Summary

Senior Management Level Executive with IT infrastructure focus. Experienced in leading Regional IT Teams in Asia Pacific and North America for a US based multinational corporation. Results driven, and yet people focused. Recognized innovator and leader, engaged in all areas of IT and all phases of IT management. Deeply committed and principled associate able to bring alignment between IT and business interests, while providing inspirational leadership within the IT division.

• IT Management: Executive level team member with budgetary and financial management. Leadership over multi-cultural, distributed global teams. Recruiter, coach and mentor. Organizational change project management. Consultation with leadership on business and IT direction and operations. Commercial negotiation and vendor relationship management. IT integration within acquired business units. Facilitation of senior level planning and operational forums.
• IT Strategy and Planning: Definition of IT support and operating models. Prepared and analyzed insourcing/outsourcing scenarios. Developed business-based IT strategies, proposals and cost benefit analyses. Designed IT architectures and delivered infrastructure transformation. Certified Enterprise Architect .
• Management of IT Operations and Support: Managed all areas of IT infrastructure and support. Defined SLA and contract based services. IT Service Catalog design and definition. IT Disaster Recovery and business continuity planning. Capacity Management and remediation. Policy and standards development. Security management and investigation. ITIL Certification.
• Application Development: Analysis, development and deployment of business solutions for general merchandise, banking, EFT, manufacturing and logistics. Development of application design and business case. Management of CIP and applications support areas.
• Program and Project Management: Global Program Management definition and establishment. Hands-on program and project administration and delivery. Methodology and life-cycle management. Detailed project design, program initiation, work breakdown structure definition, and tools selection and development.

Experience

Selected to assume responsibility for all regionally-based resources and infrastructure (end-user support and site based services) for Mars Inc. North American operations. Direct accountability for 80-100 associates and $15-$20 million budget. Member of the North American IT Management Team and NA representative to the Global Infrastructure Strategy Team. Operational manager of Mars IS Global Headquarters in NJ, and provide visible leadership to 450 associates on site, contributing positively to associate engagement through associate communications and events. Reported to North American IT VP.

• Supported business growth by positively contributing to the cultural and system integration of newly acquired business units. Provided positive and consistent representation between Mars IS and acquired businesses, while managing the integration into Mars systems and processes. Contributed input and feedback to business and IT resulting in the development of a documented and agreed framework for the integration of acquisitions.
• Managed the regional organization transformation supporting business and IT strategic direction. Delivered a 30% reduction in regional IT costs and ‘right-sized’ the organization through system rationalization and flexible resourcing solutions.
• Directly contributed to associate engagement and well-being through the ownership of site activities in the NJ IT headquarters, including a full renovation of the office environment. Defined a role within the IT organization of Hub Site Leader which improved support for associates located on the nine main IT hubs by providing visible local leadership in a heavily matrixed organization.
• Improved service to business units by re-organizing and re-motivating the network of remote IT associates.
• Delivered efficiency and service improvements by redesigning site-based infrastructure standards and incorporating current virtualization and storage technologies.

Global Program Manager, Mount Olive, NJ (2001-2005)

Relocated to the US from Australia to establish process and organization for the management of global systems transformation. Managed and coordinated 7 separate system deployment activities across 4 regions to achieve standardization of systems and process within 150+ individual business units. Defined innovative Program and Project Management approach and provided internal consulting for start-up within other areas.

• Proposed, defined and established Global Program Management Office (PMO) to provide oversight of 4-year strategic system transformation activities.
• Protected Mars Chocolate interests by facilitating a global group of senior managers from Mars, competitor companies (Hershey, Cadbury, Nestle), West African cocoa distributors, and West African government representatives. Asked by Mars to intervene to ‘un-stall’ the activity that ultimately resulted in the implementation of certification programs for cocoa farms in West Africa.
• Managed the delivery of key internal associate communications events, including concept and content development, conference planning and logistics, event delivery and follow-up.

Regional Infrastructure Manager, Albury, New South Wales (1996-2001)

Selected to relocate and manage all centralized technical resources and infrastructure supporting Mars Inc. within the Asia-Pacific Region. Reported to Asia-Pacific VP and member of IT executive leadership team as one of the two IT based Regional Senior Managers. Provided line management for support functions including Service & Finance and Commercial. Defined and deployed standard infrastructure for start-up offices in Singapore, Manila, Seoul, Bangkok, Beijing, Shanghai, Taipei and Djakarta, and manufacturing plants in Thailand, Japan, China and New Zealand.

• Protected the operation of Mars interests in Asia Pacific by managing all business and IT preparations for Y2K.
• Delivered IT and business efficiencies through the design and deployment of innovative PC management environment that allowed travelling associates a seamless PC working experience.
• Supported business development activities by delivering IT components to ‘green-field’ office and manufacturing sites.
• Ensured stable and consistent provision of IT hardware, software and services by establishing relationships with major vendors in expansion countries throughout Asia.
• Member of IT executive leadership team that provided regular updates of Mars IS strategy and direction to business units, senior regional management, and Mars family (business owners).

IT Manager – Confidential, (1992-1996)

Initially hired as acting CIO for Confidential located near Sydney. Responsible for all IT service delivery to the business unit and managed a local team of 6-8 associates. Member of Australian IT Operations Group that coordinated with regional service groups and vendors.

• Supported business development through the delivery of systems for two new integrated warehouses. Designed, developed and implemented interfaces for warehouse, local business logistics and finance systems with improved accuracy and control of inventory, higher shipping throughput and capacity, and enhanced efficiency through automation.
• Defined business systems strategy and secured business alignment, agreement and funding. Executed first phases of strategic IT plan by managing technical migration of custom business logistics system from IBM System/38 to AS/400, implementation of Lotus Notes and Netware for email, collaboration and office LAN connectivity. Expanded the capacity and functionality of VAX-based manufacturing systems, and integrated line-control systems and MRP processes.

Confidential 1987-1992 Executive Assistant to the Head of IT Services (1991-1992)

Non-executive position providing support for the Head of IT Services (Member of Bank Executive Committee). Challenged to provide newly appointed/hired IT head with insights in Bank IT operations and processes, and to provide a bridge for communications to State Bank IT staff.

• Authored high-level Royal Commission and Government level reports following Bank’s significant losses in 1988 Stock Market crash.
• Facilitated Banks IT Executive through the strategic planning process to revise the Banks IT strategy and prioritize activities in the new business environment.
• Provided personal guidance and insights to IT Head about Bank IT staff engagement, process issues, opportunities to improve morale and efficiency, during planning and execution of organizational changes and eventual merger.

Senior IT Manager – Subsidiary Companies (1990-1991)

Acknowledged as an extremely capable and enthusiastic IT professional, placed into internal consulting role to support a growing number of subsidiary companies. Working directly for the Head of IT, selected for 2 separate businesses in an IT Management role that each required good general IT skills, the ability to learn and adapt, and to quickly gain the respect and trust of business management. Directly contributed to the Banks business priorities by assisting each business through due-diligence and eventual sale.

• IT Manager – Executor Trustee
• Placed into Bank-owned Trust and Funds Management Company with remit to modernize IT capabilities and systems in preparation for audit, due-diligence and potential sale of the business.
• IT Manager – Myles Pierce
• Asked to salvage general accounting and trust-accounting system after the failure of the software vendor. Supported necessary business operations while gaining necessary skills in system environment to complete development of the new system.

Senior Analyst – Confidential (1987-1990)

Lead technical resource providing systems analysis and design for ATM and Electronic Funds Transfer Point of Sale (EFTPOS) systems. Managed team of 10 Programmers to deliver all Bank required enhancements for $10 million ATM package. Specified and reviewed all modifications and provided low-level technical expertise on tuning of OLTP (online transaction processing) code and OS (Operating System).

• Devised, defined and implemented all cryptography and key management components for the Bank’s electronic systems.
• Managed 2 separate successful system testing phases and pilot deployments (6 months duration).
• Collaborated with IBM technical resources on installation, operation and tuning of IBM System/88 fully fault tolerant computer.
• Designed and implemented an ATM transaction simulator which resulted in vendor (IBM) funded capacity upgrades.

Training

Employer internal and/or external courses …
Certified Enterprise Architect (Zachman)
Master of Project Management Certification (AAPM)
Mars Leadership and Management Training
Essence of Mars and Mars Culture
Finance for Mars Managers
Managing Projects at Mars (Instructor)
Coaching and Mentoring
Facilitation
ITIL Certification

Surveying (Non Degree)

Matriculation Certificate