JAMES WEDSTER

Hoffman Estates, IL • 630-***-****

acu2xs@r.postjobfree.com

Hands-on information technology leader and solutions architect with more than twenty years’ experience successfully leading IT teams and projects. Proven record of product delivery across diverse industries including finance, insurance, manufacturing, distribution, and retail, for companies ranging from a technology start-up to an international seventy-billion-dollar corporation.

Motivational leadership style and driven work ethic, able to mentor and engage hands-on whenever necessary. A technology visionary with proven multi-team leadership, product management, product delivery experience. Successfully implemented innovative technologies and methodologies across various enterprises solving mission-critical challenges. Responsible for introducing products resulting in up to one-hundred-twenty percent revenue growth and reducing operating costs up to thirty-five percent.

COMPETENCIES

Delivered industry leading SaaS/IaaS/PaaS ecosystems utilizing several technologies and patterns, including micro-services.

Proven track-record of innovation, business transformation, and company growth & profit.

Adept in successful team building and delivery of enterprise solutions on plan.

Experienced in enterprise strategic vision/planning, product management, vendor management, and implementation of agile/lean methodologies.

Implemented agile and lean methodologies, partnering with C-level management, business associates, and marketing groups.

Bridge business, product, and technology gaps with communication and innovation, consistently resulting in cohesive expectations and successful delivery.

Adept with Micro-Services, SaaS, frameworks/architectures, UX design/development, CI/CD, mobile app design/development, database design, data mining, ETL, MOM, security, cryptography, testing techniques, environment management, and several other technologies.

TECHNOLOGIES

Experience with java, .Net, and mobile app development, including, but not limited to:

Product Management: JIRA, LeanKit, Rally, VersionOne

App Server: IIS, Tomcat, Websphere, NGINX

VM/Containers: VMWare, Docker

Continuous Integration: CruiseControl, Jenkins

Development: Java, C#, ASP.Net, Groovy, JavaScript, PHP, Perl

Frameworks: Spring Boot/IO/etc, Foundation, AngularJS, KendoUI, MetroUI

Continuous Integration: Jenkins, Team Fnd Svr

ORM: Hibernate, Nhibernate, DataObjects

BRMS: Drools, Bus Rule Fwk

BPM: jBPM

MoM: Sonic, MQ

Database: Oracle, MS SQL Server, MySQL, PostgreSQL

WORK EXPERIENCE

GoVirtualOffice Sr. Architect

03.2016 – Present Madison, WI

Design and implement ERP product customizations and enhancements.

Generate innovative web technology design and architecture for multiple ERP and Finance clients.

4Gnosis CTO

06.2014 – Present Chicago, IL

Gnosis Secured processes electronic/biometric payments primarily in the insurance industry, including stored value cards, ACH, PayPal, ApplePay, CurrentC, etc.

Engaging in a full-time capacity from 03/2015 - 3/2016.

Generate strategic vision, and managed all IT-related activities including budget, pre-sales, infrastructure, back-office, software architecture, infrastructure and application security, and compliance (HIPPA, SSAE16, PCI, EFTA, CORE).

Facilitate micro-service/SaaS architecture and object/database design. Implemented a dynamic ETL architecture, which receives data from retailers, insurance carriers, TPA's, bill review, etc., and distributes secure payment transactions to banks and partners.

Architect dynamic business rules and distribute notifications via email, SMS, and mobile push (GCP/APN).

Sedgwick CMS IT Architect/Product Lead - Contractor

11.2010 – 11.2015 Chicago, IL

Sedgwick CMS is the largest Claims Management Adjusting Service in the United States with annual gross revenues exceeding $1.5B.

Facilitated the architecture, design, hands-on development, and implementation of a Risk Management Information System (RMIS) for the Professional Liability, Specialty Claims, and California WC divisions.

Defined the strategic vision, architecture, provided hands-on development, and lead implementation one of the first fully automated financial layer payment systems in the insurance industry.

Mentored the scrum methodology across multiple teams.

Aon e-Solutions VP Product Development

6.2007 – 11.2010 Chicago, IL

AON is one of the largest insurance brokerage firms in the world with 66,000 employees in over 120 countries and an annual gross revenue exceeding $12B.

Lead product management and development teams for the AON e-Solutions’ Claims Management, Bill Review, Policy Management/Underwriting, and Billing product suite.

Defined the strategic vision and oversight of a fully integrated underwriting/policy management and billing product, which is integrated, yet autonomous with the core claim system. The solution was a fully SaaS product with a state-of–the-art UX, dynamic business rules, and a scalable and extensible infrastructure.

Streamlined product delivery and client implementations, while reducing the number of disparate code bases from 24 to 3, resulting in a drastic reduction in product maintenance costs and significantly faster time-to-market.

Engaged in product pre-sales and prototyping, resulting in nearly double the annual product sales.

Broadspire / Crawford Claims Management Director of Strategic Development

3.2006 – 6.2007 Lake Zurich, IL

Broadspire and Crawford Claims Management were in the top five Claims Management (TPA) companies in the US. Broadspire was acquired by Crawford in June 2007 from a Private Equity firm.

Managed a team of analysts, software architects, developers, and testers with an annual budget of 1.7MM.

Identified, recruited, and hired exceptional staff. Implemented lean and agile methodologies, establishing a highly productive and team-oriented work environment.

Coordinated and engaged in the requirements and design of new product modules.

Partnered with the claim system vendor using their source-code to design and develop key aspects of the core claim system, including a comprehensive central distribution module.

Implemented project management, architecture, and java development best practices.

CNA Insurance Strategic Solutions Architect

8.2005 – 3.2006 Chicago, IL

Designed solutions around the policy management workflows and rate algorithms.

Defined the architecture for integration with external data sources and regulatory services.

Zurich NA / CSC Strategic Claims Manager

6.2003 – 8.2005 Schaumburg, IL

Zurich Worldwide is a $70B insurance firm, which owns Farmers Insurance. Zurich North America has over 10,000 employees.

Implemented a new custom claims management system "eZAccess" across the entire US and territories.

Managed the core technology team of ten architects and developers within the claims management domain. Provided hands-on leadership for several projects, each delivered on time and within budget, including a project that had previously failed on three prior occasions.

Implemented the scrum software development methodology. Managed SLA’s resulting in exceeded expectations, while coordinating support across multiple locations and infrastructure teams worldwide.

Partnered with sister company Farmers Insurance to provide support and guidance.

Zurich world-wide’s software development was outsourced to CSC in November 2004.

As a CSC employee, I managed the entire Zurich claims portfolio of applications with a budget of $1.2M and over 40 employees.

Effective Data Inc. Director of Strategic Technology

2.2000 – 6.2003 Schaumburg, IL

Managed software services development team of 12. Engaged with prospects/clients as a means to demonstrate competency, and subsequently augment staff end employ project teams.

Clients include:

- Chicago Mercantile Exchange

- Walgreens Corporate Headquarters

- Chicago Futures Trading Group

At the CME, coordinated, architected, and provided oversight of the international “iLink” trading system product implementation. Managed the introduction/implementation of the first Single Stock Futures trading platform for the CME Group.

Manage and architect the Walgreens Vendor Rebate Program, involving integration with each stores sales data, and integrating with Walgreens purchasing systems to generate financials owed Walgreens from each vendor.

Designed and implemented the Chicago Futures Trading Group’s internet-based trading algorithm and platform.

Donlen Corporation Director of Information Systems

4.1998 – 2.2000 Northbrook, IL

Lead software development and infrastructure team of seventeen with a budget of 1.7M.

Managed and enhanced software products, including one which won the 1998 Microsoft e-Commerce Product of the Year.

LTD Commodities IT Department Supervisor

11.1997 – 4.1998 Bannockburn, IL

LTD Commodities is a leading commercial catalog sales company in the US. Shortly following my employment, it merged with ABC Distribution.

Managed team of seven in a dynamic and fast paced retail catalog environment. Included leadership in areas of internet/intranet development, quality assurance, database, network, training, and support.

Company merged, position eliminated.

Tommy Armour Golf Supervisor/Project Manager

6.1997 – 11.1997 Morton Grove, IL

Began process to lead implementation of third party CRM product.

Company sold, IT department eliminated.

Folger Adam Information Systems Manager

5.1996 – 6.1997 Lemont, IL

Folger Adam, a prison lock manufacturing company, was owned by a Private Equity firm from the UK, which bought the company out of receivership. The systems were replaced and company sold in sixteen months.

Managed team of three during the implementation of a new commercial ERP system.

Weiser Lock/Marvel Group Development Supervisor / Developer

12.1991 – 4.1996 Chicago, IL / Tucson, AZ

The Marvel Group and Weiser Lock were owned by the Masco Corporation. Marvel manufactures modular office equipment. Weiser Lock was the leading residential lock manufacturer in Canada and third in the US. I transferred/relocated from the Marvel Group to the Weiser Lock headquarters in Tucson AZ to design, develop, and implement a custom ERP system in the US and Canada manufacturing facilities.

Managed teams engaged in development of a custom ERP system, including AR, AP, GL, Cost, Purchasing, Order Entry, Capacity Planning, Scheduling, and BOM modules.

EDUCATION

Associate in Science (95% coursework complete) – College of DuPage – 12/2016

Graduate – Computer Learning Center – 05/1989

Certificate of Completion - SAUK Area Charter School – 08/1985

Oracle Development Certificate

Java Development Certificate

Architecture and Design Certificate

Management and Communications Certificate

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