Sr. Program Manager

GERARDINE D'SA MS, MBA

****@************.*** . Willow Springs IL. . 708-***-**** .

c: 312-***-****

Solutions Strategy, Development and Delivery Leader - Actualized technology-

enabled transformations through data driven actionable strategies,

integrated customized solutions, strategic sourcing and efficient global

operations across Financial Services, Banking, Healthcare and Retail.

Innate ability to translate ideas to tangible solutions, content to

actionable insights, talent to success and challenge to achievement.

Implemented unique strategies for a range of concurrent high-impact global

projects. Trusted advisor and persuasive communicator, inspiring tactical

direction and cross-functional value. Proactive change agent, embracing

ambiguity while influencing best practices, creative planning, compliance

and sustained progress, from vision to delivery of aggressive goals.

. Information Strategy and Tactical Planning - Leveraged innovative

strategies to launch the Business Development University and transfer

documents to a web content solution for Federal Reserve Vision, Procedure

and Policy. Boosted visibility, sustainable value and credibility for

District and National Training - Living the Vision award

. Operations, Process re-engineering and Service Delivery - Compelled

continuous improvement of Scalable, Secure and robust bank applications

and back-office systems. Implemented multiple upgrades, process

optimization, operations relocation and phased legacy modernization with

consistent success in risk and crisis mitigation beyond compliance for

7/24 Check imaging financial services. Waterfall support strategy improved

throughput >90%, 99.96% uptime. - Business Unit Award.

. Trusted Financial Analytics -Designed Customer Information Data Warehouse

and user interface to improve financial reporting timeliness and accuracy,

double efficiency and insights and boost decision clarity. Negotiated new

process buy-in, trained teams. Adopted as national standard - Employee

Achievement Award

. Practice/Engagement Integration - IT/business acumen to manage

expectations and adapt to multi-disciplinary systems -BI, data

warehousing, CRM, BPO, SaaS, Portals and ECM for diverse domains.

Leveraged information insights, policy, process efficiency, security and

changing demand to maximize growth while reducing cost and risk. Applied

leading edge practices to drive programs from inception through scope,

planning, development to on-time/target/budget delivery - Manager

Excellence award

. Organization Change and Communication Collaboration - motivating

professionals to strive for excellence while developing and deploying

solutions. Empowered competent, results-oriented, cohesive global teams

with tools and opportunity for effectiveness. Strong talent recruiter and

advocate of succession planning, training and retention. High impact

negotiator, facilitator, relationship builder, adept at nurturing

alliances with stakeholders and functional teams - PM award.

Career Highlights

International eInitiatives - Management Consulting

4/13 onwards

Program Manager

. Formulated data driven growth plan and carbon valuation models for non-

profit NGO focused on biowaste fuel based sustainable rural development.

Landscape insights, target market analysis and web sharing boosted

awareness for $3M investment.

. Assist business groups in maximizing outsourcing and offshoring benefits

by identifying opportunities and constructing transition implementation

plans from Opportunity Assessment to Steady State. Established Key

Performance Indicators (KPIs) improving requirements, testing and

deployment cycle by 60% resulting in improved profitability and

compliance.

Tata Consultancy Services

6/11 to 3/13

Engagement Manager with project leadership, change management and

relationship building.

. Launched practice management portal to allow real-time visibility into

performance metrics, streamline financial planning, and capture best

practices, thus optimize business resource leverage, increase client

retention and drive better business decisions.

. Full life cycle management of 250 FTE+ transitions - RfP, SOW, SLA, MSA,

finance, strategic planning, IT roadmaps, PMO development, operations,

process change, application development, call center evaluation and

enterprise systems integration.

. Sears Managed Services Transition- Outsourcing transition advisory,

Governance and Implementation of process change and managed service

support to a global offshore model.

. Quick Turnaround of systems integration, offshore services capability and

application stability to enable larger transaction volumes. Unravelled

ambiguity and resolved unique issues with disparate resources across

functions and globally dispersed locations.

Sr. Delivery Program Manager

. Data Warehousing/Business Intelligence & Actuarial Clusters at CNA -

Managed planning, scope, budget, quality, change control and timeliness of

multiple business critical projects, for both Change-the-Business large

development projects and daily Run-the-Business managed services, at CNA

Insurance, using Project Management, Systems Development Methodology

(SDLC) and Agile methodologies from initiation to implementation.

. Delivered Business Objects upgrade and Surety Financial systems

integration on plan within budget while adapting to frequent requirements

enhancements and ongoing 10-week maintenance/upgrade scheduled cycle.

. Retail Point of Sale Systems at Walgreens-Developed sourcing strategy and

implemented Nextgen point of sale development model and Drugstore.com

acquisition financial systems integration proposal and project setup.

Presented metrics, case studies and best practices to operational leaders

and business units on key development areas.

. Guided team leads in identifying, prioritizing and implementing change,

in line with client's business model, strengths and mitigating risks that

could potentially impact operating performance.

MBA and Co. / International eInitiatives - Management Consulting

1/08

to 11/10

. Transitioned back-office financial systems, clinical tracking, electronic

health records (EHRs) and physician order entry (CPOE) to digital quick

secure access. Full life cycle development and support with team of 9

onshore/100+ offshore developers, analysts, and testers. Managed

requirements gathering, documentation, delivery of new functionality and

enhancements, and communication for Global Practice development projects.

. Planned a startup's strategy to maximize investment impact and deliver BI

solutions to BFS client reporting. Managed all aspects of services and

solutions delivery including Demand and Capacity, Quality, Risk Control,

Operations stability, Functional partnerships, Project Portfolio and

vendor oversight.

. PMO - Partnered with Systems and Solutions Executive Team of financial

client to create a global program office to coordinate and manage

worldwide development/releases, program milestones and metrics tracking.

Coordinated five global programs ($100+M) for standards compliance and

design reviews. Developed enterprise portfolio scorecard.

Hewitt Associates 10/06 to 8/07

Consulting Technology Operations Manager, HRO

. Integrated IT, business, operations, process design and enhanced

monitoring and problem resolution to revitalize performance and

reliability. Minimized expense and risk with optimized 24/7seamless

staffing model and offshore transition, driving higher service levels for

6K contact centers and 6M participants. Consistently exceeded SLA 99.5%

uptime of Hewitt proprietary solutions.

. Modeled and implemented novel solution to cyclic constraints for key

application infrastructures. Integrated Project Portfolio, optimized

throughput and capacity (75%), strengthened IS support to business units

worldwide and reduced operations costs 35%.

Softpro Systems

6/05 to 8/06

Director, Global Solutions Delivery, Operations, Outsourcing, off shoring -

multiple SBUs, clients.

. Re-assessed diverse client base, translated requirements into functional

system design, customized projects, co-authored business proposal.

Implemented penetrate-radiate strategy for continued progress, rapid

project turnaround and profitability in 6 months.

. Developed/trained team of 80. Secured development contract by presenting

innovation and core achievements.

. Facilitated requirements gathering for 3 concurrent BPO projects.

Positioned India operation for lucrative expansion.

Federal Reserve Bank, Technology Group, Financial Services

Oversight of technology strategy, functionality, integration and systems

lifecycle programs for EDP environment. Collaborated with Sr. VPs of

Financial, Regulations, Customer Relationship Service, Information

Security/Audit, Systems Operations and IT to prioritize and enable cross-

department aligned short and long-term strategic objectives.

Applications Specialist

3/03 to 3/05

. Ensured project portfolios delivered on time/target/budget. Compelled

positive outcomes to developing ongoing initiatives, by

facilitating partner JAD sessions, comprehensive planning and standards

across district financial services delivery teams.

. Implemented $2M capital project to consolidate multiple data sources in

an enterprise data warehouse. Simplified complex reporting and

significantly improved data availability by developing multi-level report

ad-hoc demand drilldown capability, allowing analysts to immediately

target and correct under-performing institutions and adjust forecasts.

. Assessed proposed projects and software tools for regulatory compliance,

risk mitigation and district best-fit. Established PMO best practices to

coordinate development, milestone and metrics tracking. Re-negotiated

vendor agreements for 20% lower costs.

. Spearheaded tactical build of Knowledge Store, Human Capital and Work

Order data warehouses and ECM content interface Portals. Presented

intranet prototypes. Set multi-tiered decision support, forecasting, ado

reporting for effective repository access.

. Planned phased $12M+ budget re-engineering/consolidation processes and

closing strategies for multi-tiered Check Modernization and Migration

(>200 resources). Completed on time/target/budget, without interrupting

$10-$12 billion daily processing.

. Designed contingency, recovery, enhanced security, business continuity

and Security, QA, and DR testing across departments. Presented and

implemented Datacenter Transition and IT Risk Assessment plans.

Systems Engineer/Financial Services

2/99 to 3/03

Single Contact for concurrent implementation of critical technical,

workflow redesign and efficiency impacting entire organization.

. Engineered interfaces for transition of legacy Mainframe processes to

Unix/Java applications and automated manual processes. Led project teams

through scope, requirements, and implementation. Reduced escalating

development re-working cost 25%.

. Devised 5000+ DB centralization/consolidation/upgrade. Eliminated address

directories' redundancy saved $750k, and $100k/year.

. Consistent investment optimization of 6-site District Financial services

systems suite, through process redesign, mainframe updates legacy

conversions, sustained lean process, data quality and reducing risk.

Guided financial and managerial reporting groups using PeopleSoft and

Crystal Reports to enhance financial reporting efficiency.

. Implemented several projects through entire SDLC - analysis, scope

approval, cost/time estimates, staffing, cross-functional contracts, and

problem resolution for check systems, treasury imaging, electronic

statements, system upgrades and user training.

. Initiated and led Help desk process makeover. Designed/implemented

customer call-center procedure National Support guide, reduced call

duration and repeat calls 35%. Improved response >150% with paperless

notification and real-time status approvals.

EDUCATION and Training

MBA Chicago Booth school of Business, Strategic Management, Economics,

Finance. International Economics at HHL, Germany.

Selected by FRB management for MBA scholarship program

MS University of Akron, Urban Studies.

M.Sc. Calcutta University, Mathematics, Statistics (Merit scholarship for

graduate study, Scholastic Achievement Award).

Certificate Web Developer, DePaul University, Chicago, PMI, ITIL, Six

Sigma, Chicago Deming.

Additional :

Technology Competencies

Data: SQL, PL/SQL, SQL Reporter, Factiva, Bloomberg, DB2, Oracle

Designer, DMSII, SAS, SPSS, MPC, ERWIN, Informatica.

Web: HTML, DHTML, XML, ColdFusion, J2EE Websphere, JavaScript, PhP,

Dreamweaver, Domino Designer, Visual Studio.

Tools: RUP, RequisitePro, TeamPlay, MS Office/Project/Visio,

Project Portfolio, Sharepoint, CobiT, Gantt, PERT, WinRunner.

Solutions: OracleFinancials (11i), SAP B/W, Business Objects, Cognos, ETL

Processes, Misys(OPICS), SaaS, Bancs.

Prior Experience

iGate (Mastech Systems Corporation), Systems Consultant at Centeon

1998 - 1999

PM, multi-function dispersed teams for Production Control System Y2K

readiness, SAP conversion/data migration at Plasma Plant.

. Designed and implemented Oracle database system including data

maintenance, on-line account entry, planning, initiatives and issue

tracking system to monitor performance and generate status notification.

Lowered customer complaints (>200%), improved daily production by cutting

process cycle delays and timely reporting saved $24 million.

. Led IT, consultants, business groups (Finance, Manufacturing, Inventory),

teams (150+ staff) on implementation of legacy to SAP conversion and QA/QC

across business operations. Corrected expiration-date error in forecasting

module, preventing crisis.

Northern Trust Company, Systems Officer

1996 -1998

Leadership of cost-effective customized technology solutions and

performance optimization for suite of diverse long-term banking systems,

operations and information analytics - Chairman's award for Absolute

Quality'96, Signature Service Team spirit award ('97).

Technology Consultant Engagements

1983 - 1996

Led multi-site development/delivery teams at Fiserv(Bank Systems),

Alltel(service delivery), AIG(Claims processing), Barnett Bank/ Bank of

America(Document Imaging), KoppersCo(Building workorder systems), ESI

(School District records), Systematics(datacenter operations),

Newtrend(Mortgage and construction loans), Foxmeyer (manufacturing

systems), ANZ(bank operations), multiple roles at Unisys, IBM, TCS, Syntel,

CBSI, Capricorn Systems.

Professional Groups

PMI, Booth Corporate Management & Strategy Group, High Technology Group,

Consulting Club, Chicago Women in Business Group, Federal Reserve

Outstanding Performance Award (OPA) Committee, ITS Town Hall Committee,

Graduate Leadership Council (GLC).

Recent Program Management:

. Managed Surety/CNA Finance Application Integration for strategic

acquisition & merger of CNA and Surety companies. Led six teams for ledger

integration, 1099consolidation, municipal tax reporting.

. BI integration of surety premium and claim historical data (20 years) to

Merlin data warehouse, and data archival, enabling single source of truth

for management and Bureau reporting.

. Executed projects in waterfall & agile methodologies and tracked full

SDLC life cycle, and system shutdowns.

. Developed business case/ project charter/ Statement of Work and

status/follow-up updates, with requirements team. Partnered with business

sponsors to define scope of business ideas for project plan, ensuring

focus on required results and risk mitigation.

. Data warehouse and business objects operation support, and prioritizing

business change request for release upgrades.

. Managed multiple pricing systems which facilitate Finance to compare

multiple sources - Bloomberg & IDC and then send data to its Investment

data marts and MaxIMUS for internal management and regulatory reporting.

. Version upgrades and support- Business Objects, Informatica, Oracle for

reinsurance, underwriting and actuarial applications.

. Managed stakeholder expectations and negotiated most accurate definition

of project scope and optimum schedule. Managed cost, schedule, budgets,

resource allocation, forecasting, risk management, communication plans and

performance of component projects, while ensuring user acceptance and

ultimate success of project portfolio.

. Acquired, developed and instilled shared accountability across dispersed

20-30 member teams, in India, USA and Mexico.

. Effectively managed and communicated with diverse senior business and IT

stakeholders, and 4 other managed service providers.

. Resolved numerous project issues including staffing shortages, tactical

plans, scope creep and diverse business and user needs.

. Articulated project goals and scope, translated business needs into

technical terms, guided detailed work breakdown structures (WBS) and

technical artifact reviews on detail design, data models, test strategy,

deployment strategy.

. Presented status reports on schedule and cost performance index,

forecast, future opportunities and existing issue resolution.

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