PROFESSIONAL SUMMARY:

• Results oriented Business and Technology leader with proven ability to drive success through effective relationship management, IT strategy and implementations, Global application delivery, business and digital transformations and process improvements.
• Skilled in communication and collaboration with internal and external stakeholders to identify organizational needs and deliver sustainable technology solutions, leading to increase profitability via revenue growth, cost savings, or increase in employee or customer engagement.
• Several Digital & Business transformation initiatives at multiple organizations leading to process improvements, revenue growth, cost savings (better inventory management, automation, labor savings) and increase in “speed - to-market”; all initiatives led to 8-figure profitability.
• Launch of new sales channels (International & wholesale expansions; new sales partnerships)
• Enhance Customer engagement - CRM, Loyalty, Personalization and instant gratification of customer
• Disciplined financial & IT procurement management leading to multiple 6-figure cost savings

TRANSFERABLE CORE COMPETENCIES:

• ERP and Enterprise Applications
• Business & Digital Transformation
• Business Relationship Management
• Executive-level Presentations/Stakeholder Management
• Talent Management and Development
• Business Capability Roadmap (IT Roadmaps)
• Portfolio and Project Management
• Change Management - Planning and Execution Strategies
• IT Governance, Compliance and PMO
• Business Continuity / Disaster Recovery
• Cyber Security Program Management
• Financial management - Opex and Capex budget

TECHNICAL SKILLS:

Development Tools: Java, SQL, PL/SQL, UNIX shell scripting, Windows Batch scripting, Oracle Developer 2000, AS/400 (RPG, RPG ILE, CLLE, CL), Visual Basic, Eclipse, C, C++, HTML

Business Applications: SAP ERP, CRM, Salesforce, Movex ERP, Mi9 ERP, Order Management (OMS), ADP E-HRMS, ADP Pay Force, ADP Connect, Lawson Financials & HR suite, EDI, Several POS systems, Workforce Management, Merchandising, Aptos Retail Application Suite, Several Oracle Applications, Several SAAS applications, E-commerce (SAP Hybris, ATG, Confidential WCS)

OS Platforms: UNIX, AS/400, Windows, Linux

D Confidential bases: Oracle, Microsoft SQL, As400

Reporting Tools: SAP Business Objects, Crystal Reports, Tableau, Microstrategy, others...

IT Management, Productivity & Misc.: MS Office, MS Project, Visio, SharePoint, JIRA, Servicenow, TrackIT, ChangeGear, Slack, Box, Dropbox, etc.

PROFESSIONAL EXPERIENCE:

Confidential, Lyndhurst, NJ & New York, NY

Vice President, IT

Responsibilities:

• Led IT service delivery (Applications, Infrastructure & Information Security functions)
• Launched Omni-Channel initiatives leading to significant increase in revenues
• Led implementation of Customer Loyalty Platform which will significantly improve customer engagement and customer retention, leading to increase in revenues
• Evaluated In-Store customer experience technologies (Mobile apps such as Clienteling)
• Led launch of new international payment options (WeChat, Alipay) to attract Chinese customers
• Led several Warehouse technology and process improvements (automation, consolidation, batch picking) which is expected to save ~$3+M annually
• Organization: Restructured IT department to meet current business needs. Managed team of ~35 IT resources and various consulting partners. Eliminated technology silos by transforming strained relationships within IT and with business partners
• Support and Operations: Implemented KPIs and metrics to measure IT support performance & fine-tune (streamline) support functions
• Contracts review & Cost reduction: Negotiated several contracts and eliminated non-essential IT services, leading to significant savings (consulting $, IT services/tools)
• Cybersecurity: Led cybersecurity team with direct reporting to executive committee; Oversaw PCI, PII, GDPR Audit and Compliance
• Championed and implemented PMO and IT Governance processes (ITIL)
• Established Executive Steering Committee and charter of all major technology investments

Confidential, Edison, NJ & New York, NY

IT Director

Responsibilities:

• Led and managed IT for all business areas (~180 stores; 3 corporate locations)
• Strengthened and streamlined IT service delivery after Acquisition by Samsonite
• Led Order Management (OMS) Omni-channel implementation which will lead to increase in revenues, enhance customer experience and better inventory management and save costs
• Led New sales channel initiatives leading to increase in revenues (e.g. United Airlines)
• Managed technology deliverables to support Personalization initiative
• Upgraded all retail applications (Merchandising, CRM, POS, Sales Audit, LP) for all retail locations
• Oversaw IT integration and support for Lipault Brand Acquisition
• Established Executive Steering Committee for all major technology investments/initiatives
• Championed and implemented various PMO and IT Governance processes (ITIL)
• Evaluated and implemented new Repairs and Returns Management (reverse logistics) solution
• Developed high-performing teams by motivating cross-functional and geographically dispersed staff with excellent communication and coaching
• Collaborated with CISO on Security strategy (PCI, PII, GDPR). Addressed immediate cyber security threats
• Organization: Restructured IT department to meet current business needs. Created new positions and hired new talent. Managed team of ~20 IT resources and various consulting partners
• Contracts review & Cost reduction: Negotiated several contracts & eliminated non-essential/un-used IT services and IT infrastructure, leading to significant savings (Telecom, Copiers, Retail Applications)

Confidential, Secaucus, NJ

IT Director - Corporate Systems & International & Wholesale Operations

Responsibilities:

• Led and managed IT for 1,100 Retail Stores and Corporate business functions
• Responsible for strategic project planning, IT roadmap and project management for Stores and Corporate
• Evaluated and implemented New technology to 1,100 stores: E-receipts, chip-and-pin, Credit Card Tokenization, Private Label Credit Card
• Led BRM and IT integration for International and Wholesale Business Expansion
• Implemented Workday HCM; Upgraded several enterprise applications including Hyperion (FP&A), Sales Audit and Loss Prevention Systems
• Led various RFPs and on premise vs. cloud/SAAS evaluations. Renegotiated vendor contracts leading to significant savings
• “Right-sourced” Store Helpdesk leading to cost savings and improved service delivery
• Demonstrated effective employee coaching, motivation and team building techniques

Confidential, New York, NY

IT Director, Corporate Systems & SAP ERP Center of Excellence (COE)

Responsibilities:

• Led and managed SAP ERP Center of Excellence - managed “Run SAP” organization
• Provided 24x7 technology support for SAP ERP and several other enterprise applications
• Led software development team (on-shore and off-shore) and consultants responsible for project delivery, application support and enterprise systems integration
• Managed IT strategy, business relationships and project portfolios. Involved with all aspects of project management and oversaw project execution and deliverables
• Launched International retail/store business operations in Canada and Mexico
• Launched new brand Lou & Grey
• Overhauled and Upgraded several legacy applications (including PII, PCI, SOX compliance projects)

Manager, Project Management Office

Confidential

Responsibilities:

• Managed multiple project teams, including offshore resources and consultants
• Worked closely with business leaders and senior executives on evolving business needs and priorities
• Oversaw project scheduling, budgets, costs, scope and overall monitoring
• Successfully planned and led several strategic projects which led to improved operational effectiveness in various business areas. Examples: SAP IS-Retail, Talent Management, Organization Management
• Experienced setting-up and maintaining successful long term outsourced IT partnership
• Utilized relationship and consensus building approach, and strategic thinking skills to Manage Business Relationships (BRM) and govern IT priorities across all business units

IT Manager

Confidential

Responsibilities:

• Participated in RFP processes for ERP and system integrator selection, project scoping and project planning
• Managed integration between SAP ERP and various external and internal applications
• Successfully completed SAP ERP rollout to various corporate business units and 1,100 locations
• Achieved major efficiency improvements and reduced costs by eliminating numerous manual processes through automation
• Resolved significant communication, organization, and support gaps between dispersed technology support organization and project delivery team

Applications Manager & Senior Programmer Analyst

Confidential

Responsibilities:

• Directed daily IT systems operations and managed business relationships. Supervised direct reports and managed project portfolio and IT roadmap
• Served as IT Service Owner, SLA and Problem Manager for business-critical enterprise application services
• Improved speed and quality of solutions delivery by implementing SDLC and PMO process
• Contributed to profitability growth by rolling out several new applications to 1,000+ locations.