SUMMARY:

• Recognized throughout career as a visionary and dynamic leader with in - depth knowledge of the IT and Telecommunications industry.
• Outstanding performance and expert qualifications in supply management, client relationships, deal making and structuring.
• Astute and persuasive negotiator.
• Solid experience across all core business functions including Finance, Operations, Sales, Network Telephony, Management and Team Building with core competencies in Sourcing, Operations, Project Management and Business Development.
• Sharp problem solver with keen decision making and crisis management skills.
• Highly motivated and able to thrive in uncertain and unstructured environments.
• Decisive, results driven orientation with consistent success in completing business directives, developing process improvement initiatives, streamlining operations, reducing costs, expanding market penetration and improving bottom-line profitability.
• Adept at bridging communication and performance gaps across departments and business units.
• Proficient at conveying complex contractual and technological concepts in a simple and compelling manner to non-subject matter experts.
• Proven ability to build consensus and nurture working relationships with stakeholders, senior executives, management and support teams, customers, suppliers, bankers, auditors, investors and regulators.

PROFESSIONAL EXPERIENCE:

Independent IT and Telecom Consultant

Confidential

Responsibilities:

• Guided senior management teams in network planning, technology and software selection, construction, implementation, sales and marketing strategies, staffing/training, interconnection agreements and regulatory affairs.
• Managed and coordinated installation of multi-site switch and fiber facilities, data centers, call centers and helpdesks.
• Identified business opportunities for cost reduction and containment. Enforced and achieved cost management objectives and reductions.
• Validated that suppliers maintained high quality service while providing value, competitive pricing and best in class performance.
• Defined, developed and owned negotiation and supplier strategies, activities, issues and associated action/improvement plans to achieve mandated deliverables.
• Directed the supplier selection process and managed ongoing relationships to launch and implement new services.
• Ensured that business requirements were translated into contractual deliverables in order to make measured improvements to business performance, service performance, customer satisfaction and cost base.
• Conducted regular, ongoing supplier reviews and competitive benchmarking analysis.
• Supported major bids and sales activities for multinational clients.

Confidential, Basking Ridge, NJ

Senior Operations Manager/Senior Sourcing and Contract Manager

Responsibilities:

• Created carrier management tower and directed engagement with Verizon to develop savings strategies for ~20% cost reduction on $500M+ annual spend.
• Client facing, responsible for identifying opportunities, developing proposals, project scopes, Statements of Work (SOWs), RFxs, Operations Manuals and Playbooks.
• Created and shaped project frameworks and deliverables.
• Selected, trained and supervised on-shore and off-shore staff.
• Mentored direct reports and provided ongoing training to maximize performance while keeping in step with industry demands and trends.
• Simultaneously managed multiple, complex, high risk projects to completion, acceptance and sign-off.
• Negotiated, renegotiated and closed complex, long-term and large volume supplier agreements (MSAs, GSAs, SLAs and NDAs, etc.) for bandwidth (Ethernet and TDM), mobile, voice, data, interconnections, collocation/node accommodations, hardware, software, managed services, support and tail spend categories to meet business requirements and cost management targets.
• Identified, analyzed, articulated and communicated necessary contractual positions to appropriate executives, departments and teams.

Independent IT and Telecom Consultant

Confidential

Responsibilities:

• Developed and reengineered business processes to reduce manual tasks and increase automation.
• Improved efficiencies, cost and quality controls.
• Reduced lead time for service turn-ups.
• Created and monitored reports to collect and analyze supplier performance data, pricing topics and trends, costing, exposure and spend analysis.
• Pricing specialist, comfortable in fast-moving environments and knowledgeable in a wide range of IT and Telecom services.
• Interacted with stakeholders and management teams to support and provide competitive pricing for marketing objectives.
• Advised and supported departments regarding regulatory affairs, commercial developments and business impacts in the regulatory regime.
• Reviewed current regulatory issues and orders to determine impact and minimize liabilities.
• Directed preparation of regulatory filings, payments and back up data (USF, DAC, etc.).

Confidential, New York, NY

Global Supply Manager

Responsibilities:

• Managed cost reduction initiatives for 3rd party spend on $850M contract with Procter and Gamble to deliver 15%-25% savings target.
• Managed lifecycle of client and supplier relationships and contracts across all business lines with emphasis on IT and Telecom.
• Led individuals from cross departmental teams to streamline process.
• Initiated, developed, authored and issued RFxs by managing, collaborating and partnering with subject matter experts from high performance business and operational teams.
• Created RFx assessment criteria, methodologies and cost analysis for response evaluation and deliberation, leading to the award of business.
• Pinpointed the most effective application, marketing strategy, sales plan, products and services to pursue new profitable business opportunities, increase market share and efficiently manage resources.
• Produced operation manuals and managed process and system implementation.
• Solicited feedback from stakeholders.

Confidential, S.A., Road Town, Tortola

Vice President - Supplier Relations

Responsibilities:

• Identified and generated opportunities to build unilateral and bilateral business relationships with IXC, RBOC, ILEC, CLEC and IP carriers and IT suppliers.
• Established and maintained channels of communications with business and operational teams to ensure proper alignment across departments and disseminate all supplier data pertinent to strategy, commercial, financial, technical, service, escalation and contractual matters.
• Identified, analyzed, assessed and managed business and contractual risks, costs and issues associated with supplier relationships and formulated solutions to successfully mitigate with a practical and pragmatic approach. Provided risk assessments and contractual interpretations to stakeholders for deliberation of benefits and risks concerning business decisions.
• Negotiated financially favorable, “toothless” contracts for organization.
• Drafted SLAs to deliver strong service to enterprise, government and service provider customers. Demanded high quality SLAs and ensured that suppliers delivered products and services in accordance with their contractual obligations and expected SLAs against defined KPIs.
• Drove product and service implementation and escalation process to completion.
• Directed issue resolution. Maintained ongoing dialog with suppliers to minimize negative impact of pricing, service and technology MAC.
• Managed the development, implementation and execution of supplier performance improvement programs. Audited and established operational service levels and response resolution guidelines.
• Analyzed suppliers’ performance metrics to publish information dashboards and scorecards.
• Promoted and positioned company as strategic provider and consumer of global wholesale IT and Telecom services.
• Acted as the single point of contact for escalations on business issues related to support, operations and billing when engaged by those departments.

Confidential, Great Neck/Bayside, NY

Vice President - Supplier Services

Responsibilities:

• Supervised technology migration from TDM to VOIP to achieve 40% cost reduction.
• Migrated from TDM technology to 100% VOIP/SIP network to eliminate entire long haul and local loop costs, while maintaining high level QOS.
• Accepted ownership of supplier performance 24/7/365, monitoring KPIs including call completion ratios, ASR, ALOC and PDD.
• Managed NOC team and monitored network and service faults from discovery to resolution.
• Validated cause, temporary/permanent solutions and preventative measures with network engineers, sales and QOS teams. Required detailed supplier RFOs.
• Continuously monitored and groomed network to achieve 99.999% availability and optimum utilization at maximum capacity.
• Supervised, managed and developed teams of buyers, analysts, support personnel and contractors.
• Trained and managed team of SMS techs to develop, maintain and update complex SMS routing plans for cost and route quality optimization of toll free number database within the NANPA.
• Created and maintained DID number inventory and database to insure immediate availability from quality suppliers.
• Directed technology and business process upgrades.
• Initiated and completed Forensic Accounting projects to uncover billing errors and recover payment overages. Directed invoice/CDR reconciliations for accuracy and mediated dispute negotiations to amicable settlements.

Confidential, Springfield, NJ/New York, NY

Vice President - Telecom Procurement/Finance Manager/National Sales Director

Responsibilities:

• Vigorously engaged in route and rate negotiations to champion ongoing cost reductions while surpassing acceptable call completion ratios.
• Conceived, developed and maintained integral and highly effective domestic and international Least Cost Routing databases for real time routing and purchasing tool.
• Conducted competitive market analysis to identify opportunities and define short and long term marketing initiatives.
• Provided decisive marketing programs and designed POP campaigns targeted at key consumer segments which accelerated revenue growth and market penetration while maintaining P/L responsibility through the creation and maintenance of linked Margin Guard and end user rate databases.
• Given full leadership and decision-making responsibility to build and automate corporate finance and accounting functions.
• Responsible for producing financial reports and all aspects of budgeting, including multi-warehouse inventories, A/R, A/P, payroll, petty cash, expense reports, revenue collection and monthly closing.
• Pioneered, designed, developed and field-tested on-site presentation for revolutionary Telecom product. Created employee training program and manual.
• Hired, trained and nurtured sales force.
• Increased customer base from 1 to 500.
• Negotiated and structured strategic alliance with NYNEX.
• Responsibilities also included recommendation of new products/applications, marketing and sales ads, competitive pricing, detailed sales forecasts, attendance at trade shows, staffing, strategic customer relations and associated troubleshooting/problem solving.