VISIONARY TECHNOLOGY EXECUTIVE
Versatile technology executive; 13 years' P&L responsibility in startup to $10B companies. Demonstrated ability to innovate, build competitive advantage, maintain IT alignment with business, rationalize existing operations, manage change, reduce steady state operating costs, and increase payback for IT investments.
Producer of 28 commercial software products, recognized by multiple software industry awards for technology innovation and usability, besting entries from heavyweights such as Microsoft.
Business builder (4 practices and 3 startups) driving top line and bottom line growth in challenging, competitive, and volatile markets.
Visionary, inspiring leader and team builder who seizes opportunities, manages complex issues, and earns respect through persuasive, participatory leadership.
IT Management & Operations • Strategic Planning • SDLC Application Development • Outsourcing
E-commerce • Budgeting & Financial Controls • Enterprise Architecture • Vendor Management
Business/IT Alignment & Governance • Program Management • Team Building & Development
PROFESSIONAL EXPERIENCE
STEALTH MODE STARTUP; Chicago, Illinois 2006-Current
Web 2.0 e-commerce venture providing packaged professional services to consumers via business process automation
COO / CTO
Providing vision and strategy to take business from concept to market through an aggressive ramp-up. Designed business processes and technology to scale easily, facilitating expansion to new markets and addition of new products, while supporting increasing transaction volume.
• Created bottom up 5-yr IT budget model from startup through growth to mid-size company scale, aligning IT investment strategy to business strategies and projected growth.
• Designed business processes, system requirements, and system information architecture.
• Directing outsourced development of sophisticated, custom ASP.Net/AJAX/SQL Server scalable n-tier system, e-commerce website, SaaS applications to service consumers and their selected professional service providers, and all associated back end systems.
AON CORPORATION; Chicago, Illinois 2000-2005
World leader ($10B) in risk management, insurance brokerage, reinsurance, and benefits administration services
Vice President, Technology Strategy
Peer of 8 $1+B business unit CIOs. Created & orchestrated enterprise strategies to rationalize & manage technology portfolio and reduce costs, collaborating with and influencing 8 IT organizations worldwide. Co-managed Aon/Computer Sciences Corporation (CSC) Joint Architecture and Standards organization.
Application Development
• Established the first successful enterprise-level architecture policies and standards at Aon.
• Conceived federated identity management and provisioning strategy to achieve enterprise benefits within constraints of widely varying business unit requirements, saving >$200k/yr in help desk cost.
• Led the evaluation, consensus building, procurement, design, & deployment of a fully integrated standards-based global application platform (J2EE, Struts, IBM WebSphere, Oracle, Interwoven, Sun ONE, Entrust, Verity, Rational), hosted in 3 countries, delivered on-time and on-budget ($3M/month burn rate) despite an aggressive schedule. Established support organization of centralized experts to supplement regional staff at hosting sites. Negotiated & monitored collocation & managed services.
• Directed application assessments for two $1B business units, establishing ongoing processes and modified Zachman frameworks to establish the current state, map integration points, identify single points of failure, and initiate portfolio management, future state strategic planning, & EAI initiatives.
• Championed & drove implementation of centrally managed, software shared services, including Citrix, Oracle, SQL Server, IIS, Sun Web & Identity Management Servers, LDAP, AD, TeamSite, & Rational.
Infrastructure
• Co-managed and collaborated on the design and implementation of a new, outsourced infrastructure and hosting solution (a $600M deal) for B2C, B2B, and internal applications. Solution included a utility-based shared service model, 3 classes of application SLAs, and 5 levels of disaster recovery, normalizing and rationalizing servers, data centers, network, and service management. Solution leveraged tiered storage, blade server, virtualization (VMware), grid computing, & other state-of-the-art technologies to save 25%/yr covering .Net, legacy MS, Solaris/J2EE, & AS400 platforms.
• Validated business case, gained cross-business unit support, & selected IronPort enterprise secure e-mail solution enabling HIPAA compliance & protecting confidential external business communications.
General Management and Operations
• Discovered $20M/yr potential erosion of outsourcing savings and initiated mitigating actions.
• Drove program to remediate ~500 U.S. Microsoft, J2EE, LAMP, & AS/400 applications to architecture standards required for normalized infrastructure and to migrate these applications from 30 to 3 data centers, creating application portfolio management program to prioritize & stage application efforts.
• Designed and implemented an integrated set of Aon/CSC processes to improve efficiency and reduce errors in the migration of applications to the new infrastructure, and metrics to monitor and stimulate progress. Initiated post mortems to identify and correct root causes for process breakdowns.
• Created and mentored self-directed team of business unit leaders to drive migration to the outsourced infrastructure and provide governance for establishment of enterprise processes, policies, and standards. Achieved an unprecedented level of collaboration across business units.
• Established centralized shared service organization with CTO, including shared content management, web services hub, shared data objects, HIPAA-compliant data security standards, enterprise architecture, and testing services. Also established a technology standards function, including an enterprise technology calendar and governance. Executed internal marketing strategy to transition culture to billable shared services with full cost transparency, including ITIL service catalog.
• Conducted due diligence on several companies, leading to a successful acquisition.
SEPRIL SERVICES, LLC; Chicago, Illinois 1996-1999
Independent joint venture of Sargent & Lundy and the non-profit Electric Power Research Institute
Creator of sophisticated, packaged software products & provider of consulting services for power project development
CEO / CIO / CTO / Principal
Co-founded company and directed all operations. Built a highly scalable, multi-site business infrastructure. Directed product and technology vision and strategies and managed all IT systems and operations. Built & supported a roster of 100+ active clients, including 28 Fortune/Global 500 companies. Directed a staff of 40 in 3 offices across the U.S. with outsourced staff and 7 distributors/resellers abroad. Set strategic direction. Reported directly to Board of Directors.
Application Development
• Launched 2 new software products, increasing revenues by 15%, and major upgrades to 3 others.
• Directed contract development of 5 new software products for industry R&D organizations (EPRI and GRI) and negotiated commercialization rights.
• Directed product management and SDLC of all software products, recalibrating packaged products to the needs of existing and potential customers, while counteracting emerging competitive threats.
• Designed and managed SDLC of a comprehensive (300+ page) website. Achieved steady growth in site visitors, 60% return traffic, and an average stay of 61/2 minutes, using sophisticated usability techniques, targeted direct marketing, and advanced SEO and web analytics. Increased site traffic by 200% and generation of qualified leads by 600% in one year.
• Published and presented numerous articles and papers. Invited speaker at PC Expo and others.
Infrastructure
• Directed implementation and operation of robust communications network, including VOIP system and customer support & sales call centers, network services (LAN, VPN WAN), sales force automation & accounting systems, MS Exchange-based email and collaboration, file servers, web hosting, & DR.
General Management and Operations
• Generated over $2.5M in internal capital from operations, funding development of 3 major 'point' releases and 8 significant service releases of core products.
• Developed and implemented Internet marketing strategy that drove product sales to a CAGR of over 50% with no price increases, while under heavy competitive pressure.
• Created innovative, modified subscription licensing/pricing model for key software products; built annual license renewal rate to 90%.
Team Building and Development
• Built a strong, empowered staff and established a supportive, team-based, market-driven culture.
• Maintained a staff turnover rate of less than 7%.
SARGENT & LUNDY, LLC; Chicago, IL
The leading provider ($280M) of architecture/engineering/construction services for the power industry
Associate Partner / Senior Manager 1989-1996
Led strategic client relationship management and directed bidding, negotiating, and management of individual consulting services, contract R&D, and IT solution projects. Managed development teams of >100 specialists. Assisted SVP in performance analysis & biannual owners' financial reviews for $13M business unit.
Technology
• Led development of ASP platform and multiple interactive applications for award-winning e-commerce network well before commercial acceptance of the Internet.
• Managed complex development (>150,000 mh) of 2 seminal Microsoft-certified software products automating A/E/C conceptual designs to enable deal makers to optimize project financial risk/return while reducing design costs. Products automate creation of detailed conceptual designs, including process design, equipment sizing, performance analysis, cost estimates, and pro forma, plus 2D and 3D CAD drawings documenting the design and lending visual credibility to the results.
• Produced 20 award-winning multimedia encyclopedia products featuring interactive analysis of power plant technology options. Obtained contributions and copyright releases from 60+ manufacturers.
• Led development of industry R&D plan for advanced expert system, control, & network technologies.
• Collaborated on development of first company IT strategic plan.
General Management and Operations
• Initiated, evaluated, recommended, and negotiated the acquisition of a 40% equity stake in a successful software development startup that generated a 20% per year ROI.
• Built new practices, Contract R&D & Outsourced Software Development, winning >$20M in contracts.
Sales and Marketing
• Achieved a cumulative winning percentage of 70% on competitively bid projects.
- ADDITIONAL EXPERIENCE -
Project Manager / Supervisor, SARGENT & LUNDY
• Led development of 2 commercial software products and an expert system.
• Introduced use of PCs and established company's first video conferencing system.
• Received six promotions during tenure.
Co-Founder / Producer, ACCENT ON MUSIC
• Developed a PC-based booking system and produced and engineered music video demos.
- EDUCATION -
MS in Chemical Engineering; BS in Chemical Engineering
NORTHWESTERN UNIVERSITY, Evanston, IL
- HONORS AND AWARDS -
Tower Award; BUSINESS MARKETING ASSOCIATION OF CHICAGO; 1998
Achievement Award; CONSULTING ENGINEERS COUNCIL; 1996
3 Awards of Merit; NEWMEDIA INVISION MULTIMEDIA AWARDS; 1994
Award of Excellence; Gold Medal Award; NEWMEDIA INVISION MULTIMEDIA AWARDS; 1993
- PUBLICATIONS -
More than 50 papers, articles, and editorials, plus 6 book-length publications
28 commercial (shrink-wrapped) software products
Scores of formal presentations on 4 continents, including road shows and as invited speaker
- PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT -
Six Sigma DMAIC; AON CORPORATE EDUCATION SYSTEM; 2005
Strategic Marketing of Technology Products; CALIFORNIA INSTITUTE OF TECHNOLOGY; 1995
Technology-Based Innovation; NORTHWESTERN UNIVERSITY; 1993
- MEMBERSHIP -
Mensa |
