Microsoft Sql Front End

Brian Kusie

Summary

Brian has over ** years of experience with Microsoft SQL and Azure Databases including database development, administration, architecting, migration, and warehousing work. In this capacity, he has focused on leveraging modern cloud technologies such as Azure, Snowflake, and Matillion to optimize database performance and data pipelines. He has extensive experience with developing stored procedures, writing queries, and building/maintaining data integrations. He also has report development experience with SSRS, PowerBI, and Tableau. Brian is experienced with database administration tasks including database design, configuration and tuning with both on premise and cloud environments. He also has approximately 10 of experience performing front end development with MS Visual Studio. His experience includes roles as a sole developer, a senior member of a development team, and as a manager of teams of up to 8 direct report employees. Education/degrees earned

Juris Doctorate 2021 – 2024

Mitchell Hamline School of Law

Bachelor of Science – Computer Science 1999 – 2002 Metropolitan State University

Core Competencies

• Database Management & Development: Expertise in Microsoft SQL Server for robust database management and development. Proficient in optimizing, maintaining, and securing databases to maximize performance and reliability.

• Cloud Technologies & Data Warehousing: Strong experience with Azure for seamless cloud database solutions and Snowflake for modern data warehousing, ensuring scalable, flexible, and cost-effective data storage.

• ETL & Data Integration: Highly skilled in automating and refining data workflows using Microsoft SSIS and Matillion, enhancing data integration and quality across systems.

• Reporting & Business Intelligence: Advanced proficiency with Microsoft SSRS for tailored reporting solutions, coupled with exceptional skills in developing dynamic, insightful dashboards and visual analytics using Tableau and PowerBI.

• Project Execution & Stakeholder Engagement: Demonstrated leadership in guiding database projects from conception through to successful implementation, communicating effectively with technical and non-technical stakeholders to align project outcomes with business goals, and enhancing decision-making processes and business strategy alignment. Professional Experience

Personal Leave to complete Law School December 2023 – May 2024

• Took 6 months as a fulltime student to concentrate on final semester of law school culminating in a Juris Doctorate degree.

Personal Leave (Family Caregiver) March 2023 – December 2023

• Took a brief personal leave to care for an ill family member who required care and supervision as well as help coordinating care and healthcare appointments during illness and recovery. Brian Kusie

Independent Senior Database Consultant September 2016 – March 2023 Completed several high-impact consulting engagements for clients in industries including aerospace, manufacturing, banking/finance, retail sales, and intellectual property development.

• Performance Systems Integration (February 2023 – March 2023) o Conducted a comprehensive review of client needs, transitioning from manually generated spreadsheet reports to an automated BI reporting environment. This transformation has enabled a 50% reduction in report generation time and a 40% increase in data accuracy, fostering better decision-making processes. o Researched and evaluated various future system architectures, successfully presenting findings to the development group. This collaborative approach facilitated a unanimous agreement on the optimal system architecture, ensuring alignment with strategic goals and enhancing implementation efficiency.

o Developed a detailed project roadmap and timeline, highlighting deliverables, potential hurdles, and critical decision points.

o Authored key database architecture documents and spearheaded the creation of a robust data warehouse/data mart environment. Provided expert guidance on ancillary concerns including security, availability, and cost.

• True Blue (August 2022 – February 2023)

o Re-engineered multiple SSIS packages, effectively transitioning from MSSQL to MySQL connections, enhancing data handling capabilities and system compatibility. This initiative resulted in a 30% increase in data processing efficiency, supporting more robust data analysis and reporting functions.

o Resolved over 30 major conflicts arising from the transition to a MySQL environment for temporary data storage, ensuring seamless data flow and system functionality. This crucial troubleshooting reduced system downtimes by 40%, significantly enhancing productivity across multiple departments.

o Identified and addressed numerous roadblocks in the new ETL environment, leading to the establishment of a comprehensive set of standards for ETL functionality and development. These standards have improved project cycle times by 25%, enabling faster rollouts of new data integration projects.

o Meticulously documented the structure of the existing database, providing a detailed reference that improved understanding and efficiency in ongoing and future projects. This documentation has been integral in reducing onboarding time for new team members by 50% and has facilitated a 20% improvement in maintenance efficiency.

• Cherry Aerospace (February 2022 – August 2022)

o Conducted a thorough analysis of existing data to trace and identify the source of

$413,000 in missing funds. This investigative process not only recovered the significant financial discrepancy but also instigated new protocols for improved data accuracy and security measures in financial handling.

o Successfully reverse-engineered a 25-year-old Progress database, unraveling complex and outdated database schemas and associated functionalities. This critical analysis and reconstruction allowed for the retention and enhancement of integral data processes, leading toward modernization.

o Engineered and executed a meticulous process to migrate and synchronize over 530 tables from an outdated Progress database system to a robust new SQL database environment, ensuring complete data integrity and functional parity. This strategic migration allowed both systems to operate in parallel, facilitating a smooth transition without disrupting ongoing business operations.

Brian Kusie

o Developed and maintained a dual-database environment, enabling comprehensive testing and fine-tuning of the new SQL system while keeping the legacy system operational. This strategic approach minimized risk and provided a fallback option, ensuring business continuity.

• Dairy Queen (March 2021 – February 2022)

o Led the development and implementation of over 100 stored procedures tailored for SQL Server 2019 to enhance the data access layer at Dairy Queen. Enabled seamless and secure data transaction processes which significantly reduced data handling errors by 85% and improved data retrieval times by 40%

o Reverse engineered, rewrote, and optimized existing ETL processes, increasing data throughput by 60% and decreasing load times by 50%. Implemented advanced SQL techniques and integrated performance-enhancing tools that streamlined data flows and supported real-time data analysis needs.

o Reorganized the database schema and indexing strategies, which improved database query performance significantly. This included partitioning large tables, archiving old data, and tuning indexes effectively for optimal speed and efficiency.

• Ecolab (March 2020 – August 2020)

o Spearheaded a departmental initiative to address and resolve chronic data integrity problems in Ecolab’s Azure-hosted Snowflake database. Implemented comprehensive data cleaning measures that reduced data discrepancies by over 70%, ensuring accuracy in critical business reports and decision-making processes. o Enhanced database performance through rigorous restructuring and optimization of existing SQL scripts and Snowflake configurations. Achieved a 40% increase in query performance and data processing speeds, significantly boosting overall productivity and user satisfaction.

o Led the design and implementation of over 50 complex stored procedures for the SQL Server 2017 data access layer to streamline and secure data transactions and retrieval processes.

o Improved SQL Server security by implementing best practices in stored procedure development, including the use of parameterized queries to protect against SQL injection attacks. This resulted in strengthened database security and resilience against external threats

• 3M (August 2019 – August 2020)

o Spearheaded the migration of 3M’s on-premises SQL Server systems to an Azure- hosted Snowflake database. This initiative focused on enhancing scalability, performance, and accessibility of data across 3M's Personal Protection business unit. o Post-migration, optimized Snowflake performance by tuning complex SQL queries and restructuring data schemas to better fit the cloud model. Leveraged Azure’s elastic capabilities to dynamically scale resources, achieving a 30% improvement in data retrieval times and a 25% reduction in operational costs. o Managed the acquisition and data integration of a newly acquired company into 3M’s centralized Azure-based Snowflake platform. Designed and executed a meticulous merger plan that included data validation, deduplication, and compliance checks, ensuring a consistent and secure data environment across all business sectors. o Developed and tested disaster recovery and business continuity plans using Azure Site Recovery services, ensuring high availability and minimal downtime. This robust framework safeguarded critical business data, providing operational resilience. o Reconfigured existing reports and generating new dataflows, reports, and schedules in PowerBI for accounting team.

Brian Kusie

• Varde Partners (February 2019 – August 2019)

o Successfully upgraded, redesigned, and migrated Varde's investment and financial data storage systems using on-premises Microsoft SQL Server. Implemented performance optimizations that reduced query response times by up to 50%, substantially enhancing the speed and efficiency of data access for day-to-day operations. Designed and developed new ETL/ELT processes for critical daily reporting and data ingestion. Snowflake (database) and Matillion (ELT) were used to develop these. o Achieved a significant reduction in operational costs associated with data management by eliminating expenditures related to physical database maintenance and upgrades. The cloud-based model enacted provided a scalable architecture that adjusts resources dynamically based on demand, further reducing costs. o Implemented stringent security measures in the Azure and Snowflake setup to safeguard sensitive financial information. Enforced roles and access controls, and set up monitoring to ensure compliance with financial industry regulations and data privacy laws.

o Engineered and optimized ETL processes using Matillion to ensure smooth data integration during the transition from the on-premises SQL Server to Snowflake. This included transforming complex financial datasets into a more efficient, cloud-based format, thereby enhancing processing speed and data reliability.

• IHC Group (December 2018 – February 2019)

o Optimized existing SSIS packages/stored procedures and resolve data inconsistency issues. One existing package had been running for 6 hours daily, and work on this package resulted in a run time of under 10 minutes with full transfer of all records. o Reverse engineered existing SSIS packages and stored procedures to ensure correct processing of incoming data integrity and recommend solutions for optimization. o Developed new project for monitoring commission structure and performance of sales team members. Project included ETL, stored procedures, database architecture, and reporting functionality.

• Sunrise Banks (April 2018 – December 2018)

o Reverse engineer existing SSIS packages/stored procedures to ensure correct processing of incoming data integrity.

o Reconfigured existing SSRS reports and generated new dataflows, reports, and schedules in PowerBI. The resulting dashboard provided new insight to critical mortgage and financial metrics which allowed the company to predictively tailor their strategy to better serve new markets and historically overlooked demographics. o Designed and created process SSIS packages and stored procedures) to integrate data from new system, map data, schedule data import jobs, and document entire project. o Reviewed existing Database structure and scheduled ETL functions and recommend solutions for optimization.

o Managed 4 direct report resources.

o Planned for future team development and added functionality of newly adopted programs.

Brian Kusie

• Bluestem Brands (August 2017 – February 2018)

o Significantly reduced runtimes for multiple data loads via optimization and restructuring of processes. This typically reduced runtimes from > 1 hour to < 5 minutes. o Analyzed data, create error handling logic, and resolve ETL issues. Scheduled SSIS packages then pulled data from Data Marts into relative reports via SSRS for distribution. Snowflake Schema was used.

o Produced both Ad Hoc and scheduled/recurring reports to aid client in critical financial metrics

o Designed and created process to integrate data from new system, map data, schedule data import jobs, and document entire project.

o Reverse engineer Hadoop functionality to produce identical functionality in MS SQL- based ETL jobs and Reports.

• Hallmark (October 2016 – August 2017)

o Identified conflicts with existing and proposed business logic and provide resolution logic which resulted in the prevention of a $1.2 million loss which would have automatically occurred if it had not been preemptively identified and resolved. o Analyzed data, create error handling logic, and resolve ETL (SSIS) issues for critical client. ETL processes/stored procedures were used to pull data from client flat files into Data Warehouse, then separate scheduled jobs pushed data to singular client data mart. o Scheduled and ad hoc SSIS packages then pulled data from data mart into relative reports via SSRS for distribution.

o Acted as Liaison between company and client data supervisor to identify and resolve discrepancies with incoming data.

o Designed and created process to integrate data from new client system, map data, schedule data import jobs, and document entire project. o Performed data cleansing and merging for existing errant/redundant data. ABRA Autobody August 2015 – September 2016

Database Manager

• Managed 3 direct-report developers/DBAs

• Data was pushed to main corporate server Data Warehouse via replication from individual stores. Data was then distributed via scheduled SSIS packages to financial data mart for report distribution via SSRS and dashboards via Dundas BI. Snowflake schema was used, and data was well normalized.

• Set up multiple SQL 2016 High-Availability clusters.

• Reverse-engineered legacy reports, ETL processes/stored procedures, and functions for migration to new system.

• Created, administered, and optimized dashboards (Dundas BI platform) and scheduled reports

(SSRS platform) for financial department end users. Brian Kusie

Independent Senior Database Consultant June 2013 – August 2015 Completed several high-impact consulting engagements for clients in industries ranging from health insurance to retail sales.

• Allianz (March 2014 – August 2015)

o Reverse engineer and document ongoing database conversion and update projects. o Created functionality for integration of existing data and functionality into new system.

• Bluestem Brands (July 2013 – March 2014)

o Reverse engineered, restructured, and documented large financial reporting tool. o Reduced runtime from 3 hours to less than 20 minutes for financial reporting data load. o Increased reliability of data significantly while moving reporting system from SQL Server databases to Netezza.

Various Clients Consulting through Solution Design Group July 2011 – June 2013 Senior Consultant

• Client: Polaris Industries

o Converted SQL2000 DTS packages/stored procedures to SQL2008R2 SSIS packages. o Developed multiple SSIS packages for adding new reporting functionality (primarily for Australian market) via SSRS.

• Client: Patterson Dental

o Managed security profiles for all SQL databases. o Ensured high availability of all database servers.

• Client: Green Tree Financial Services

o Resolved issues in SSIS with current system which prevented automated functionality in reporting system.

o Identified security and standardization issues with current ticketing system and related escalation procedures and implemented solutions.

• Client: Bluestem Brands

o Analyzed current process structure for online retail business to identify inefficiencies that were preventing high-volume functionality and reliability. o Identified several coding practice issues and non-ideal environment settings and formulated a resolution plan for client.

o Supervised issue resolution process via in-house development team. Result was full functionality and reliability during highest revenue sales day in company history. Lacek Group May 2009 – July 2011

Database Engineer

• Produced automated auditing processes to allow quality assurance testing by business entity.

• Designed and configured new system in SQL 2008 R2 to house improved data system. Defined all continuity, maintenance, and optimization facets for this database.

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