Manager Customer Service

Bertha Lucia Fries ERP Training Manager to Lat Am region 1

Bertha Lucia Fries

** ****** **. *** *, Cambridge MA 02139, USA 617-***-**** ******.*****.*****@****************.***

R e s u me

Versatile, accomplished executive, consultant, coach and educator, offering 17-plus years experience

leading a management consulting firm in Latin America specialized in values-based strategic change

and development, linking human capacities to business and social outcomes. Adept at identifying,

assessing, and advocating individual and organizational change, development and capacity building

needs, and of implementing relevant solutions through consulting, education, design and training

initiatives. Plans, implements and assesses globally responsible leadership and organizations for

achieving sustained business, economic, social, and environmental results.

Individual & Organizational Development & Change Leader. Have been fortunate to enjoy a rich career in

key executive, consulting and educational positions of well-known government institutions, private firms,

NGOs, universities in many Latin American countries, including: DuPont, Quinsa, BellSouth, ETB, RSS,

Emcali, Government Ministries and Enterprises, Universidad del Valle, Universidad Javeriana, Universidad de

Los Andes, University of Massachusetts, NGOs, Co-ops, and others. Career Track: 17 years of continuous

growth serving such positions as executive, consultant, coach, facilitator, and professor, for a variety of

different organizations and sectors, providing leadership, management, learning and capacity building.

Experience Across Organizations, Functions and Levels. Highly personable and capable of working in

diverse organizational policy, strategic and operational levels, functions, and cultures. Outstanding

communicator and team-player, grounded on strong values and focused on results.

High-Performing Organization Culture / Capability & Behavior Development / Change Management.

Has helped many organizations in different sectors to enhance their effectiveness through aligning the strategic

direction, business goals, culture, capacities, and change processes. Used effective methods including

online technologies to assess stakeholders’ needs, design and implement strategies and projects, and

measure results.

Multicultural Experience. My career has given me the opportunity to learn about and work with a variety of

people and organizations in many countries, having to adapt my individual and organizational development

frameworks, processes, and instruments to their cultures. I am bilingual (English/Spanish).

Competencies

Strong leadership, planning and management skills. Creator of models and instruments for building globally

responsible organizations that add both business and social values. Effective builder of teams and coalitions, to

engaging multi-stakeholder groups, and integrating diverse knowledge, perspectives and cultures. Proficient in

problem solving, conflict resolution and implementing creative solutions under tight deadlines. Strategic

thinker, operational planner, and hands-on managerial performer, focused on values and results. Effective

manager of complex human resource development and change processes. Strong analytical and synthesizing

skills. Engaging and compelling presenter, facilitator, coach, trainer. Loves to create, innovate and achieve

meaningful results. Entrepreneur. Team lead skills.

Selected Consulting Experience

Developed value-based core organizational capacities. Worked with a mobile telephone company startup

to: support top management and other levels in defining the corporate strategic direction, core

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Bertha Lucia Fries ERP Training Manager to Lat Am region 2

organizational competencies, and HR development policies; and create and train cross-functional teams for

optimizing internal processes and offering superior customer service.

Result: By means of a 48% reduction in the time needed to build the transmission towers in key sectors of

the cities, the company outperformed its competition in gaining new customers. Additionally, the team

members were trained in real time to: listening to the customers’ voice, becoming quality conscious, and

working collaboratively across organizational boundaries.

Put values into action. A manufacturing firm growing through recent acquisitions and operating eight

plants in five South American countries needed to ensure a strong company and brand identity across

diverse organizational and country cultures. Helped the company to declare, disseminate, live by, and

measure the gaps between espoused values and behaviors in each plant, and to implement strategies to

close these gaps.

Result: Through training and coaching programs the diverse corporate cultures evolved in a way that the

entire holding shared certain core values while each plant also developed their own, thereby achieving a

proper balance between organizational centralization and decentralization.

Developed of competencies. A NASA supplier of sophisticated equipment and components was growing

at an explosive rate. Led a capacity building process at individual, group, and organizational levels aligned

with the company’s strategic direction and future expansion projections.

Result: The new hires, especially engineers and technicians, adopted swiftly the corporate work

philosophy, methods and culture instilled by the founders, to ensure the company’s continued fast rate of

growth and development of top quality of products and services.

Created conditions for individual and organizational learning and development. A newly created

Prosecuting Attorney General’s Office needed to transform a culture based traditionally on individual work

(i.e., lawyers, judges) into a culture requiring effective teamwork among the institution’s three main

branches (prosecuting attorneys, investigation professionals, administrative personnel).

Worked with the Attorney General, his senior staff and direct reports in clarifying the entity’s strategic

direction, core capacities and the human resource development policies. Activities included conducting a

series of multifunctional reflection and training programs at the regional, district and local levels

throughout the country.

Results. Enhanced leadership and management capacities of the new institution; coordinated teamwork

among the three branches; trained and developed internal facilitators to expand and sustain the momentum

of the initiated change process. (The project was funded by the Agency for International Development

(AID), as part of the Program for the Modernization of the Administration of Justice).

Transformed a service-focused culture into a customer-focused culture. A government-owned

telecommunications company needed a major business and organizational transformation to keep up with

the dramatic changes in technology and the market. Helped the company to: (a) Identify gaps between

values, behaviors, competencies and business objectives; (b) implement a 360º assessment process; (c)

create and train several management cross-functional and high-performance project teams; (d) lead a

coaching program for 600+ managers for implementing change.

Result. The company changed its product/service-focused culture into a customer-centered culture and

improved performance and business results.

Redefined corporate business model, strategic direction and HR and CSR policies. A fast growing

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Bertha Lucia Fries ERP Training Manager to Lat Am region 3

distribution company of state-of-the-art telecommunication products and services was confronting a

growing competition in the midst of a burgeoning economic recession. Helped the board and management

redefine the corporation’s business model and strategic direction. This included: identifying needs of major

stakeholders (stockholders, customers, distributors, suppliers, employees); designing a direct marketing

plan; restructuring the organization; and developing a new HR/CSR strategy and capacity building process,

design a training program.

Result: The company survived the crises and increased its reputation and market share.

Aligned organizational purpose and capabilities. The Colombian Ministry of Agriculture and its 13

affiliated government agencies serving the agricultural sector were not sufficiently aligned around a

common purpose and were not actually working in teams to effectively provide support and assistance to

peasants, farmers and other key stakeholders. Nor did the Ministry get relevant feedback from them about

the effectiveness of the agricultural development policies. The project consisted in creating a multi-sector

leadership team (including Vice-Ministers and high level officials, professionals, farmers, peasants) and a

team of facilitators (selected from the 13 affiliated agencies).

Result. Altogether we built a systemic vision and strategic direction of the agricultural sector with the

participation of peasants, farmers and other stakeholders, identified inter-sector projects, and defined the

capacities required to implement these projects.

Selected Executive Experience

Director of the Board, Director of the Development Team. VIAGlobus Corporation, Boston. An online

business social networking service start-up, to enable stakeholder learning, communication and collaboration,

for building globally responsible leadership and organizations that create sustained business, social, and

environmental value. (2005-to date)

Led the development team responsible for: (a) assessing stakeholder (potential member) needs; (b)

designing and building an integrated member-generated knowledge data base, functionalities for learning,

communication and collaboration, and a forum for discussions among members about global responsibility

issues and approaches; (c) launching a beta version for public testing; and (d) structuring the new company.

Graduate Student, Program Director / Consultant. Critical and Creative Thinking Masters Program;

Institute for Teaching and Learning (ILT), Division of Corporate, Continuing, and Distant Education.

University of Massachusetts, Boston. (2006-2008)

While being a graduate student was appointed graduate assistant responsible for designing, conducting and

assessing a special education program on campus and a human resource development program in a Boston-

based business.

Executive Director / Senior Consultant. CEC International Latin America. (1991-2005)

Research, education, and consulting firm specializing in values-based strategic change, learning, and capacity

building with measurable results.

Led CEC International’s development and consulted with many companies in several countries.

Developed CEC s strategic direction and core capacities, and the supporting organizational structure,

systems and processes for creating superior performance and ensure client satisfaction.

Focused CEC’s development and services on helping companies improve their bottom line while

contributing also to a better economy, society and natural environment.

Formulated a capacity development strategy including training and coaching aligned with CEC’s:

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Bertha Lucia Fries ERP Training Manager to Lat Am region 4

business model, strategic direction and business objectives; desired organizational culture; and the

individual development needs of the staff.

Created innovative methodologies and projects for assessing and developing individual and team

capabilities. Enabling trainers and consultants to be at the frontier of relevant knowledge and skills and

staying ahead of clients.

Planned and carried out initiatives for building a supportive organizational learning culture, a

stimulating and safe work environment, and the core competencies to effectively implement business

strategies and societal change.

Structured CEC as a team-net of highly qualified professionals aligned around a shared strategic vision,

mission, and values, for meeting the specific needs of different clients and stakeholders.

Led complex consulting, training and research projects.

Managed the budget and resources of CEC. Responsible for contractual relations.

General Manager, Banco de Bogotá, Colombia.

Selected by the bank in a national contest as the first woman to bring females into top executive positions

traditionally held by males. Implemented a plan to enhance the organizational effectiveness through

training, focused on excellent customer service and improved organizational climate and processes. Was

promoted to general manager of three key offices for achieving expected results.

President of the Board of Directors & CEO of a Coop. Chivor Hydroelectric Project, Santa Maria Boyacá,

Colombia.

Identified basic needs of the local communities (education, health, housing). Developed and implemented

with the community a strategic plan and programs including financing and training programs for micro and

small business, affecting over 600 people.

Education

MA. Critical and Creative Thinking Masters Program, University of Massachusetts Boston, Graduate

College of Education. GPA 3.95/4.00. Thesis: “The New Creative Responsible Leader: A Framework for

Competency Development”. (2006-2008)

Magister. International Center for Education and Human Resource Development – CINDE, Universidad

Pedagógica Nacional, Bogotá, Colombia. (2005)

Licenciada. Political Science & Management. Universidad de los Andes, Bogotá, Colombia. (1980)

Attended several seminars on development and building programs about Corporate Social Responsibility

(CSR) at MIT and Harvard Kennedy School. (2006-2009)

Awards

National Scholars Honors Society. Nomination to participate as a member of this society in recognition of

my graduate student GPA of 3.95/4.00. (2006)

University of Massachusetts, Boston. Graduate Study Fellowship. (2006-2008).

World State Forum. Invited to participate as the only Latin American delegate for my work in

implementing the Values in Action methodology (2001).

Affiliation

Boston Facilitator Roundtable (BFR). Since 2005

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