Manager Insurance

WALTER STRAUS

P.O. Box *** Madison, GA *****

Cell: 214-***-****; Email: ********@*****.***

PROFESSIONAL SUMMARY

Persuasive, organized individual having excellent interpersonal and analytical problem-solving skills with a successful career track record in: executive-level marketing, sales management, business development, IT project management, financial analysis, start-up fund raising, and computer systems development. In the IT environment I have in-depth skills in database management and design (DB2, IMS, flat files), SQL, Hierarchical Storage Management (HSM), CICS, COBOL, and 360 Assembly language.

EXPERIENCE HIGHLIGHTS

Marketing and Marketing Management

■ Insurance and Financial Products

Registered Rep – Series 7 bond and equities broker

Registered Insurance Agent

Created an insurance agency with sales of over $1.5MM a year

Specialized in bond sales of all types including government agency bonds as well as CMOs (mortgage derivatives)

■ IT Products

Responsible for sales and implementation of software image products throughout the Southeast

Led a team that sold and installed the largest image processing computer system in a banking environment in the Southeast. Team consisted of 11 IT engineers.

Wrote DB2/SQL queries during my last two years with IBM.

IT Project Management and Systems Development

■ Managed the IBM Systems Engineering group in South Carolina, which was responsible for most of the IBM mainframe installations in the state. Supervised teams of up to 25 IT engineers.

■ Led project to gather requirements and develop implementation plan for image-enabling the life insurance department at a large insurance company. Led a team of seven consultants.

■ Responsible for the installation of mainframe computers in South Carolina. Met installation goals and was among the highest employee-rated technical managers in the Southern Region for three consecutive years. Achieved over 100% of quota for five consecutive years.

■ Developed in-store cash register system based on IBM’s process-oriented computer system.

■ Premier online and database specialist for IBM’s Southern Region

Operations Management

■ Hired, led and organized multiple corporate department heads

■ Created and implemented insurance agency work flow

■ Managed HR and P&L for agency

■ Systemized the process flow in several start-up businesses

■ Implemented a system of checks and balances to increase efficiencies

Business Development

■ Tracked and directed the developing business structure, vision and strategy for several start-up companies

■ Developed corporate business plan in order to promote an advertising media start-up.

■ Raised funds by engaging prominent individuals. Funds raised included over $9MM of venture capital in a very tight capital market.

ACTIVITIES, AWARDS AND RECOGNITIONS

■ Elected to the board of Katy Chamber of Commerce in second year of membership. Chaired the membership committee for two years. During this two year period, the Chamber experienced a 40% growth in membership – the fastest growth rate in the organization’s history.

■ Farmers Insurance: Achieved production awards in the life insurance sector.

■ IBM: Recognized virtually every year with top national achievements awards.

■ First president of Athens (GA.) Area Pickleball Association. Initiated and led the first two major pickleball tournaments in the state of Georgia.

EDUCATION

■ Masters of Business Administration, University of South Carolina – Deans list for all semesters.

■ B.S. in Chemical Engineering, North Carolina State University

■ Online (www.udemy.com) SQL courses: “Learn SQL Database from A to Z”, “Learn SQL Fundamentals Through 10 Practice Problems, and “Practice SQL Joins with 20 Query Challenges” (November 2015 through February 2016)

WORK HISTORY

■ Administrator/CEO, Absolute Best Care Home Health

■ President/CEO, The AdBrite Corporation, New York

■ Farmers Insurance Agency Manager, Straus Insurance and Investments

■ Principal, Straus Consulting

■ IBM Corporation - Voluntarily left during first wave of corporate downsizing

Image Products Manager

Systems Engineering Manager

Product Development

Systems Engineer

OTHER SKILLS

■ Some German language skills

■ Texas Landscape Irrigator License

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