Sales Customer Service

RICHARD J. pLESSALA

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

San Antonio, TX 78216-6835

Home: 210-***-**** Cell: 210-***-****

E-mail: **********@*****.***

SUMMARY

Over seventeen years experience, fourteen of which spent in management,

specializing in customer service, warehousing, inventory control, sales

operations, and marketing. Currently responsible for partnership

development, client and vendor relations, workflow improvement, budget and

business plans, product development, marketing and sales.

PROFESSIONAL EXPERIENCE

Sirius Computer Solutions, Inc. San Antonio, TX

January 2003 - Present

Director, Systems & Networking Sales Operations January

2010 - Present

Oversee all presales and post sales activities in sales and support of

Intel-based hardware, networking gear and software sales, including

multiple platforms and products. Primarily responsible for the

onboarding of Dell and HP into the Sirius portfolio in 2010, amongst

others. In our first year, Sirius received the 2010 Dell Channel Partner

of the Year award.

Director, System x Sales Operations May

2008 - December 2009

Oversee all presales and post sales activities in sales and support of

the IBM System x brand. Direct the efforts of twenty five employees in

four separate groups; presales configuration and engineering team

responsible for architecting customized IT solutions; inside sales

support specializing in deal structuring; post sales buying team; and our

integration center and warehouse in Denver, CO. Maintained a $1.6

million P&L within 90% of budget for 2008.

Director, System x Purchasing & Integration Services

January 2007 - April 2008

Responsible for the operations of a remote warehouse and integration lab

in Denver, CO with five employees as well as ten employees performing

purchasing functions. The facility performed over $1 million in computer

hardware integration services. Directed negotiating best price from our

select vendor base. Monitored all IBM System x Brand incentive programs

and reported our progress monthly to executive management as well as

advised on strategies for overachievement.

Manager, Purchasing & Quality Assurance October

2005 - December 2006

Maintained all vendor relationships and negotiated vendor terms and

conditions. Managed a group responsible for delivering purchase orders

timely to vendors, timely invoicing to our customers, and checked all

outgoing orders for accuracy. Managed a separate sales group responsible

for the brokerage of used and refurbished product. Supervised a total of

eight employees.

Manager, Promotions & Rebates January 2004

- September 2005

Managed operations team of eight employees responsible for the

dissemination of IBM and other manufacturer rebates and promotional

programs to executive management, field sales force and internal sales

support.

Manager, Sales Support January 2003

- December 2003

Managed operations team of fifteen employees dedicated to the support of

the company's field sales force. Worked with corporate HR and Sales

Support Management team to develop and implement skill-specific training

for all Sales Support functions. Developed and managed effective

relationships with the field sales force, and communicated area

requirements, capabilities, and new programs and procedures. Served as

an advocate for change to provide leadership and facilitate improved

processes.

Accomplishments at Sirius

. Currently overseeing the implementation of an application which

will enable Sirius customers to purchase products online. This

project is expected to capture 15% more business for Sirius in this

space by making it easier for customers to make just-in-time

purchases. In eleven months since inception, the store has brought

in over $2 million in revenue at a 9% profit margin

. Engineered a complete redesign of Sirius's operational approach to

System x brand support. This reengineering made it possible for

Sirius to go from IBM's #6 business partner in the brand to #2 in

one year.

. Designed and implemented a purchasing strategy to hit IBM partner

incentive targets for 8 quarters in a row.

. Played a significant role in winning a $17 million account and

directed efforts to maintain that account by ensuring that the

customer's needs were met on a continual basis. This continues to

be a residual customer for Sirius with 8-10% year over year growth.

. Participated in major company ERP/CRM projects, including the

Siebel/Lawson Implementation (all phases).

. Maintained a $1.6 million P&L within 90% of budget for 2008.

. Leveraged Sirius's purchasing power to negotiate preferable payment

terms from numerous vendors. Our terms went from Net 30 to Net 45

days, in most cases. The best terms negotiated were Net 60 day

terms.

. Architected and implemented a process by which Sirius went from

worst-to-first in IBM EDI reporting accuracy.

A I M Management Group, Inc. Houston, TX March

1995 - December 2002

Retirement Plans Marketing Supervisor

September 2000 - December 2002

Oversaw a group of ten marketing specialists trained to market small

business plans to the retail brokerage community in their assigned

territories; Managed various projects including 401(k) product

development, a complete redesign of qualified retirement marketing

literature, and negotiating bid contracts from competing vendors;

Developed budget and annual business plan; Provided technical retirement

support; Developed new ideas, strategies, and design features for

qualified plan proposals to remain competitive in the pension market.

Retirement Support Services Supervisor

April 2000 - September 2000

Managed a group of seven associates trained to work with new and existing

retirement plans in an automated environment; Developed and maintained

relationships with Third Party Administrators (TPAs) trading in an

automated and manual format; Developed budgets, project plans and annual

business plans; Provided technical retirement support.

Qualified Plan Services Supervisor (Department merger in April 2000)

October 1999- April 2000

Responsible for an operational unit specializing in qualified plans

(401(k), MPP, PSP, 403(b), SIMPLE and SEP); Developed and coached a staff

of nine full time and five part time associates; Developed budgets and

annual business plans; Provided technical retirement support;

Participated in cross-functional teams throughout the organization.

Retirement Plans Services Assistant Supervisor

October 1997 - October 1999

Directed a customer service unit consisting of twelve to fourteen

representatives specializing in retirement issues for MPP, PSP, IRAs, SEP

IRAs, SIMPLE IRAs and SARSEP IRAs; Approved all outgoing correspondence;

Provided annual evaluations for employees with different functions;

Managed annual audit projects; Submitted referrals for change to current

automated tracking system.

Retirement Plans Services Representative August

1996 - October 1997

Accomplishments at A I M

. Directed the development and coordination of a internet-based

proposal ordering system that provided a fully customized qualified

plan proposal to the retail broker and plan sponsor.

. Participated in the development and coordinated the mailing for all

marketing materials for the AIM 401(k) Fall Roadshow campaign which

visited 30 U.S. cities and reached over 900 top 401(k) producers in

the country.

. Developed a detailed proposal for the restructure of the Retirement

Division and helped implement the changes approved from the

proposal by senior management.

. Developed and implemented a program of part time staff to work

alternative (flextime) work schedules. Due to this alternative

work schedule, no new costs for computer systems or floor space

were needed.

. Managed and supported a team of associates charged to design an

agreement between internal departments. This agreement resulted in

a decrease of outstanding items by 93%.

. Developed procedures and updates for a systematic program that

promotes large retirement plans to invest with AIM.

. Responsible for relationships with TPAs. Reversed a relationship

with a TPA that was not responding to our attempts to improve

customer service.

. Participated in the implementation of an automated tracking system

(ASTRO) to handle increase in shareholder requests for asset

transfers and rollovers. Assisted in design, testing and

implementation. Funding through the ASTRO system increased from

$476 million to $920 million between 1997 and 1998.

1. Developed procedures, participated in training and developed

tracking mechanism for establishing new retirement accounts.

Accuracy levels for this function were 98%.

EDUCATION, AWARDS & PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT

Texas Tech University - Lubbock, TX Continuing

Education/Professional Development

B.A.: Public Relations / Minor: Marketing Integrity Selling and Coaching

Workshops: 2000, 2001

December, 1993 Decisions International

Leadership Workshop: 2000

Muscular Dystrophy Assoc Camp

Counselor: 1988-1995

College of Financial Planning Awards

Chartered Retirement Plans Specialist (CRPS) 2005 25th

Anniversary Chairman's Award

August, 2001 2009 Chairman's Award

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