Sales Manager
Resume:
JOHN D. JOHNSTON
CHIEF INFOR MATION OFFICER
****@*******************.***
SUM MARY
Global CIO with 25 years of experience working for large multi-national companies in the Architecture,
Engineering and Construction space. Have extensive experience working and living abroad in the Middle
East, Europe, and Latin America. Highly focused on building collaboration between IT and business
units, delivering highest levels of service and support, emphasizing partnership, meeting operational
needs, leveraging the best and most suitable technologies, and building relationships up, down and
across the organization. Extremely strong technically with the ability to understand and work closely with
the business to develop and execute highly successful strategic plans as well as support rapid growth
either organically or by integrating acquisitions quickly, cost effectively and without disruption to the
business.
• Drive enterprise performance, efficiency and value by transforming complex business and customer
service processes and streamlining them with technology.
• Create competitive differentiation and increase business flexibility by developing value-driven
technology strategy, architecture and solutions to reduce management and field service delivery cycle
time, paperwork and human error.
• Leverage automation to create sales opportunities and integrate with ERP, CRM and billing systems.
• Improve management decision effectiveness by capturing data for improved business intelligence,
enabling rapid, real-time decisions for deployment of thousands of field service specialists, based
upon geography, climate and work requirements.
• Optimize performance of mature, startup and turnaround business environments to generate rapid
revenue growth, transform underperforming IT resources and refocus them to deliver customer
service excellence.
• Build collaboration and trust at all enterprise levels and transform working culture to build
responsibility and accountability.
• Develop innovative solutions by leveraging experience in diverse global industries including
commercial landscape design, construction and maintenance; high-availability facilities construction,
manufacturing, retail sales, franchising and consulting; and refinery, power/composite materials
plants, with early career in chemical and process engineering.
• Foster people-oriented, collaborative culture, creating high performance teams, developing internal
candidates, and a history of attracting superior IT talent with extremely high retention rates.
SKILLS AND COMPETENCIES
Global Experience • Culturally Adept • Converged Business/Technology Strategy & Architecture •
Business Process Re-Engineering • M &A Due Diligence/Integrations • New Business Development
Solutions Process Automation/Optimization • ERP/CR M Implementation & Integration • Business
I ntelligence Solutions • Business/Technology Mobility • Global Program Management • Vendor
Quality/Relationship Management • Outsourcing • People and Team Development
John D. Johnston – Résumé Page 1 of 4
PROFESSIONAL EXPERIENCE
ValleyCrest Companies, Calabasas, CA 2003 to
2013
Nation’s largest integrated landscape services business, delivering design, construction and maintenance
services. It has $1+ billion in revenue, 11,000+ employees at 171 locations in US, Middle East and China,
and is privately-owned (majority by Michael Dell/MSD Capital).
Vice President, Chief Information Officer
Report to CFO, lead 39 internal resources, 10 outsourced partners and manage $15 million budget.
Deliver IT solutions to 5 business units with diverse and distinct requirements: design/construction,
maintenance, manufacturing, retail sales and franchised operations.
• Enabled global expansion from US-only, $400 million revenue, 6,000 employee and 100 franchise
business to present size by implementing scalable robust technologies that supported organic
growth, new business development and M&A integration. Redeveloped system architecture to
enhance security and performance, while reducing costs.
• Opened multiple offices and provide support for a Middle East Joint Venture company with the
Abu Dhabi Zoo and Aquarium Public Institution. This design-build effort included setting up
UAE offices in Dubai, Al Ain, and Abu Dhabi, with full IT services and a dedicated ERP and
Contract Management instance.
• Streamlined technology platforms to capture operating synergies of diverse business units and
enable launch of two new operating units by developing and executing blended business/IT
strategy.
• Improved sales bid/win ratio for property enhancements from 30 to 40% by implementing tablet-
based system, reducing customer estimate cycle time from 4 hours to 30 minutes for 300,000
annual estimates. Account managers create on-location estimates with visual images of proposed
upgrades, enabling immediate sale, streamlined materials ordering, billing speed/accuracy, client
history, and integrated with ERP software.
• Completed custom software design phase, which when implemented, will enable management to
pivot rapidly to redeploy 6,000 field technicians on real-time basis, in response to inclement
weather and changing client needs, which previously resulted in non-billable work days.
• Designed and implemented data warehouse and business intelligence system with executive
information drill down/out capabilities and real-time project status visibility down to individual
project level.
• Increased market competitiveness, sales and communications accuracy to work crews, by
introducing photo/geo-location technology systems to identify and categorize status of clients’
high-value trees. System locates individual trees on all client properties, and categorizes them
based on size, health, location, and type, trim schedule/cycle, facilitating additional sales
opportunities and streamlining storm damage insurance claims.
• Improved CRM capabilities and ability to generate bids/sales, by consolidating two CRM
platforms to single standard (MS Dynamics), increasing tracking capabilities for customers with
national footprints. It captures unique requirements for tree, lawn and shrub maintenance, and
historical data with view of value delivered.
• Optimized estimating accuracy by implementing a custom developed system that parses client
construction and maintenance costs, using unit cost historical data, improving materials order
accuracy and reducing shipping costs for large heavy shipments that are geographically dispersed.
• Slashed customer representative time on site to measure and estimate accurately required effort
levels to service property, by implementing photogrammetry/satellite-based measurement system,
improving estimate accuracy for proposed work, and contemplating additional landscape features
that increase work.
• Enabled clients to reduce vegetation watering costs and eliminated account manager travel to
client sites to measure watering requirements by implementing smart controllers at client sites,
John D. Johnston – Résumé Page 3 of 4
connected to cellular network, to reprogram water controllers remotely and measure previous
watering, based on weather changes.
• Launched final pilot that when fully implemented will save 50,000 hours field technician time
annually, plus back office paper filing and storage footprint, by developing Android tablet-based
system that enables technicians to order, record and track irrigation system service and chemical
applications on real-time basis, and achieve regulatory compliance for fertilizer and lawn chemical
handling and consumption.
• Improved productivity and efficiency of each business unit (BU) at HQ and field levels by
redesigning business processes, upgrading ERP to Oracle Enterprise One 9.1 and optimizing
packaged and developing custom solutions for each BU.
• Achieved vehicle fleet annual saving of $1 million, by implementing on-board GPS tracking.
Reduced fuel consumption by changing crew behavior, as system tracks driver action including
speeding and harsh breaking, while improving safety and cutting moving violations.
Group,
Carlson Costa Mesa, CA
1996 to 2003
Design, construction, consulting and implementation business, serving high-availability critical facilities
market, with $500 million in revenue, 1,000 employees, 11 corporate and 27 US field offices.
Vice President, Chief Information Officer
Reported to CFO and company owners, directed 44 resources and 4 outsourced partners and managed $12
million annual budget. Hired to position Carlson competitively as leader in IT use and delivery for critical
facilities and support explosive growth.
• Established Carlson as industry leader in IT and client deliverable systems by delivering client
value, quality and efficiency at competitive costs; enabled growth from $100 to $500 million in
revenue, 120 to 1,000 employees, 5 to 11 corporate and 27 field offices.
• Directly contributed to dramatic YOY revenue growth by developing business case and launching
Network Services line of business.
• Enabled new market/business line penetration by integrating 3 acquisitions, expanding business
offerings and extending segments beyond traditional customer base in banking and
telecommunications industries.
• Improved enterprise resource management by implementing JD Edwards World solution.
• Increased project execution efficiency and improved project performance, while reducing risk, by
leading one of largest implementations of Primavera Expedition (now Oracle Contract Manager).
Fluor Corporation, I rvine, CA 1981
to 1996
Leading global engineering, procurement, construction, and maintenance services companies with $12
billion in revenue and 50,000 employees in 25 countries.
International Experience:
Saudi Arabia (1984/5) - Fluor consulted to the Saudi government to help create their fourth “Five Year
Plan”. Developed the computer model used to evaluate development scenarios and optimize the “Five
Year Plan” investment. Travelled to and from Saudi Arabia multiple times to construct the model, and
spent close to a year living in Al Khobar, travelling across the Kingdom meeting with over a dozen
M inistries to refine the model as well as meeting over a dozen foreign corporations to explain the model
and economics to ensure alignment and support.
Venezuela (1992) – Designed and set up Fluor Engineers with onsite and international IT capabilities in
support of a refinery expansion for PDVSA (Venezuela’s National Oil Company). Lived in Coro,
Venezuela for several months, working through a military coup d’état as Hugo Chavez came into power.
United Arab Emirates (1995-96) - Fluor was the overall lead for a $2B refinery expansion of the
ADNOC (Abu Dhabi National Oil Company) refinery in Ruwais, Abu Dhabi. Developed the overall
SOW and project plan and designed and delivered IT infrastructure and support services for all
contractors, including 250 Fluor engineers on site, with “follow the sun” operations around the globe and
across multiple engineering firms (Chiyoda, UOP, etc.). Efforts included procuring in-country resources
across UAE for IT hardware / infrastructure / service, working with ADNOC to integrate into its refinery,
other engineering firms to integrate their offices with Etisalat (UAE National Telephone Company) to
deliver data/voice services to highly remote areas. Lived in Dubai for three months during the
planning/bidding phase, and six months later, when Fluor won the contract, returned to Ruwais, Abu
Dhabi, living there for close to a year to execute the project.
Haarlem, Netherlands (1984 – 1996) - T hroughout tenure at Fluor, travelled regularly to Fluor’s office
in Haarlem, working closely with Fluor’s European IT Group in support of activities in Middle East.
Roles at Fluor:
Director of IT, Applied Computer Solutions (1995 to 1996)
Launched Systems Integration startup business, developed plans to identify markets, created proposals,
established business and prototype platforms, and led large implementations.
• Delivered several large-scale, multi-year projects on time and budget in Middle East and
Venezuela, and executed AT&T’s nationwide PCS rollout.
Network Operations/Software Development Manager (1992 to 1995)
Collaborated with CIO and IT Director to develop global IT infrastructure expansion strategy, create
operational and management practices, and manage daily operations/corporate desktop software
development. Managed 135 network, development and user support resources.
• Increased enterprise productivity, data access and sharing by expanding network computing
services from 5 to 76 sites, to support 15,000 global and 3,500 single campus corporate users.
Director, Technology Development and Implementation (1990 to 1992)
Advised CIO concerning technology use, identified practical application and business case for new
technologies, developed strategic alliances with technology providers and established corporate IT
standards.
Manager, Irvine Computer Services User Support (1987 to 1989)
Supported 1,500 corporate users; managed budgets, planning, staffing, procurement and training.
Chemical Engineer/Senior Process Engineer, Process Engineering (1981 to 1986)
Designed, created specifications and led startups of refineries, power plants and composite materials
plants. Automated and computer modeled chemical engineering calculations and processes.
EDUCATION
BS, Chemical Engineering, (3.9 GPA in Ch.E.), M ichigan State University, East Lansing, MI
1981
Advanced Numerical Methods Graduate Courses, University of California, Irvine, CA 1984 to
1986
John D. Johnston – Résumé Page 5 of 4
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