Lucia (Marylou) Castello

*** ********* ******

Methuen, MA 01844

978-***-****

acu0iv@r.postjobfree.com

SUMMARY

Two decades of experience in the service and supply chain functions in the Information Technology Market. Various functional responsibilities include: Procurement, Materials Planning, Supplier Relations, Contract Administration, JIT, Repair/Test Depot, Global Forward and Reverse Logistics Management, Demand and Install Base Planning and forecasting, Field Service, Call Center, Technical Support, Multi Company, Multi National, Centralized and Decentralized Management, Global Trade Compliance, ISO, Business Process Outsourcing (BPO), Strategic Account Management. Key skills include strategic proactive procurement, negotiations, complex problem solving, contract development, coaching/mentoring, leadership, continuous improvement, business process improvements and re-engineering, global dexterity, Human Capital Management, TQM, multi-project management, strong computer skills, strong organizational skills, effective communicator (written/verbal) and presenter, strong relationship management, Bilingual (Italian). Experience in state and federal government procurement and Federal Acquisitions Regulations (FAR). Experience in Global Management, offshoring and outsourcing functions and management of expatriates and global resources.

EMPLOYMENT

Solid Systems Global, Ltd. Derby, UK – Solid Systems Global is a third party maintenance provider for multi- vendor data center environments. Solid Systems is headquartered out of Derby, England and delivers services in 110 countries.

10/2011 to Current Chief Operations Officer

• Manage and direct the global service and support organization (Global Technical Operations, Global Supply Chain, Global Response Center, Global Partner Management)

• Achieve 95%+ SLA (Service Level Agreement) compliance globally.

• Management of cross-functional and cross-cultural resources throughout EMEA (Europe, Middle East and Asia) with regularly scheduled visits to remote offices.

• Develop and manage strategic sourcing operations and activities.

• Manage and direct the Global client account management organization.

• Manage and direct the IT department (Help Desk, MIS, Software development)

• Direct, develop and maintain operations business plan.

• Essential member of the Executive Management Team, reporting into the Executive VP.

• Provide input to the development of service and support strategy, and research and development of new and emerging products and markets.

• Direct the development and deployment of service, support and quality control standards.

• Direct the development of business process planning and re-engineering.

• Direct service activities with all other functions of the organization and suppliers to obtain optimum service, labor and inventory utilization.

• Define, develop and implement best practices, processes and policies to create efficiencies, reduce costs and improve customer satisfaction and retention.

• Accountable for executing on the corporate strategy, structure, and assignment of human resources globally.

• Develop new business strategies, from identification of opportunity through implementation of new business, while cultivating strong working relationships with strategic business alliances.

• Identify relevant trends across the organization to adjust strategic and tactical approaches.

• Build and maintain strong, positive relationships with Employees, Clients, Business Partners, industry thought- leaders and other third party advocates to expand and maximize the business.

• Develop and manage KPIs and metrics measuring progress and performance.

• Work closely with the CEO and Business Development team to build new relationships while maintaining and growing established partnerships.

• Work closely with HCM (Human Capital Management) to continuously develop and deliver training on business processes, technical and product knowledge and global cultural dexterity to global staff and expatriates.

Akibia, Inc. Westborough, MA – Akibia, a Zensar company, provides innovative Infrastructure Management solutions that enable leading companies globally to optimize, secure, manage and support their mission-critical infrastructure.

4/2009 to 7/2011 Director, Global Supply Chain

• Collaborated with internal Business Partners to establish goals, metrics and KPI in support of the Corporate Strategy

• Responsible for $30M in inventory across the supply chain pipeline and $10M in Storage, Transportation, Trade and Taxes

• Created support solutions and service delivery model for new markets

• Reported directly into VP, Global Operations

• Implemented global distribution strategy for Europe (EU) reducing pipeline days, touch points and costs by 45%

• Developed support strategy for 36 countries in Africa, Middle East, Asia and CLATAM

• Provided leadership in all aspects of global supply chain management and outsourced services and support

• Management of Global Supply Chain: Global Logistics (including 3PLs) and Distribution, Materials Planning

& Procurement (including inventory suppliers), Service Providers (Field Service) and Repair/Test (including inventory repair suppliers) Organizations

• Developed and maintained Strategic Business Partner Relationships across client and supplier base and participated/led Quarterly Business Reviews (QBRs)

• Developed supplier assessment and management program

• Supported Sales organization on pre/post sales opportunities

• Attained 95% compliance year over year across all client base globally

• Refined and re-engineered Global Supply Chain strategies and methodology

• Developed and implemented Reverse Logistics strategy by country

• Consistent monitoring and review of Metrics and KPIs

• Conducted performance management reviews to direct staff of 4 Managers (total of 36 employees)

• Developed, implemented, and maintained policies, procedures, systems and tools to reduce costs & improve efficiency

• Worked closely with IT to optimize systems, improve reporting, business intelligence and improve efficiencies 8/2003 to 4/2009 Director, Global Material Planning & Procurement

• Managed team of 5 Global Planner/Buyers

• Responsible for $30M of inventory purchases and repair activity across global pipeline

• Implementation, Utilization and management of Servigistics planning tool

• Created tools and processes to ensure accuracy and optimization of inventory

• Key member of New Product Introduction team

• Consistent 98% baseline of availability year over year

• Responsible for developing Bills of Materials and Alternate Parts Mapping

• Developed system for all presales and post sales requests to allow for prioritization and fulfillment of requests

• Developed Supplier Qualification and Management program

• Implemented multi shore purchasing program

• Cost avoidance and savings 5% year over year

• Developed, implemented, and maintained policies, procedures, systems and tools to reduce costs & improve efficiency

Mallory Ventures, Inc., Littleton, MA – A Holdings Company of Five Businesses - Businesses include: Inforonics, LLC (Hosting & Managed Services Provider), Business Technology Solutions (Software Development), Advanced Biometric Security, LLC (Biometric Software), Prospero Technologies, LLC (Online Community Service Provider) and TPMC, LLC (Real Estate Developer/Construction Management) 1/2000 to 7/2003 Director of Procurement

• Generated one million dollars plus in cost savings through contract negotiation and new sourcing opportunities in 2002. Responsible for annual purchasing of $6 million.

• Developed and built a centralized purchasing department for a multi-business entity.

• Member of the Senior Management Team reporting directly to the Chief Financial Officer.

• Managed month end closing of the five businesses purchasing and inventory modules and managed Shipping and Receiving Department personnel.

• Reviewed all Contracts, Statements of Work, Master Services Agreements and Third Party Agreements for accuracy, cost and legal implications.

• Responsible for all procurement including: Hardware and Network Equipment, Software Licenses, Maintenance agreements, Data Center Contracts, Corporate Insurance, Telecommunications, Contracted Labor, Capital Equipment, Facilities Office Space, MRO, Travel and Entertainment.

• Developed and managed supplier base, evaluate suppliers on an annual basis.

• Negotiated Lease terms and buy outs with large leasing corporations.

• Member of the Corporate Acquisition team.

• Supported Procurement needs for Operations, MIS, Sales, Marketing and Finance/Accounting. The Praxis Group, Inc., Burlington, MA - Computer VAR/Networking/Service Company/e-Commerce Development servicing the Federal and State Government 6/1998 – 1/2000 Purchasing Director

• Supplier Relations

• Responsible for technology acquisition on large projects ranging in size from $1 - $5 million.

• Negotiate all third party contracts and maintenance agreements.

• Establish project implementation plans and coordinate IT project rollouts.

• Responsible for planning task content and schedules, preparing project budgets, and supervise on-going project activities.

• Manage and supervise all personnel in Service and Support Department, Purchasing Department, Project staff and RMA Department, total of 16 employees, of which 12 were direct reports. 9/1995 – 6/1998 Purchasing Manager

• Increased profits by reducing cost 35% through strategic negotiations. Responsible for $10 million dollars in purchases annually.

• Sourced, negotiated and purchased hardware, software and service.

• Coordinated, planned, organized and managed project purchases, and purchasing activities within Engineering and Customer Service.

• Assured timely arrival from distribution and delivery to end-user, JIT, expedited, reported and monitored inventory.

• Resolved accounting discrepancies, purchasing, shipping/receiving, inventory and RMA problems.

• Assisted the sales department with Bids from large federal, state and local governments and educational facilities.

• Provided information to Sales and Marketing on technical advances, new products, price cuts and increases and discontinuance of products.

Niederhoffer, Firester and Co., Inc., Woburn, MA - Computer VAR/Consulting Firm 9/1994 – 8/1995 Purchasing Agent

• Purchased and negotiated computer hardware, software and peripherals

• Evaluated supplier reliability and developed new supply sources

• Assisted in the design and implementation of the computerized purchasing database from a manual operation 7/1993 – 9/1994 Office/Business Manager

• Responsible for all office activities in the Boston office including: Provided administrative support to department managers, President and Vice President, prepared and edited sales proposals, assisted in the preparation of industry trade shows, seminars and press releases, coordinated and managed direct mail campaigns, implemented and managed a contact management database (Symantec ACT!); used for direct mail, telemarketing and accounts receivable collections, responsible for collection calls, accounts payable, accounts receivable, and project management.

PROFESSIONAL MEMBERSHIPS

National Association of Purchasing Managers (NAPM) American Management Association (AMA)

Service Industry Association (SIA)

Association of Service Computer Dealers International (ASCDI) Institute for Supply Management (ISM)

SOFTWARE/HARDWARE SKILLS

Software Skills: Salesforce, Epicor 10, SupportWorks, FieldPoint, Microsoft Office Applications, Clarify CRM, Servigistics, SAP, Symantec ACT!, Great Plains Accounting Software, Macola Software, SBT Accounting Software, Solomon IV, Quickbooks, Sage

Hardware Skills: Sun/Oracle, Dell, HP, IBM, EMC, Network Appliance, Cisco, Hitachi, Quantum FOREIGN LANGUAGES

Fluent in Italian

EDUCATION

5/2015 University of Southern New Hampshire

Bachelor of Science in International Management

GPA 3.97

9/97 – 9/99 University of Lowell, Lowell, MA

Certificate in Purchasing Management

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