Program Management Consultant: A retail, wholesale, multimedia Tea Company that develops and produces its own brand-name tea for international sales at premium restaurants and hotels. Involved in all aspects of this start up as an original co-founder including Operations (retail store design, construction & leasehold improvements, product sourcing / development, store management, and inventory management, financial, IT, and human resources). Marketing and Sales, Public Relations, Special Events and Promotions as well as media interviews. Most recent engagement included oversight of the Logistics and Production operations and teams. Advisory role managing and participating in information technology initiatives / projects across the business's scope of functions including integration and management of Apollo, QuickBooks, and Microsoft Dynamics ERP systems.

SharePoint Project: SharePoint Portal Server: Designed and developed document repository to archive, standardize, centralize, and secure corporate assets and artifacts (DNS, DHCP, Active Directory, web portal administration for the site).

Inventory Management System: Designed and developed 3-tier centralized application which tracks and maintains warehouse & third party pick and pack products and inventory levels.

[ LEGACY ]: One of the original founding members manifesting the business concept from idea to establishing 2 retail stores, subsequently transitioning to an internationally renowned brand and contributing thought leader regarding future sustainability for the global food and beverage industry.

[ LESSONS ]: How to work through differences. How to deal with the unexpected through creativity, perseverance, flexibility, and adaptability to environmental and market forces.

[ LEARNED ]: Customer service is preceded by customer understanding. Cleaning toilets, washing dishes, and other pedestrian tasks can be a source of pride in the context of driving towards a vision and accomplishing goals. Failure is an information rich data source and should be leveraged rather than lamented.

GRC Program Manager: Program Management of Governance, Risk Management, and Compliance (GRC) portfolio of 30+ IT applications: established departmental compliance program and management of control narratives, oversight, tracking, updating & delivery of and compliance to risk initiatives, audits (internal / external), policies, standards, business continuity testing, and remediation.

Senior Business Systems Analyst: Trouble Debt Restructuring / Net Credit Loss projects: business / functional requirements, analyzed business / systems processes, technical systems design and analytics documentation (BRD, HLD, LLD). Extensive working sessions with Line of Business (end-user) process SMEs for analysis of: business requirements; vetting out process, information, exception flows; and system / application functionality, including application wire frame diagraming for user interface prototyping. Partnered with developers and business process SMEs to conduct functional, data, and technical requirements analysis: systems profile and backend data mappings (including disparate system data flows and target state solutions); system interface diagrams and maps in a .NET / SQL Server environment. Management and tracking of project resources and timelines.

[ LEGACY ]: Delivered High and Low Level Design Documents (HLD / LLD) for implementing a high profile system that automated the processing of troubled debt regarding restructuring process flows. Established and managed a critical Governance Program for financial regulatory compliance pertaining to Mortgage Technology's suite of 30+ systems taking the department from 20% compliance to a consistent rating of over 95%+.

[ LESSONS ]: How to identify and manage stakeholders/process owners to find information and procure it in a large corporate organization; How to navigate and collaboratively work with various levels of internal/external audit teams to defend our executive and senior management domains and maintaining timely reporting back to them regarding compliancy status and remediation issues.

[ LEARNED ]: Accomplishing seemingly monumental objectives and goals can be achieved through persistent single steps in the context of projects with vast scopes.

@ IT Audits (Financial Systems Application Controls Audit: SAS-70s, IT General Controls, SOX): Client Audits included: Weyerhaeuser, EDS, First Financial Northwest Bank, Associated Feed & Supply, K2 Sports, Dyno Nobel. Conducted Information Risk Management / Audits: application control testing and documentation for SOX, ITGC, SAS 70s, and SAP financial system modules.

@ AT&T (Program Management of Information Technology Information Library; ITIL):
Implemented ITIL framework: managed client meetings / collaboration sessions; project tracking and reporting; gap analysis / remediation. Merged and documented policies and practices of disparate divisions between AT&T, Bell South, and Cingular towards target ITIL state.

@ Microsoft (Privacy Risk Assessment):
Assisted Microsoft's Corporate Privacy Group with implementation of Privacy Risk Assessment (PRA): vetted and managed risk categories, statistical analysis and reporting, created remediation surveys and delivered a PRA process toolkit facilitating client's ability to integrate various risk management programs.

@ Microsoft (Trust User eXperience; TUX):
Program management for Chief Privacy Architect's efforts in standardizing TUX across Microsoft's product line. Created, designed, and developed official TUX program artifacts and SharePoint resource / archive sites; facilitated establishment of TUX Advisory Board; Best Practices Guidelines / Principles; piloted TUX engagements with various Product Groups; conducted procurement campaign to obtain Microsoft Product Executive endorsements, sponsorships, and funding for establishing TUX Center of Excellence.

[ LEGACY ]: KPMG partnership with Microsoft piloting the security and privacy space with the Trust User eXperience initiative (TUX) across the company's line of products; A rich and diverse social and professional network.

[ LESSONS ]: How to adapt and integrate into a variety of distinct corporate cultures and teams to quickly develop effective and efficient working relationships between disparate KPMG and client teams & projects; How to work in any type of environment, time zone, airplane turbulence, while organizing concurrent tasks and objectives through time management and prioritization.

[ LEARNED ]: Appreciating diverse corporate cultures and members; The value of establishing good working relationships through collaborative teamwork and how they can echo beyond just the work environment.

SDLC processes across various projects which included: teaming with product development team in defining vision and scope for new product / service initiatives; planned, conducted, and documented requirements analysis; business process flow, data field definitions, validation rules, business rules, roles and authorization levels; data mapping and validation; functional / technical specifications, test plans and test cases; change management; quality assurance.

[ LEGACY ]: Delivered various High/Low Level (HLD / LLD) design documents creating or enhancing functionality across the firm's line of fraud guard suite of products for the financial sector.

[ LESSONS ]: How to navigate, negotiate, and deliver on target in dynamic environments across various projects and objectives.

[ LEARNED ]: The value of level setting project objectives and deliverables while mitigating scope creep in project management.

Sr. Systems Analyst: Conducted meetings with business units, developers, and senior management to determine project scope, business requirements, and risk assessments. Architected business-related workflow for technical specification, negotiated between development groups and user communities to resolve functional issues surrounding project. Analyzed and documented technical solutions and project artifacts using in house SDLC methodology requirements utilizing UML Use Cases. Systems mapping of development / production environments included client server VB6 & .NET / SQL Server, as well as AS400 and Lotus Notes. Collaboration with developers to ensure and test functional specifications operated as intended and required during UAT. Conducted analysis, documented functional & workflow requirements and technical solutions, server profile and data mapping for systems integration and data / database migrations.

Program Manager Risk Management Portfolio: Implemented and managed enterprise compliance for Corporate Treasury's systems portfolio, established and maintained control objectives (COBIT and ITIL), and testing of policy, processes, and systems controls affecting financial reporting. Client management of external and internal auditors for verification, validation, and remediation. Corporate Treasury's SDLC Gold Certification, Lead BSA: Corporate Treasury's initiative for compliance to company's SDLC methodology: Partnering subject matter experts, stakeholders, and process owners to benchmark certification criteria, GAP analysis, remediation, and best practices for certification.

Project Manager: Project planning to ensure timeliness of deliverables, project resource management, and project status reporting to senior management and business owners. Tracked project planning and scheduling to ensure timeliness of deliverables, project and resource status updates to senior management.

[ LEGACY ]: Established and managed Corporate Treasury IT's Governance, Risk Management, and Compliance program along with driving efforts to certify our department in the organization's Gold standard for SDLC methodology processes and documentation artifacts along with building a reference resource and template repository.

[ LESSONS ]: How to manage a diverse work portfolio with competing mandates and delivering high profile SDLC projects on time while maintaining compliance standards.

[ LEARNED ]: The importance of preparation, especially in the context of quickly learning the matrix of governance regulations for driving departmental systems to compliance and defending them with internal / external auditors.

Purchase Order Management and Tracking System:
Business / Systems process analysis, HLD & LLD documentation: UML, 3 tier architecture code; database design & development; Microsoft Access / SQL Server (ERD, logical, physical). Delivered functional system user interfaces for management of: Purchasers, Vendors, Projects, pre-authorized and authorized Purchase Orders (foreign currency exchange rates), Invoice Reconciliation, Financial Budget Integration (segregated by department), and Automated Budgetary Reporting of departmental balance sheets sorted by cost codes.

Help Desk: (General office and industrial plant) Responsible for maintaining functionality of networking, PC hardware, software, and operating system configurations as well as facilitating general help and troubleshooting for network and individual computers. Maintenance of Windows servers (proxy web, email, application servers).

[ LEGACY ]: Delivered a system to automate a manual and paper intensive process with an internal network cloud based application for processing and managing project budgets and purchase ordering.

[ LESSONS ]: How to extract pertinent information from end user process flow subject matter experts and how to interpret abstract business processes and functions into conceptual frameworks / designs to ultimately manifest a working system to replace the inefficiencies of manual processes.

[ LEARNED ]: How to appreciate end-user knowledge / insights and manage of how target systems will enhance their productivity concurrently level-setting their expectations and communicating systematic limitations.

The business scenario for the client as that a paper based system made of disparate volumes of vendor pricing binders faced inefficiencies in providing quotes to clients as well as difficulties in keeping updated with current vendor information. Implemented a proof of concept 3 tier class prototype application for updating and maintaining airline profiles, shipping criteria, and price points resulting in improved price quoting time for shipping inquires as well as for vendor service price updates.

[ LEGACY ]: Delivered a prototype application replacing a paper based system for updating and maintaining airline profiles, shipping criteria, along with price points in order to provide instant shipping quotes versus manually looking up and compiling quotes from multiple volumes of reference manuals.

[ LESSONS ]: Always establish a deliverables schedule in writing as scope creep and expectations can be clouded by the passage of time with verbal expectations.

[ LEARNED ]: The importance of empathy and understanding garnered through working at the functions of the end user as a method to gain insights to functional analysis and application development.

Internal Intranet website: Conducted requirements analysis with personnel across entire regional consulting practice and collaborated with our internal web developer to create our resource and repository website.

Warner Brothers Project: Conducted business process audit and technical analysis of Warner Home Video's (WHV) enterprise systems (solutions engagement for WHV's disparate departments and legacy systems). Delivered best practices report and recommendations.

VisiFLOW Software Project: Systems and business (workflow) process analysis; automation of Insurance and Health industry forms processing; systems / OCR configuration, and software customization development.

[ LEGACY ]: Delivered recommendation documents after conducting business process audit for Warner Brothers to facilitate strategy in mitigating data disparities due to disparate legacy systems between departments. Established internal California regional website for consulting practice.

[ LESSONS ]: How to diplomatically and effectively navigate through various corporate cultures during internal and client engagements.

[ LEARNED ]: Integrity yields longer term and more rewarding dividends than immediate compromising gains.

Business Scenario: Client desired enhanced quantitative understanding of its un-vetted sales data accumulated in SalesForce over years in order to establish a more targeted, efficient, and effective sales & marketing strategy, along with gathering industry segment data to identify and test other relevant yet unexplored and potential market segments for its products and services.

[ LEGACY ]: Established analysis and reporting of legacy data along with Excel templates interfacing SalesForce data to display sales stats along a variety of variable metrics as well as establishing a sales process methodology and sales personnel performance metrics tracker.

[ LESSONS ]: Make sure one is pointing to the correct source(s) of relevant data.

[ LEARNED ]: The inferential playground can be quite interesting from a given set of data.