Objective

---------
Position allowing for parlay of business development, analytical and project man
agement sills, demonstrated organization, customer service, and communication sk
ills derived from 17 years of dedication to personal and career development.
Profile
-------
Motivated, personable business professional with substantial hands-on experience
with start-up, middle sized, and global sized busineses. Analytical and mathema
tically-oriented with talent for quickly mastering technology. Diplomatic and ta
ctful with professionals and non-professionals at all levels. Accustomed to hand
ling sensitive, confidential records. Flexible and versatile, able to maintain a
sense of humor under pressure. Poised and competent with demonstrated ability t
o easily transcend into business and system processes. Excellent team-building s
kills.
Skills Summary
--------------
- Certified Lean Agile Project Manager
- Certified Scrum Master
- Traditional Program/Project Management
- Vendor Management
- Product Development
- Process, Program, and System Implementations
- Payment Card Industry
- Security Payment Products
- SharePoint
- Sales & Customer Service
- Business Intelligence (SQL Management Studio)
- PCI-DSS & PA-DSS Knowledge
- Computer & Electronics Savvy
- Management Consulting
Professional History & Experience
---------------------------------
Provided management consulting services from 1993 to 2001 in the telecommunicati
ons industry with a focus on the cellular technologies line of business and a co
ncentration on process excellence at Accenture (formerly Andersen Consulting). C
lients included American Mobile Satellite Corporation (AMSC), MCI WorldCom, Next
el, Sprint Spectrum, and Comcast. Moved to financial services industry in 2001,
with a product development focus at TSYS iSolutions (formerly ProCard,Inc.) unti
l 2003. After a small sabbatical in retail services, stepped back into the finan
cial services industry in 2005, starting in the Sales arena of a small rapidly g
rowing merchant payments processing company; as business demands grew, transitio
ned into a Project Management position in 2006, breaking into new ground as the
entrepreneurial culture evolved into a more structured environment. Transcended
paradigm shift from traditional project management into agile project management
and implemented scrum framework for software, program, and business process rel
ated projects, while also managing several 3rd party relationships, including ex
isting service and partner vendors and potential new vendor partners, and suppor
ting ongoing business development endeavors.
PROGRAM / PROJECT MANAGEMENT:
April 2010 aa September 2010: Led Canada EMV (Euro MasterCard Visa) Chip card in
tegration and certification project, which entailed coordination with Global Pay
ment Systems Canada, Verifone, Mercuryaa*s developer channels, and Mercuryaa*s i
nternal customers. Communicated bi-weekly status reports to stakeholders and dev
eloped internal scripts for Relationship Managers to effectively communicate the
 status of the effort. Also developed program to swap Canadian merchantsaa* exis
ting pin pads with EMV compatible pin pads with minimal upfront costs to maximiz
e adoption rates.
August 2008 aa September 2010: Collaborated with a new team, after reorganizatio
n in 2009, to help develop a PMO, requiring a shift in focus on agile methodolog
ies. Performed Product Manager/Owner, Business Analyst, and Subject Matter Exper
t roles in addition to the Scrum Master role, until the organization could fulfi
ll the roles with the appropriate resources. Prepared for and conducted Release
Pre-Planning & Planning, Sprint Pre-Planning & Planning, Daily Stand-Up Scrum me
etings, Sprint Demonstration, and Sprint Reviews, in alignment with the agile pr
ocess framework. Removed both daily and program level road blocks. Also coordina
ted roadmap presentations and release reviews in collaboration with the sprint t
eam and Product Owner. Products supported included Mercuryaa*s online portal sol
ution and PCI-related software solutions.
August 2006 aa July 2008: Supported up to 7 software projects after Mercuryaa*s
Project Management department was officially established in early 2007. Promoted
to Senior Project Manager at this time and led department of 4 Project Managers
. Trained 2 inexperienced Project Managers in the basics of Project Management,
relying on the other 2 resources for supplemental training. Collaborated with te
am on defining project standards, such as meetings and frequency, tracking and c
ommunication tools, and status reporting to the organization. Also reported to t
he VP of Technical Services. In addition to other projects and leading the depar
tment, served as the Project Manager responsible for facilitating Mercuryaa*s mo
vement into Canada during 2007-2008. Identified and worked through the process a
nd system gaps and developed alternative process model while managing issues and
risks.
June 2006 aa July 2006: Developed business requirements for vendor evaluation of
a customized CRM solution while working as a Sales Associate at Mercury in 2006
and was shortly after promoted to Project Manager. Started with the implementat
ion of an advance funding referral program, a partnership with a 3rd party, offe
ring incentives to Resellers and a kickback to Mercury. Also led the software de
velopment efforts to enhance the internal CRM application.
November 2000 aa December 2000: Served as Program Manager for Comcast Cableaa*s
High Speed Data Network Engineering organization. Assigned to implement a proven
program management framework piloted on a parallel project. Provided program pl
anning, resourcing, and scheduling baselines and monitored status of the associa
ted deliverables. Facilitated senior level executive meetings to capture program
schedule and issues status. Also facilitated resolution of the identified progr
am issues and risks, including escalation, and collaborated on mitigation approa
ches.
June 2000 aa October 2000: Served as the PMO Manager at Nextel for the Marketing
Subscriber Equipment project. Responsible for developing, managing, and evolvin
g program management processes and procedures to track and report on program pro
gress utilizing easy to use tools and scorecards. Program scope included 7 plann
ed releases with 3 major interdependent projects supported by 40+ resources. Man
agement processes implemented included: issue and risk management, release manag
ement, change management, resource and budget tracking, resource orientation, pr
ogram performance tracking, and program level communications. Managed team of 4
analysts supporting ongoing updates to program materials and customization of co
llaboration tool/virtual project room to support efficiencies in the program man
agement structure.
February 2000 aa April 2000: Served as Project Lead to assist the MCI Network Sy
stems organization in finalizing the business requirements for globally integrat
ing the MCI and WorldCom provisioning systems and processes. Led team of 7 consu
ltants in managing multiple requirements gathering efforts and provided directio
n in requirements management and client relations. Developed a plan and recommen
dation for managing the requirements efforts for subsequent phases of the projec
t. Also responsible for project financial tracking to ensure project met budget
guidelines.
June 1999 aa October 1999: Consulted Business Markets Network Financial Systems
Management (NFSM) organization post MCI WorldCom merger to define the best appro
ach to integrate and/or enhance the systems, with an aim to reduce costs and ach
ieve improved dispute efficiency and additional network access cost savings. Ide
ntified risks and planned for contingencies in the project plan. Researched best
practices in Document Management and assisted organization in defining new proc
edures to more effectively manage project documentation. Also assisted users in
preparation for User Acceptance Testing.
August 1996 aa February 1997: Served as the primary contact between MCI Revenue
Operations and the Marketing, Product Development, and systems development organ
izations for the MCI Local Resale initiative. Ensured that sufficient financial
operations and system controls were defined and developed to limit the financial
exposures for the Business Markets local product. Negotiated with various group
s to ensure these financial controls were implemented with all local product ini
tiatives and communicated these initiatives and potential exposures and safeguar
ds to all levels of management within the Revenue Operations organization, inclu
ding Accounts Receivable, Credit & Collections, Audit & Controls, and Fraud Cont
rol & Billing.
March 1996 aa August 1996: Served as the primary contact between MCI Small Busin
ess and National Embossing Company (NEC), the fulfillment vendor selected to sup
port the MCI One product. Delivered marketing copy and system requirements. Coor
dinated walk through of MCI One product requirements to ensure a mutual understa
nding of the requirements and to establish target completion dates. Assisted wit
h the integrated testing effort by reviewing order files sent to NEC for process
ing and by participating in daily calls to report the results of the review. Wor
ked proactively with MCI personnel to resolve systems and operations issues.
July 1995 aa December 1995: Assisted in program managing a phase of MCIaa*s cell
ular project, termed QuickStart, the goal of which was to complete the first ste
ps toward integrating Nationwide Cellular Service, Inc., and MCIaa*s order entry
and billing platforms.
PRODUCT DEVELOPMENT:
April 2010 aa September 2010: Developed program to provide merchants converting
to an end-to-end encryption POS (Point of Sale) solution with new MSRs (Magnetic
Stripe Reader) and pin pads programmed with end-to-end encryption software and
maximize adoption rates. Program included 4 pricing tiers so that merchants woul
d incur minimal to no up-front costs, based on a merchantaa*s projected revenue.
Worked closely with the Sales and Finance organizations in defining the pricing
model to minimize the payback period and with Legal to develop the necessary eq
uipment use agreements to ensure merchants that cancel their accounts are legall
y obligated to purchase equipment. Also developed internal process flow and work
ed with internal operations to define roles and responsibilities in supporting t
he program. Reviewed and approved marketing and developed internal scripting for
each department responsible for handling inquiries. Managed relationship with e
quipment manufacturer and distributors in defining process and procedures for or
dering and fulfilling orders.
*
October 2009 aa September 2010: Led user story workshops and release planning ef
forts to support the development of an online application system, supporting the
role of the Product Manager. Documented business and system requirements and su
pporting EPC (Event-Driven Process Chain) diagram, and developed RFP. Managed re
lationships with vendors throughout the RFP process and developed apples-to-appl
es comparison to assist with a recommendation to management.
April 2009 aa October 2009: Led development of a PCI Partner Program to support
Mercuryaa*s merchant base with tools to assist in identifying vulnerabilities in
a merchantaa*s network setup, enabling merchants to takes steps towards achievi
ng PCI-DSS validation and certification. Documented business and systems integra
tion requirements and developed RFP. Evaluated vendor proposals and provided rec
ommendation to management. Managed the implementation, including the development
of merchant communication, internal scripting, and internal training. Monitored
program and communicated metrics to management.
April 2001 aa August 2003: Served as Product Development Manager assigned to sup
port a new online version of TSYS iSolutionsaa* desktop legacy application. Prod
uct featured expense reporting and general ledger functions to business customer
s of large banks. Managed customer priorities, documented user requirements, tra
ined Relationship Managers, assisted with QA, and approved external product docu
mentation, including Press Releases.
February 1997 aa April 1999: Served as the lead consultant for an Accenture team
of 4 assigned to develop the product description for reengineering the special
customer arrangement processes and systems supporting MCI high-end and global ma
rket business customers. Managed the team through the design and development sta
ges serving as the liaison between the user and IT organizations. Managed the Us
er Acceptance Test effort for the front-end system component of the program. Als
o led the development of a web site for the Product Development organization pro
viding an interface for users and IT to access project documentation and to repo
rt and update program issues and user testing bugs. Process change impacts of th
e program were also depicted in an interactive html presentation.
November 1999 aa January 2000: Developed functional requirements to support a Ne
xtel product concept known as a"Presencea, an idea that would allow Nextel subsc
ribers to provide availability, location, and other situational information to t
heir a"buddiesa and vice versa. Assisted Director of Product Strategy to define
phases, call flows, and functional requirements. Also assisted in logistics and
content preparation for focus groups conducted to assess the market demand for t
he Presence product. Interacted closely with Technology team to understand techn
ical limitations in architecture, phone, and browser technologies.
February 2000: Assisted a dot.com startup in developing a competitive analysis,
refining business plan, and defining portal product offering to support both B2B
and B2C markets in the high-end furnishing wholesale vertical.
BUSINESS INTELLIGENCE:
August 2007 aa September 2010: Developed SQL queries to support research, identi
fication, and classification of strategic and other types of merchants based on
revenue data. Independently trained on basic and a few advanced skillsets in T-S
QL to design and develop a merchant classification logic. Participated in T-SQL
course with both skilled and novice Database Administrators. Continue to utilize
skillset as needed for quick access to data otherwise unaccessible in a timely
fashion. Worked closely with SharePoint developer to implement secure methods fo
r the business to quickly find customer data with minimial investment in softwar
e time.
SALES & CUSTOMER SERVICE:
March 2005 aa August 2006: Served as a Merchant Sales Associate for a small, rap
idly growing credit card payment processor in 2005/2006. Primary responsibilitie
s included: working with Mercuryaa*s Resellers to qualify leads, calculate proje
cted profitability for new accounts, provide proposals to new merchant leads, to
ut benefits and overcome merchant objections, and initiate merchant application
process. Also required to follow up to ensure leads are enrolled and begin proce
ssing in a timely manner in order to meet department goals.
October 2004 aa February 2005: Held Sales Rep position for a small locally owned
business specializing in electronics sales in 2004/2005. Primary responsibiliti
es included: maintaining the Sales price and product sheets, greeting customers,
handling customer objections to product prices, assisted customers with compari
ng products, and following up with the customer to ensure product satisfaction.
August 2003 aa September 2004: Managed 2 retail locations for a small locally ow
ned business specializing in the resale of wireless phone and satellite services
in 2003/2004. Handled the daily operations, including hiring, scheduling, train
ing, assigning work, reconciling inventory, ensuring pristine paperwork, assisti
ng irate customers with bill inquiries, and ensuring quality customer service.
CONSULTING:
July 1995 aa March 2001: Managed up to 7 consultants during tenure at Accenture.
Flavor of projects included: order entry and billing, user interface design on
mobile devices, product fulfillment, revenue and financial operations process im
provements, local phone service resale, product merger process re-engineering, a
pplication architecture assessments, and business development proposals.
December 2003 aa March 2001: Consulting services during Accenture tenure include
d (chronological order): assisting with application design and software developm
ent, writing QA, user, and system test cases, executing QA test cases, developme
nt of Program Management Offices, developing and maintaining business processes,
identifying and implementing change impacts, developing product plans, authorin
g numerous product requirements (user and system) documents, and researching and
implementing best practices. Performed other roles such as Business Analyst, Sy
stems Analyst, Systems Administrator, and Documentation Manager as needed.
Employment History
------------------
Mercury Payment Systems, LLC aa Durango, CO
Sr. Project Manager, August 2006 to September 2010
Merchant Sales Associate, March 2005 to August 2006
Animas Entertainment aa Durango, CO
Retail Sales Associate, October 2004 to February 2005
Phonz Plus aa Grand Junction, CO
Retail Store Manager, August 2003 to September 2004
TYSY iSolutions aa Golden, CO
Product Development Manager, April 2001 to August 2003
Accenture aa Reston, VA
Management Consultant, November 1993 to March 2001
Education
---------
University of Virginia aa Charlottesville, VA
Master of Applied Mathematics, 1993
GPA: 3.51/4.0
Speciality: Continuum Mechanics (Solids)
Mississippi State University aa Starkville, MS
Bachelor of Arts in Mathematics, 1991
GPA: 3.55/4.0 aa CUM LAUDE
Training & Certifications
-------------------------
Lean Agile Project Manager (May 2010)
Certified Scrum Master (February 2009)
Querying and Modifying Data in Microsoft SQL Server 2008 with Transact-SQL (Fall
2008)
Andersen School for Professional Development
- Delivering Client Value (March 2000)
- Business Analysis & Design School (August 1996)
- Principles of Technical Architecture (January 1996)
- Implementing Business Solutions (January 1995)
- Computer Application Programming (December 1993)
- Systems Fundamentals (October 1993)
References & Recommendations
----------------------------
References available upon request.