James L Mead

619-948-5515 * jm5c58ca@westpost.net
Software Product Management
SW Engineering Director * Product Manager * Process Efficiency
Dedicated and versatile Product Manager experienced with work-flow management in
a growing small company acquired by a 300,000 person company. Seasoned in crea
ting business justifications for product direction oriented to the needs of the
financial direction of the firm, the demands for functionality by Sales and Cust
omers and the ability of Software Engineering to produce produce changes. Solid
understanding of storage area networks (SAN) and technologies utilized in enter
prise corporate data centers. Unique ability to "bridge the gap" between indivi
duals making business decisions and those developing technology. Experienced wi
th streamlining work-flow in changing environments to optimize performance of a
Product Team and yield maximum results in product deliverables. Strategic-minde
d Manager with a solid well-rounded background in technology who can adapt to ne
w technical and social environments easily.
Core competencies include:
Agile Software Development Process
Strategic Planning - Direction Setting
Software Development / Testing Management
Software logic development / product integration
Partner / Vendor Contract Negotiations
Well Rounded Technical Background
Connecting Executive and Technical Teams
Work-flow / Process Efficiency
Technical / Managerial Proficiencies
Platforms:
Windows, Macintosh, Solaris, HP-UX, Ubuntu Linux
Tools:
Microsoft Office Suite (Power Point, Word, Excel), MS Visio, MS Project, Adobe P
hotoshop, OpenOffice Suite (open source Office), Atlassian JIRA (workflow manage
ment), Business Objects
Databases:
My SQL, Microsoft Access, Sybase, Oracle, Informix
Management:
Was identified as a "key contributor" and retained by IBM following acquisition
for two-year retention program to ensure thorough integration into IBM Global Se
rvices
Professional Experience
Product Manager / Director SW Engineering, IBM / NovusCG (acquisition) - San Di
ego, CA 2005 to 2010
Managed strategic product direction by working with Customers, Sales Professiona
ls and Executive Leadership to maximize product strength, functionality and prof
itability while maintaining the product road-map and directing releases. Grew t
he Software Engineering Team through the growth of NovusCG and integrated the Te
am with IBM Teams throughout the acquisition by IBM. Streamlined work-flow to o
ptimize the efficiency of the software development process.
Key Achievements:
Developed and implemented efficient work-flow using Agile Software Development f
or 25-person Engineering Team from prior to acquisition to a fully-integrated IB
M department.
Adapted small company process to meet the needs of IBM process while maintaining
an efficient product release schedule that met the needs of Customers, Sales an
d financial oversight.
Gave direction to the Marketing Manager and Project Managers who drove each soft
ware release within software development cycles.
Managed and negotiated Partner and Vendor contracts to maximize value for produc
t direction.
Provided Sales support and product demonstrations to potential customers and met
with customers to determine product needs and plan the software road-map to inc
lude the best customer value and most impactful revenue for the business.
Senior Project / Account Manager, NovusCG (prior to IBM acquisition) - San Dieg
o, Ca 2002 to 2005
Interfaced directly with clients to manage storage services provided by SAN Stor
age Engineers in the media and entertainment industry. Managed the EMC vendor r
elationship and worked with Warner Bros. to ensure that solutions were tailored
to their needs and service level expectations were met by directly managing the
Engineering Team.
Key Achievements:
Managed a team of Storage Engineers who provided storage solutions for media and
entertainment clients by assigning work and tracking success.
Created project plans, assigned work, tracked individual and overall project sta
tus and provided reports about the projects throughout the project life-cycles.
Provided sales leads by identifying potential for new projects based on the need
s of the customer.
Project Manager / Systems Engineer, Wink Communications - Alameda, Ca 1999 to 2
002
Managed relationships with broadcast television, cable and satellite companies a
nd implemented interactive television services on-site throughout the United Sta
tes. Staged servers and routers to prepare for delivery of each solution before
performing the installation on-site in broadcast television and cable providers
.
Key Achievements:
Responsible for delivering an organized technical customer service department, i
ncluding an executed training program for engineers.
Wrote and implemented automated UNIX shell scripts to manage over 70 active site
s more effectively.
Used knowledge of multiple cable TV converter platforms to plan and complete Bet
a Testing and final launch to test markets in Los Angeles.
Deployment Engineer, Cotelligent - Liberty Corner, NJ 1998 to 1999
Deployed solutions for Lucent Technologies' Clients who included large telephone
companies throughout the United States. Designed and staged optimized upgrades
to customer environments in a lab setting to ensure accurate changes to product
ion systems before implementation.
Key Achievements:
Deployed HP-UX 10.20 UNIX Operating System to clients of Lucent Technologies.
Designed LVM layout and backup procedures for operations and zero-failure disk m
irroring.
Installed Informix database engine on HP-UX 9000 platform and optimized tunable
parameters
Systems Engineer, UUNet Technologies - Fairfax, VA 1996 to 1998
Resolved technical issues for customers using personally written shell scripts a
nd Solaris tools to maintain corporate Internet customers. Supervised Junior En
gineers by handling escalations and giving technical direction for complicated i
ssues.
Key Achievements:
Wrote training and problem analysis documentation for network connection, DNS, S
MTP and NNTP issues for both Junior Engineers and Clients to better understand h
ardware and software.
Configured and administered customized INN newsfeeds and Sendmail for dedicated,
corporate clients.
Resolved complex issues escalated from Junior Engineers through a solid understa
nding of network protocols, software, hardware, DNS and routing.
Educational Background
BS in Chemistry, University of Maryland - College Park, MD