IT Professional

CARMEN KHELAWAN, B.SC, PMP

Scarborough, Ontario

Res: 416-***-**** <> Cell: 647-***-****

Email: ******.********@*********.**

LinkedIn: http://www.linkedin.com/in/carmenkhelawan

PROFESSIONAL PROFILE

A Senior Information Technology Professional with extensive experience providing solutions for all aspects of Information Technology Infrastructure services. A successful leader who is recognized for setting and achieving high standards with a commitment to quality and service. Able to effectively direct and manage projects demonstrating strong organizational, communication and negotiation skills.

KEY AREAS OF EXPERTISE

• Project/Program and Resource Management

• Team Building and Motivation

• Budget Planning and Execution

• Strategic Vision and Planning

• Vendor Relationship Management

• Driving Execution for IT Business Services

CAREER HISTORY

The Nielsen Company – Markham, ON 1988 – 2013

Service Delivery Leader Feb - Dec 2013

Disaster Recovery Leader 2008 - 2013

Director, IT Infrastructure Operations 2006 - 2007

Manager, Application Hosting 2001 - 2006

Manager, Technical Services 1998 - 2001

Technical Project Leader 1994 - 1998

Technical Analyst 1991 - 1994

Systems Programmer 1988 - 1991

Driving Execution for IT Business Services:

Developed infrastructure strategies centered around five key tenets availability, scalability, capacity, performance and cost containment. Operational success included:

> Recipient of the Nielsen Global Cycle Time award in recognition of a 33% reduction in cycle time processing for a key system, resulting in earlier client deliverables, as well as, cost savings of over $800,000 related to hardware procurement.

Recommended business solutions that significantly improved operational efficiency and

effectiveness to Nielsen’s overall business results. Most recent achievement included:

> A 20% reduction in Severity 1 issues and client impacting outages, through measured problem management and disciplined root cause analysis and follow ups.

Developed platform standards for a consolidated Data Centre model and built team structures to support this model.

Co managed the consolidated infrastructure resources across North America from 20 Data Centers to 3 major Hubs, with subsequent reduction in the hardware footprint by over 50%.

Managed the transition from internal to outsourced human resources to administer the consolidated infrastructure environments.

Introduced new technologies to meet the organization’s strategic objectives.

> Led implementations for new technologies which included VMWARE and Site Recovery Manager (SRM), Storage Area Networks (SAN) and SAN Replication solutions, Flash Storage Technologies, Clustered UNIX environments, Oracle RAC Datawarehouse. All technologies were adapted as standard implementations across the Nielsen organization globally.

Coordinated assessed, developed and communicated Disaster Recovery requirements and contingency plans for the Nielsen organization globally. Successfully negotiated and obtained budget by presenting strategic solutions to the Senior Executive team to ensure

information assets were protected.

Provided oversight for software compliance on all desktops and servers to reduce company exposure to any breach of contracts or violation of intellectual property right laws.

Strategic Vision and Planning:

Designed and developed Leadership Development Plans, Communications and Culture strategies to ensure clear direction was established for all staff within the department as well as outsourced associates.

Developed and implemented strategies to maximize availability of supported services and applications, as well as, meet productivity, quality and business plan goals.

> Implemented patch management processes and schedules for the maintenance of hardware and software resources, thereby reducing potential failures or outages.

Met regularly with senior business partners and Line of Business executives to ensure operational risks were tracked and addressed.

As Director of IT operations in North America, managed an annual IT budget of over $20MM and implemented cost control measures to ensure that budgets were on Target.

Project/Program and Resource Management:

Led Server and Storage refresh and consolidation projects that provided stability and better performance for business critical applications.

Manage Wellness Programs for Nielsen’s major Clients which resulted in faster delivery of Consumer Insight information to those clients. Achieved improved delivery to Clients from 7 days to 5 days.

Conducted Failure Mode and Effects Analysis (FMEA) initiatives for critical applications that significantly reduced the number of high severity issues and client impact outages.

Vendor Relationship Management:

As the Global Disaster Recovery leader, managed Vendor relationships for infrastructure resources to ensure availability in the event of a disaster. As well, effectively managed 3rd party provider contracts.

Managed outsourced vendor from a contractual perspective through governance and relationship building to ensure that all relevant technical or contractual issues were escalated to achieve prompt resolution.

Met regularly with hardware and software vendors to maintain an understanding of the latest technologies and tools so that the organization’s technology roadmap was effective and met current and future business needs.

EDUCATION:

ITIL Foundations Recertification V3.0 2011

Lean Six Sigma – Green Belt 2008

ITIL Practitioner, Service Delivery 2007

ITIL Foundations Certification 2004

PMP certification – PMPI 2003

Masters Certificate(PMP) – George Washington School of Business 2002

Advanced Certificate in Information Technology Project Management – McMaster University 2002

Bachelor Degree – Computer Science – York University 1987

Microsoft Certified Systems Engineer 1994

PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT

Active Leadership Selecting for Success

Coaching and Mentoring Performance Management

Process

Managing Conflict Effectively Development Plans that Work

Strategic Selection and Interviewing Coaching and Feedback

Handling Change Effectively Diversity Training

Positive Employee Relationships Project Management

Teamwork Effectiveness Scheduling and Cost Control

Neal Whitten’s No Nonsense Advice Project Leadership, Management

for Successful Projects and Communications

COMMUNITY / VOLUNTEER WORK:

Volunteer-Project Management Institute(PMI) Jan 2015

Service Volunteer - GoodLife Fitness Apr 2014–Sep 2014

Volunteer - We Day (Me To We Non Profit Organization) Sept 2012

Volunteer - CIBC Run for the Cure annual event Oct 2011–Oct 2014

Mentor/Mentee Program – Project Management Institute (PMI) Apr 2011–Apr 2012

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