INSURANCE SENIOR EXECUTIVE - INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY
Application Development / Customer Interface / Project Management
Senior IT executive successful in application development, implementation, change management, and support in the commercial insurance and financial services industries.
Effective team builder and leader with extensive experience in IT operations, customer service, client relationship management, and project management.
* Headed operations and internal infrastructure, quality assurance, customer service, and program management for a provider of front office software solutions to the commercial insurance industry.
* Managed technology departments of up to 60 people and project teams of up to 30 people, with budgets of up to to several million dollars, spanning the entire systems development life cycle (SDLC).
* Developed, implemented, and supported large-scale commercial information systems, including B2B e-Commerce applications, sales force automation systems, placement systems, and claims and premium processing systems.
INSURANCE & RISK MANAGEMENT SOFTWARE COMPANY 2000 - 2004
Senior Vice President - Operations
Approached by several industry executives, who had formed an insurance and risk management software and services company, to join the firm as one of its' first employees. I held multiple roles in the early stages of the company, and ultimately became the executive in-charge of the Operations Group.
As Senior Vice President of Operations, I was a member of the Executive Management Team responsible for setting company direction and initiating various projects. Presented group status and plans to the Board of Directors. In addition, I served as executive in-charge of the New York office, as both the CEO and President were based in London.
Provided leadership and direction to the Operations Group, with responsibility for three managers and 12 employees in New York, London, and Cairo, and a $1.5 million budget. The Operations Group encompassed four major functional areas including:
(1) Customer Data Center / Application Service Provider (ASP) Operations and Internal Infrastructure Operations - directed a state-of-the-art outsourced Customer Data Center; a 3rd party managed service provider; hardware and software component troubleshooting and support, procurement and installation/configuration of all hardware/system software, and vendor agreements/relationships. Also managed the internal infrastructure operations for the company.
(2) Customer Service & Education / Help Desk - directed the New York and London based help desks and all customer training (on-site & remote), all project work planning, new release preparation, development/maintenance of user manuals, training materials, on-line help, and development/maintenance of electronic (e.g., ACORD) forms.
(3) Quality Assurance / Product Release - directed the New York and Cairo based teams, all project work planning, test plan review, test execution verification, problem identification/resolution, and test automation. Also responsible for product release planning including packaging of new features/functions, customer communication, scheduling, and production deployment/verification.
(4) Program Management - individually responsible for ensuring that comprehensive project work plans and issue logs were established by the development team; reviewing functional design specifications for completeness and consistency; ensuring communication across various groups; and facilitating overall product quality.
Selected Accomplishments:
* Established the Operations Group, developed polices and procedures, hired and trained all employees, developed an orientation/training program, and established performance metrics.
* Migrated the Customer Data Center to a state-of-the art facility and established relationship with a leading 3rd party managed service provider. Increased system availability to 99.7%.
* Deployed product to numerous customers. This included all project work planning, workflow review/design, custom deployment material preparation, on-site and remote training, and post deployment follow-up. Developed product deployment methodology and supporting materials.
* Developed and managed key client relationships. Throughout my tenure, I had an active role in selling and managing large accounts. Developed sales and marketing materials, drafted commercial contracts, conducted and/or participated in sales presentations and product demonstrations.
* Established relationship with a Cairo-based quality assurance outsourcing company. Developed all associated operating policies, procedures, and management controls.
* Conducted a software evaluation and selection process for a company-wide incident tracking system and for the Quality Assurance team's automated software testing suite. Implemented both systems including team training and the development of associated polices and procedures.
* Participated in the initial design of the product. Met with potential customers and reviewed/refined design specifications and other design documentation. Prepared for and conducted user interface usability sessions with several brokers and insurers.
* Custom designed a program business policy issuance sub-system for a large insurance company. Designed and managed the development, testing, and implementation.
* Established the internal technology infrastructure. Worked with several vendors to set-up the technology and deployed it to all employees. Established "best practices" and other procedures.
MARSH, INC. - New York, NY 1994 - 2000
Senior Vice President - Project Manager
After the merger of Guy Carpenter's and Marsh's Information Technology departments, I was asked to join the group that was focused on front office systems for the insurance brokerage business. At Marsh, I directed or managed project teams of various sizes to develop and support insurance placement and sales force automation systems.
Selected Accomplishments:
* Directed the development of a web-based broker/insurance carrier e-Commerce insurance placement system. Directed analysis of ACORD and other recognized standards for adoption within the application/carrier interface and data modeling.
* Implemented and supported an international telecommunications network and e-mail infrastructure. The VPN allowed 40 insurance carriers to access Marsh's web-based e-Commerce insurance placement application and the associated e-mail infrastructure. Managed relationship with primary vendor. Marketed and sold the application and network services to insurance carriers.
* Directed the development and implementation of an eForm-based underwriter e-Commerce insurance placement application. Directed environment certification/testing group.
* Designed the prototype for a sales force automation system to replace the existing system. Gathered functional requirements from sales professionals and management.
* Developed system interfaces for the insurance placement system, and associated support applications. Developed reference data conversion tools.
GUY CARPENTER & CO., INC. - New York, NY 1989 - 1994
Vice President
Recruited by the CIO of Guy Carpenter, a reinsurance broker and former consulting client of mine, to manage a group of 60 people in application development and support within the Information Technology department. My group was responsible for the development and maintenance of all business applications for 1,200+ users in 15 offices including seven international branches.
Directed all application development support services including: logical data modeling, technical architecture development and support, and production control. I also managed the PC support and LAN administration functions for 800+ users in the New York office.
Selected Accomplishments:
* Prototyped and implemented a client/server, relational database, and Graphical User Interface (GUI) subscription marketing application for brokers.
* Designed a corporate wide client/insurer name and address and market security application.
* Designed and implemented the company's first relational database inquiry application that accessed a multi-gigabyte database.
* Designed and implemented large and small-scale enhancements to the company's claims, premium, and receivables/payables transaction processing systems.
ANDERSEN CONSULTING - New York, NY 1981 - 1989
Consulting Manager (1985 - 1989)
Senior Consultant (1983 - 1985)
Staff Consultant (1981 - 1983)
Promoted to Consulting Manager after just four years with the company. Managed or co-managed project teams of up to 30 people, and budgets of up to several million dollars, spanning the entire systems development life cycle. Also responsible for proposal preparation and presentation, recruitment, internal and client training, and developing the firm's marketing plan.
Representative Projects:
* Developed a conceptual systems design of an integrated front/back office commodities trading system for the precious metals, energy, and foreign exchange division of Drexel Burnham. Conducted an application software survey and made recommendations to improve operations.
* Created a conceptual systems design of a general ledger consolidation system for Equitable Life. Identified modifications to existing financial reporting systems.
* Managed a 20-person team that designed and implemented the application architecture and designer/programmer productivity tools for NYNEX. Provided technical support to the team.
* Directed a 16-person team that confirmed the functional/technical design and completed the detailed design for a major component of a customer collection system for IBM.
* Oversaw a team of up to 20 people who enhanced and tested an existing CMO system for Goldman Sachs. Developed conceptual system design for a replacement system.
* Managed a 30-person team that designed an order fulfilment system for American Express.
* Supervised up to 25 people in the development of claims and premium processing systems for Guy Carpenter & Co., Inc. Developed business applications and programmer productivity tools.
EDUCATION AND TRAINING
GEORGIA INSTITUTE OF TECHNOLOGY (GEORGIA TECH), Atlanta, GA
Bachelor of Industrial Engineering, 1981
ANDERSEN CONSULTING, New York, NY
More than 500 hours of training in professional selling, project management, supervisory techniques, system design and installation, and interpersonal skills. |
