PROFESSIONAL EXPERIENCE
Major Wholesale Distributor 2009-Present Vice President and Chief Information Officer
* Hired as the first Chief Information Officer in the companys history. The CIO is chartered with setting the future course for business technology and improving the companys technical capabilities through unification, revitalization, transformation, and innovation.
* Published and presented to the Board of Directors a comprehensive three-year technology strategy and ongoing road map that fully aligned business goals and objectives to technical capability. The initial strategic plan was fully accomplished in under three years.
* Rationalized and consolidated decentralized technology resources into a shared services environment.
* Upgraded the primary processing engine from older IBM AS/400 models to modern IBM System I platform and established development, testing, and disaster recovery environments (Mimix).
* Redesigned and implemented an upgraded local and wide area network infrastructure (Brocade) necessary to support current operations and projected growth; network throughput performance improved over 35%.
* Deployed new network and endpoint security tools (e.g., Sophos Dell SonicWall), processes, and procedures necessary to enhance the protection of the technology environment and data.
* Improved communications capabilities through the deployments of Voice Over Internet Protocol (VoIP) telephony (replacing an Avaya PBX), an intranet portal (Eprise), and Microsoft Exchange for email.
* Instituted governance policies and practices at the IT and corporate levels: Systems Development Life Cycle (SDLC), Business Case discipline, Help Desk ticketing and tracking, and Technology budget oversight and control.
* Replaced the warehouse management system to upgrade inventory management and control capabilities; savings on labor and increased inventory turns are expected well into the millions ($s).
* Selected, implemented, and integrated (cloud-to-cloud) new cloud-based Human Resource Management, Payroll, and Time and Attendance system that enables employee and manager self-service functionality; achieved 10%+ productivity improvements for the Human Resources staff.
* Rolled out an award-winning (IBM COMMON Web Solutions) eCommerce Order and Account Management Portal (eBiz) to the sales force and customers; process simplification and increased visibility and opportunities to cross- and up-sell are anticipated to generate revenue increases of 5-10%.
Major Publisher and Distributor, New York, NY 1996 2008
Vice President, IT Planning and International Operations (2003 2008)
* Directed and managed the corporate technology budgets of $50MM expense and $25MM IT / Divisional capital spend.
* Performed as CIO Chief of Staff while managing three line departments (Integration and Architecture, Project Management Office, and Digital Asset Team) and a staff of 30.
* Developed corporate-wide technology strategies, tactics, platform standards (hardware, software, services), and development methodologies that improved service delivery while reducing costs.
* Established and chaired the Corporate Technology Capital Committee with business unit executives to identify, prioritize, and align their capital spending ($55M) with the Companys strategies.
* Led the Enterprise Application Integration Group in transforming the legacy, point-to-point interface infrastructure to a Services Oriented Architecture (SOA) using IBMs WebSphere Integration Platform; the resulting service-bus architecture significantly improved access to reliable data and saved over 75% of the development time necessary to develop and maintain interfaces.
* Directed the Corporate Digital Archive Group and developed the program, business processes, and systems requirements for the formulation and execution of a digital strategy, critical to the future growth.
* Initiated and championed the development and implementation of a contract handling and Rights Management System (CHARMS) which maximized the tracking and exploitation potential of available properties across different media and all lines of business.
* Planned and executed technology refreshes designed to deliver robust and resilient computing platforms.
* Reorganized IT departmental functions into a global shared services model that aligned IT with the corporate business strategies and objectives.
* Negotiated all significant global contracts and served as the relationship manager for strategic vendors such as Oracle, PeopleSoft, IBM, Accenture, and Deloitte.
* Improved the terms of license and maintenance agreements saving over $4MM through renegotiation and consolidation.
* Directed the IT process investigation and remediation efforts associated with the corporate Sarbanes-Oxley and annual financial audit programs.
* Chaired monthly joint Global Information Technology Steering Committee meetings in which business unit leaders were chartered to share solutions and best practices.
* Directed Asian subsidiary management and Accenture in the completion and stabilization of their ERP implementation of J.D. Edwards OneWorld XE.
Director of Corporate Systems (1998-2003)
* Managed the business and process analysis, development, acquisition, implementation, enhancement, and maintenance of the business systems for a staff of 80 supporting the Employee Services/HR, Finance, Corporate Marketing, and International divisions.
* Acquired, implemented, and managed a number of significant platforms including PeopleSoft HRMS v8.1, PeopleSoft CRM v8.8, J.D. Edwards Financials, and J.D. Edwards OneWorld XE.
* Directed development and implementation of SDLC-based project management methodology to facilitate on-time, on-budget, and in-scope projects.
* Directed a 200-person team in the successful completion of the $13MM global Y2K compliance program for systems, infrastructure, inbound third-party interfaces, critical vendors, and customer communications; managed an overall Y2K budget with the successful program completed on time, returning $2MM.
* Formed, staffed, and directed the Business Analysis and Quality Assurance functions and acquired the requisite infrastructure and hardware environment.
* Partnered with Corporate Finance to redesign corporate financial systems including a business process review and the implementation of a new enterprise chart of accounts.
* Consolidated post-acquisition financial systems saving over $2MM annually in redundant staff functions.
Business Analyst / Manager of Business Analysis (1996 1998)
* Led the Business Analysis group that supported Fulfillment Operations, Education Group, Magazines, and Scholastic Entertainment business units.
* Implemented a third-party licensing system for Scholastic Entertainment.
* Analyzed the major enhancement of the purchase ordering system.
* Supported Anderson Consulting in an ERP / Inventory in-house study.
Major Health Insurer, Bridgewater, NJ 1988 1996
Systems Consultant
* Directed and managed project teams in developing recommendations and specifications for advanced customer service, claim processing, and corporate infrastructure systems and applications.
* Implemented electronic image processing image processing platforms, workflow routing products, character recognition, advanced micrographic systems, relational databases, and distributed application environments.
* Planned and managed the implementation of an OCR Health Claims processing application saving $1.7MM annually in claim processing costs.
* Managed the implementation of an electronic image environment for a Senior Care coverage application using IBMs AS/400 and Image Plus/400 platforms, saving $1.1MM in annual operating expenses.
Major Insurance and Financial Services Company, New York, NY 1985 1988
Major Financial Services Company, Garden City, NY 1983 1985
Education
Pace University, Lubin School of Business, New York, NY
M.B.A., Management Information Systems
Hofstra University, Hempstead, NY
B.B.A., Marketing (Accounting minor)
Memberships and Affiliations
* Society for Information Management (SIM), New Jersey Chapter
* Center for CIO Leadership
* CIO Executive Council
* Cloud Computing Consortium
Publications
Authored Publications
Leading an IT Transformation: Strategies for Change. Global Technology Leadership Strategies: Leading Technology Executives on Creating Strategic Alignment in a Rapidly Evolving Global Environment, Aspatore Books, 2013, 7-24.
When Social Media for B2B Just Doesnt Work. Internet Evolution, Blog, May 2012.
Cited Within
Innovation Case Study for IBM. IBM internal website, July 2011.
Featured Case Study. The Essential CIO: Insights from the Global Chief Information Officer Study, IBM C-Suite Studies, May 2011.
Member Success Case Study for the Center for CIO Leadership, April 2011.
Zend Case Study of Allied Beverage Group, LLC. Zend and IBM websites, January 2011.
Kolawa, Adam. When IT is a Business Channel. The Next Leap in Productivity: What Top Managers Really Need to Know about Information Technology, Wiley, 2009, Chapter 3, Section 5.
Minelli, Michael, and Mike Barlow. Partnering with the CIO: The Future of IT Sales Seen Through the Eyes of Key Decision Makers, Wiley, 2007, 97-98.
Transcript, CIO Panel. Society of IT Professional Services Conference, Las Vegas, NV, 2006.
Change Management Planning for Success: The Importance of a Sound Change Management Plan. CMS (web), June 2002.
Invited Speaking Engagements
* Strategies for Addressing Advanced Persistent Threats (APTs), Web video interview and caller chat, SMB Authority, October 2012
* Role of the CIO and Emerging Technologies, Radio interview, Internet Evolution, March 2012
* Member Spotlight Video, Center for CIO Leadership, January 2012
* Building Better CIO Relationships, Panelist, IBM Marketing, January 2012
* How to Succeed with a CIO, Client webinar, IBM Global Services, November 2011
* Technology Panel, Panelist, 2011 Aberdeen Supply Chain Summit, March 2011
* SIM Executive Sponsor for the SIM NJ Charity Golf Event, Society of Information Management, 2009 2010
* Global Oracle Media, Entertainment, Publishing (GOMEP) Customer Advisory Board, 2006 2008
* Vendor Management and Partnering with the CIO, Panelist, CIO Panel, 2007
* CIO Panel, Panelist, Society of IT Professional Services Co |
