Laura Charles

Gibsonia, PA ad22ka@r.postjobfree.com 724-***-****

CHANGE MANAGEMENT

PROJECT MANAGER CONTINUOUS IMPROVEMENT TECHNOLOGY IMPLEMENTATION

Results-driven change management professional with a proven track record of successfully guiding organizations through complex transformations. Adept at developing and implementing strategic initiatives to enhance operational efficiency, employee engagement, and overall business performance. Skilled in conducting thorough organizational assessments, identifying areas for improvement, and devising innovative solutions to drive positive change. Proven ability to adapt to dynamic environments and deliver measurable results that align with organizational goals.

Areas of Expertise:

Project Management Program Management Change Management Process Innovation Business Roadmaps Business Intelligence Divestiture/Acquisition Financial Management Reporting & Analysis Compliance Audit Problem Solver Communication Cross-Functional Collaboration Leadership

RELEVANT EXPERIENCE

Franchise Owner 2016 - Present

College Hunks Hauling Junk & Moving

Oversee day-to-day operations of the franchise, including staffing, inventory management, and customer service. Develop and manage the budget for the franchise, including revenue projections, expenses, and profit margins. Monitor financial performance and implement strategies to achieve profitability goals.

Key Accomplishments:

Successfully launched and cultivated the Pittsburgh, PA market, reaching $1M in revenue within the first 13 months, surpassing the performance of 80% of new franchisees. By year 5 surpassed $2M leading a team of 35 employees with a fleet of 8 trucks and included in Inc 5,000 fastest growing companies for 2021.

Successfully executed the most extensive junk removal initiative in our franchise's history. Applied project management methodology throughout the entire process, overseeing the project from the initial bidding stage through to the receipt of the final payment.

Created an integrated Excel model to calculate/record items such as tips, commissions, sales tax, that the franchise enterprise system cannot facilitate. The model allows for expedient bi-weekly payroll processing and other monthly, quarterly, and annual reporting requirements.

Evoqua Water Technologies (formerly Siemens Water Technologies) 1997-2016

Special Projects, Finance (2015-2016)

Director, IT Global Operations (2010-2015)

Responsible for $8.5M budget including application management, project management, and business intelligence. Managed a total of 20 staff, including 8 direct reports and third-party SAP support. Interfaced and collaborated directly with the Business Process Organization to improve value stream optimization.

Key Accomplishments:

Slashed the finance IT Help Desk support tickets by 50% by examining the backlog and documenting or updating procedures where SAP user proficiency was lacking. This effort led to the creation of a 3-year technology enablement roadmap for the “Record-to-Report” value stream with a lean continuous improvement strategy.

Transformed the IT customer satisfaction and solution delivery rate from 40% to 80% by (1) implementing Agile-Scrum methodology for application development and project management; (2) by reducing dependence on external SAP consultancy by bringing talent in-house, saving over $1M for the 3-year support contract.

Scoped, sourced and implemented game changing sales growth initiatives which dramatically improved business intelligence including Microsoft Dynamics CRM and QlikView in-memory reporting and installed base applications.

Program managed the Siemens divestiture carve-out of the IT application landscape and migration of the SAP environment from Germany to the United States.

Director of Finance, Business Integration (2006-2010)

Senior member of the $12 million SAP global implementation project team that consolidated the disparate landscape of 26 individual ERP instances.

Key Accomplishments:

Project managed the rationalization and migration of master data and open transactions and other Siemens compliance programs, most notably the Siemens Travel Management system.

Created and managed the centralized shared service department for Master Data administration for materials, customers, and vendors. Managed four direct reports and a $900K annual budget.

ADDITIONAL EXPERIENCE

Evoqua Water Technologies – Director of Corporate Sourcing, Director of Finance/Business Integration, Director of Finance & Operations (1997-2006)

Coopers & Lybrand, LLC (now PWC) – Senior Audit Supervisor (1988)

EDUCATION & CERTIFICATIONS

SAP Certified Associate

Pyzdek Institute Certified Lean Expert

Siemens Certified Mentor

California State University, Los Angeles, CA

Bachelor of Science, Business Administration – Accounting

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