommended the award.
1994 - 1995
[CREDIT DIVISION of MAJOR RETAILER]
A well-known, publicly-held consumer electronics retailer with over 6,000 retail outlets. The credit division managed a portfolio of $1 billion in card receivables.
1994 - 1995
RISK MANAGER
Reporting to the Director of Risk Management, I was one of two people directly responsible for credit
policy and risk management. I performed all quantitative and statistical analyses associated with the management of the portfolio, including the development and implementation of delinquency and loss forecasts, scoring models, vintage analyses, and promotional impact models. I helped establish the company's first direct mail solicitation program, leading to a $60 million increase in sales in the 4th quarter of 1994.
1992 - 1994
[FORTUNE 500 TRANSPORTATION COMPANY]
Publicly held railroad and transportation company with over $5 billion in revenue (at the time).
April 1993 - March 1994
SENIOR ECONOMIC ANALYST, MARKETING ANALYSIS
June 1992 - March 1993
ECONOMIC ANALYST, MARKETING ANALYSIS
Reporting to the Director of Marketing Analysis and Planning, I developed and managed a set of 40
econometric models to forecast revenue, provided analyses of the effects of economic conditions on revenue, and briefed the Chief Operating Officer and other senior executives on revenue and market share
expectations. I also assisted the Finance department with investor presentations, writing of "Management's
Discussion and Analysis" for quarterly SEC filings, and asset planning.
In a division with over 100 people I received the highest performance rating, and as a result was asked to take on two unique projects. In the first of those, I authored an analysis presented by the CEO to the President of the United States assessing the revenue impact from widespread flooding. For the second project, I helped lead a team of four people in developing a comprehensive long-term marketing strategy. Our recommendation to acquire a stronger east-west intermodal capability came to fruition with a subsequent merger.
RELATED EXPERIENCE:
Fall 1998
ADJUNCT FACULTY: PRINCIPLES OF MICROECONOMICS
Texas Christian University, Fort Worth, TX
EDUCATION:
1997 - 2000
Texas Christian University, Fort Worth, TX
Completed several upper-division mathematics courses (for fun).
1996
Texas Christian University, Fort Worth, TX
MASTER OF ARTS, ECONOMICS
Emphasis in econometrics and microeconomics
1990
Texas Christian University, Fort Worth, TX
BACHELOR OF SCIENCE
Major in Economics, Minor in Philosophy
TECHNICAL KNOWLEDGE:
ANALYSIS
- Expertise in microeconomic and related theory, including price theory and industrial organization.
- Adept at statistical/econometric analysis and modeling, specifically:
--Extensive experience and acumen with time series (e.g., ARIMA, auto-regression, etc.), generalized
linear models (e.g., OLS and ANOVA, probit and logistic regression, log-linear models, discrete
choice/multinomial models), and "tree-based" models (e.g., CHAID, CART);
- Experience in applying graphical/hierarchical models and latent variable (mixture) models;
- Familiarity with Bayesian and Empirical Bayesian techniques, including Markov chain Monte Carlo
methods;
- Understanding of stochastic processes (e.g., martingales, Brownian motion, Markov processes).
- Acquainted with financial mathematics, including stochastic calculus, bond mathematics, and
options/derivatives pricing (e.g., Black-Scholes, lattice methods).
- Understanding of financial modeling, including portfolio risk management and value-at-risk.
COMPUTING
- Seasoned user of a variety of platforms, including all major operating systems (i.e., UNIX, NT, and
TSO/MVS).
- Fluent in SAS (as both a data processing application and a technical analytical tool).
- Command of standard desktop applications, particularly MS Excel.
- Experience with additional technical statistics and mathematics applications, including S-Plus,
SPSS, Mathematica, and Maple.
- Functional knowledge of C, S, and Visual Basic. |
