JOHN M. MERENESS, ESQ.

Cincinnati, OH *****

513-***-**** Email: ac7o63@r.postjobfree.com

NEGOTIATION - SOURCING / PROCUREMENT

(IT/Technology Contracts and New Product Development)

VENDOR MANAGEMENT

PROJECT MANAGEMENT

RELATIONSHIP MANAGEMENT

Negotiation and drafting of highly complex, high spend/high impact, high visibility contracts in IT / Technology sourcing, procurement, and implementation of large (and small) scale contracts, including platform purchases (ex. The Kroger Co.’s growth to the 3rd largest retailer on the globe, CareSource’s first commercial product, Ohio National’s largest new platform and largest platform renewals, and Citi Global ERP, e-Business and Credit Card platforms) matched to success in turnaround / troubleshooting/problem resolution. Business growth and new product service offering focus. Formal business management / operations management skills and education. Strong Negotiation skills matched to Facilitator/Bridge/Agile Evangelist/Voice of Technology/Cheerleader. Strong relationship bonds internally, plus building strong bonds externally with vendors and clients. Vendor Management KPI/Compliance. Experience includes a host of practice areas from IT/Technology in Finance/Banking to Real Estate/Facilities, Manufacturing, and Human Resources/Staffing/Onboarding. Experience with Agile and Scrum project management, as well as Waterfall.

Contract Negotiation & Drafting

Project & Program Management

Vendor & Supplier Management

Process Improvement - Turnarounds

Strategic Cost Mgmt. – Financial Mgmt.

Strategic Sourcing & Procurement

Cross Functional Team Leadership

Dispute Resolution

EXPERIENCE

KROGER TECHNOLOGY via KONCERTIT/APEX SYSTEMS, Cincinnati, OH 03/2018-11/2018

Consulting Category Manager: Negotiation, Drafting & Contract Administration of The Kroger Co.’s (the 3rd largest retailer on the Globe) IT & Technology Contracts, including new Master contracts (Professional Services & Licenses), Support, Proof of Concepts, Entrepreneurial, SOW's, Change Orders, Order Forms, & Renewals contracts under 1MM. Hardware / Software / Telecom / SaaS / Services / Etc.

JOHN MERENESS / START-UP ACCELERATOR COUNSELING, Cincinnati, OH 01/2015-Present

Consulting: Start-Up/Accelerator Counseling, incl. Venture Capital Proposal Development

Brand-Blendr / Brand-etix / MGM Brand Licensing / Brand Extension 11/2016-Present

Contract Negotiation and Relationship Management Consulting.

Consulting: Capital Asset Value Maximization Strategy in Probate Estates 09/2011-03/2018

OHIO NATIONAL FINANCIAL SERVICES, Cincinnati, OH 04/2015–08/2015

Consulting Contract Administrator for Information Technology (IT) – Financial and Insurance Services

Negotiated and drafted master contracts, amendments, statements of work, and maintenance agreements ranging from $20K to 40 MM representing 50 vendors and 5 plus active projects in software / hardware supporting new business ventures (including large scale roll-out for new Insurance platforms - requiring substantial upgrading to all existing systems), plus staff augmentation.

Project management troubleshooting and guiding problem project implementation / Managed vendor relationships.

UNIVERSITY OF CINCINNATI, Cincinnati, OH 02/2015–04/2015

Consulting Project Management for Treasury Department – Finance

Implementation of uniform credit card processing platform/system across all University entities.

CARESOURCE MANAGEMENT GROUP CO., Dayton, OH 03/2013-01/2014

Consulting Strategic Sourcing Manager for Information Technology (IT) – Managed Care

Sourced, negotiated and drafted master contracts, amendments, statements of work, and maintenance agreements ranging from $500 to 10 MM representing 75 vendors and 20 plus active projects in software, hardware supporting new business ventures (including roll-out for new Health Insurance Marketplace product requiring substantial improvements to all existing systems), telecom, utilities, cabling, facilities, and design / development consulting, plus staff augmentation.

Project management troubleshooting and guiding problem project implementation. Continuous Improvement Process. Managed vendor relationships. Vendor cost reductions - 18%. Ariba/SAP.

JOHNSON & JOHNSON, ETHICON ENDO-SURGERY / SGC, Cincinnati, OH 05/2011-09/2011

Consulting Project Manager, Contract Administrator, Counsel

Negotiated and drafted new and renewal physician contracts including enterprise agreements, master agreements, and work orders for this 1500 physician consulting base, including R&D and training.

CITICORP DEVELOPMENT CENTER, INC., Cincinnati, Los Angeles, New York City 08/2007-03/2009

Lead Technology Contract Negotiator for IT and Intellectual Property Contracts - Banking

Vendor Management, Vice President // Corporate Officer

Facilitator/Bridge/Agile Evangelist/Voice of Technology/Cheerleader

Sourced, negotiated, drafted, and business side project managed $2.2 billion in annual enterprise agreements, master agreements, and work orders ranging from 7K to 300MM with 75+ key vendors representing 1000 active projects - software, hardware, telecom, utilities, cabling, facilities, staffing, and capital equipment (IT, e-Business, R&D, and Shared Services).

Supported 1,000 technology products including products and services from AT&T, Cisco, Computer Sciences, HP, IBM, Microsoft, Oracle, Sun, Xerox, and others.

Project management troubleshooting and guiding problem project implementation matched to project management in sourcing and procurement.

Mergers & Acquisition / Divestiture - contract negotiations and implementation process design.

Contract negotiation and implementation for Citi Credit Card entities/relationships including Diner’s Club, Sears, and Macy’s (Processing systems and Marketing programs).

Contract negotiation and drafting for Citicorp’s Global Inter-Affiliate shared services product sales and licensing deployed in 140 countries worldwide.

Continuous Process Improvement. Implementation of advanced project management systems.

Managed/maintained vendor relationships.

Strategic Cost Management Leader - Developed strategy and negotiated $250 million vendor cost reductions representing an 18.5% improvement across all global business lines.

Facilitator/overall business management – moving business forward.

SPECIAL COUNSEL / ROBERT HALF LEGAL, Cincinnati, OH 2002-2007

Consulting Attorney

D. W. Norris Co., L.P.A: Managed cases and grew high volume Social Security practice using a solid medical vocabulary and understanding.

Anthem Blue Cross Blue Shield (Frost Brown Todd): Co-Managed discovery for large scale class action in healthcare services and insurance.

Columbia Sussex Hotels and Casinos: Managed discovery and co-managed litigation for a $100 million construction project with a $36 million net revenue stream.

Ashland Oil (Cors and Bassett): Managed discovery for environmental litigation.

University of Cincinnati: Contract drafting and negotiation of UC Hospital clinical trial agreements.

MCKINNEY & NAMEI CO., LPA, Cincinnati, OH 1997-2002

Attorney

Negotiated and drafted contracts for business management, purchasing, and sourcing of capital equipment. Provided vendor contract dispute resolution.

Mergers & Acquisition - contract negotiations and implementation process design.

Hand walked 250 plus start-up businesses through their first year // Extensive turnaround experience.

Negotiated and drafted contracts for real estate transactions. Provided owner’s side real estate representation, dispute resolution services, and execution of high-end commercial and residential transactions, new construction and build-outs, due diligence, and closing preparation.

Provided estate planning and probate administration, including attracting/developing clientele.

Managed law firm administration including supervision and training of top-performing legal support staff, paralegals, administrative assistant staff, law students, and summer associates.

Managed firm’s mixed use downtown office building, including contracting for maintenance services.

IVAN L. TAMARKIN, ESQ., Cincinnati, OH 1993–1997

Attorney, Civil Rights, Employment, Real Estate, and Business Law

GATEWAY FEDERAL SAVINGS BANK, Cincinnati, OH 1993

Assistant Counsel, Commercial Loan Auditing

EDUCATION

Juris Doctor, 1992. University of Toledo, College of Law, Toledo, OH.

Admitted to the State Bar of Ohio, 1992.

Bachelor of Business Administration, 1988. University of Cincinnati, OH.

Dual major: Management and Marketing. Management GPA: 3.95/4.00

PROFESSIONAL ACTIVITES

CINCINNATI AGILE USERS ACTIVE

POLITICAL CAMPAIGN MANAGEMENT 2014

CINCINNATI BAR ASSOCIATION

Committee on Profitability 2012–2014

Community Service Board (Program Design) 1992–Present

UNIVERSITY OF CINCINNATI

Adjunct Professor of Business Law 2000-2004

CHARITABLE ACTIVITES

AULT PARK CONCOURS D’ELEGANCE FOUNDATION

Cincinnati, OH

Founding Board Member 2006-Present

Steering Committee and Strategic Planning 1992-Present

Large scale charitable event management benefiting juvenile medical research.

GREATER CINCINNATI LEADERSHIP FOUNDATION (formerly Jaycees Foundation) 2006-Present

Founding Board Member

AMERICA’S PACKARD MUSEUM

Dayton, OH

Operations Turnaround Consultant, Historic Preservation, Acting Director – Pro Bono 2009-2011

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