Technology Strategy & Advisory Consultant
Resume:
Robert Willis
Technology Strategy & Digital Transformation Consultant
**@*****************.*** +1-725-***-****
LinkedIn Henderson, NV
Dual Canadian & British Citizenship
US Permanent Resident
Summary
As a seasoned and trusted Technology Advisory Consultant, I excel at partnering with C-suite Leaders and leading diverse and cross-functional teams to stabilize, modernize and transform technology landscapes that deliver measurable value to Business Stakeholders. I help IT Leadership set their strategic technology direction on which investment decisions are made. I’ve acquired international experience that drives strategic change resulting in meaningful impact. My formula for success is derived from interweaving Business & IT Strategies and designing Target Operating Models to describe new ways of working underpinned by compelling Business cases, robust and future-proof Enterprise Architecture, assessing current and target state Capability Models, Transformation Roadmaps and execution through appropriate predictable, iterative or hybrid project delivery methodologies.
My combined advisory and delivery skillsets drive measurable outcomes, raise awareness through effective communication, improve the maturity of IT functions and demonstrates the value of IT to Business & IT Leadership:
• Delivered a Target Operating Model in 4 months under challenging circumstances for the UK Aviation Regulator earning a hand-written ‘thank you’ note from the Program Sponsor.
• Presented a capability-focused Target Operating Model to the Director General of Border Force to restructure his Border Systems technology delivery function to achieve a cost reduction mandate. Finance-validated cost reduction forecasts were based on the premise of retaining core IT functions, outsourcing the rest and by upskilling Civil Service staff to reduce reliance on external IT Contractors.
• Managed an audit-driven, 3yr, $50m Cyber Security Transformation Program involving 7 Cyber security projects with a team of ~50 FTE, Supplier and Contractor resources.
• Won a 3-month $550k Target Operating Model engagement for Wealth Management Client: I spearheaded a three-month operating model overhaul for an MFO client, reducing IT spend from 11% to under 8% of revenue, enabling pre-M&A readiness and conducting a market evaluation for the internal Cybersecurity function to provide external MSSP services.
• Secured £100m of investment for Global IT Consolidation at British American Tobacco: As Enterprise Technology Program Manager, I led a team of 7 Enterprise Architects to design and propose a target technology landscape and submitted a strategic program portfolio of business cases and transformation roadmaps to IT & Business Leadership. The approved portfolio consolidated and standardized a fragmented IT estate and regional processes across 180 countries, serving 45,000 users leading to annual cost reduction of ~22% by provisioning IT services from 3 x Tier 1 global data centers.
• Pre-M&A managed $32m Cloud Transformation for XL Catlin: I directed an RFP-driven Cloud migration across EMEA and NA, exiting pending lease-expiration Data Centers, modernizing IT infrastructure and introducing Azure Application Development services & a DevSecOps culture for a global insurer pre-AXA Insurance acquisition.
• Implementation, integration and architectural understanding across enterprise business applications (CRMs, ERPs, HCMs) with platform agnostic strategy experience.
• Designed a new Technology Operating Model for the Aga Khan Development Network resolve an insecure IT environment and improve IT capabilities.
Core Competencies & Subject Matter Expertise
Digital & IT Strategy
Target Operating Models
Project & Program Management
M&A Due Diligence / Integration
Business & Technology Partnerships
Financial Analysis/ ROI / TCO Assessments
Enterprise Architecture Advisory
Portfolio Analysis & Strategic Alignment
IT Capability Maturity Improvement
Organization Change Management
RFP Initiation & Response
Strategy Execution Readiness
P a g e 2 4
Career Experience
Jupiter Capital Management, Las Vegas, NV 12/2024 - present VP, Technology Strategy & Advisory
Partnering with Technology Leadership to set technology direction on which investment decisions are made underpinned by IT Strategy, Target Operating Models, Enterprise Architecture & Transformation roadmaps that deliver genuine Business impact. Swan Advisory Group LLC, Las Vegas, NV (used for contracting purposes) 05/2024 - present Principal Consultant, Technology Advisory & Digital Transformation Helping Technology Leadership improve IT relations with Business Leaders by gaining trust, adjusting attitudes, promoting cultural change and driving value confidence.
• Constructed a Target Operating Model for the Corporate Back Office functions (HR, Finance, Legal & Procurement) to achieve a 15% annual cost reduction and improved productivity capabilities for a top-tier consulting firm.
• Developed an IT Scorecard for a Casino CIO concerned about increasing service issues and organizational structures in response to the question, Are my teams working on the right things?’ Ahead, Inc., Chicago, IL 01/2023 - 01/2024
Principal Consultant, Technology Strategy & Advisory Charged with planning and delivery of IT strategy, enterprise architecture, target operating models, and IT capability maturity. Partnered with C-level executives to establish technology direction for IT investment decisions.
• Landed and led a $550k, 3-month Operating Model assessment comprising evaluation of processes, technology, people, information, and costs to reduce our MFO wealth management client's IT spend from 11% of revenue to >8% in support of pre-M&A activities.
• Formulated an outline IT strategy for supporting new CIO appointment at a Las Vegas casino by recommending a strategic plan for his IT organization aligned with growth objectives, technology simplification, automation introduction, and data value optimization.
• Offered thought leadership to Chief Enterprise Architect of major northwestern hospital on strategy communication, domain architecture maturity, governance, and industry trends in AI and digital patient experiences.
• Authored an Enterprise Architecture Point of View deck for pre-sales purposes. Information Services Group, Stamford, CT 04/2022 - 01/2023 Principal Consultant, Target Operating Models
Advised C-Level technology leaders in envisioning future technology operating models, defining governance and strategic functions, and establishing agile, flexible, and resilient IT framework.
• Partnered with retiring CIO and IT management team of a national building manufacturer to craft a capability-based operating model and organization redesign to align with strategic direction as a function of succession planning.
• As Agile Subject Matter Expert, developed set of standard operating procedures aligning with the client’s agile framework to satisfy internal audit and customer requirements for our healthcare client.
• Successfully proposed and secured an 8-week, $156K project with a Canadian energy supplier to conduct an ITIL Process Assessment for 24 processes, Service Management Strategy & Target Operating Model.
• Directed planning and migration of application portfolio to target environment following Corporate divestiture for our energy client with consideration to IT risks, functional duplications and operational synergies. P a g e 3 4
BIP (formerly Chaucer), London, UK 03/2019 - 11/2021 Managing Principal, IT Strategy, Cyber Security & Project Management Completed several key consulting engagements as contributing member of Strategy, Cyber & Project Practices, including:
• Modernized and enhanced digital identity capabilities at Zurich Insurance across UK and USA locations to facilitate future business growth through digital services. In addition to delivering a Global Infrastructure Operating Model for IT Services and Cyber Security functions, I was also called to collaborate on the development of the Zurich Insurance Workforce Strategy with a mission of shifting from a focus on technology to creating an amazing user experience.
• Led the capability improvement initiative to achieve the target maturity state of the Cybersecurity function for a Magic Circle Law firm. Also contributed to the weighted scorecard and evaluation panel for the RFP selection process that identified and selected the firm’s network and cybersecurity managed services partners.
• Crafted the Cloud Strategy and three-year business case for Royal College of General Practitioners to mitigate end of support infrastructure challenges.
• Headed efforts for MSSP integration, facilitating a new Cyber Security Operating Model, Government G-Cloud commercial framework and an Incident Response process into the SecOps function of the British Business Bank.
• Steered design of IT Strategy, Operating Model and Capability Map for IT Operations restructuring at Lloyds of London.
• Aligned business capabilities with CIO's vision to implement Product-based Operating Model in a true DevOps environment for teams located in EMEA, NA and APAC for Tokio Marine HCC.
• Integral in supporting UK Home Office National Law Enforcement Data Program in conducting governance assessments and risk reviews for AWS Cloud adoption readiness.
• Led the capability improvement initiative to achieve the target maturity state of the Cybersecurity function for a Magic Circle Law firm. Also contributed to the weighted scorecard and evaluation panel for the RFP selection process that identified and selected the firm’s network and cybersecurity managed services partners.
• Volunteered as People Lead to mentor and coach junior BIP/Chaucer Consultants on matters of engagement challenges and career development.
BBH&R Ltd., London UK 01/2004 – 03/2019
Managing Director, Contract Advisory Consulting & Project Delivery Oversaw multiple sophisticated technology strategy design and implementation projects directing teams of varying sizes and budget allocations. Contract highlights:
• Civil Aviation Authority: As Target Operating Model Consultant & Interim Business Architect, fostered consensus with Executive Committee in formulating IT strategy, target operating model, enterprise architectures, and transformation roadmap for UK Aviation Regulator.
o Decreased operating costs, restructured organization to shared services model, modernized technology and data platforms, and enhanced stakeholder satisfaction while meeting regulatory requirements.
• Border Force, UK Home Office: Served as Enterprise Architecture & Project Management Consultant. Led strategic planning for a crucial overhaul to reorganize technology solution delivery at Boder Systems and collaborated on creating a workforce capability-focused target operating model, presented to the Director General of Border Force. o Retained core IT functions and outsource the remaining to MSP Partners. o Emphasized cyber security, risk management, and data management in addressing enterprise architecture and PMO concerns as documented through various internal and external assessments.
• Aga Khan Development Network: Defined the EMEA, NA and APAC digital technology modernization blueprint and Operating Model to introduce a trusted network infrastructure and upskill IT teams through architectural roadmaps and a portfolio of project initiatives.
• British American Tobacco: Provided program management leadership and cyber security SME services for a global manufacturer operating in 180 countries with 45k users. o As Enterprise Technology Program Manager, recruited team of EAs and SAs and developed the strategic roadmap and Technical Design Authority for the newly created Enterprise Architecture function to mend fragmented and de-centralized global IT estate following numerous global mergers and acquisitions; secured
~£100m in project approvals from IT leadership.
o As Cyber Security Transformation Program Manager, led a successful transformation of £38m IT security project plagued by audits and operational challenges due to mergers and acquisitions. Directed 7 security projects with a team of 50 internal and external resources across international regions to provide IT security services from 3 global Tier 1 Data Centers. Reported directly to IT Leadership. P a g e 4 4
• Financial Conduct Authority: Functioned as Cloud Project Manager and fractional Scrum Master to bridge Product Owner, Architects, Cloud Operations, and Product Engineering teams in design and deployment of a strategic Tableau data analytics and information management platform in a Proof-of-Concept on AWS VPC infrastructure.
• XL Catlin (acquired by AXA Insurance): As NextGen Program Manager, oversaw $32m, RFP-driven enterprise cloud transformation of all IT infrastructure and Application Development services for DevSecOps teams across EMEA and NA.
• Deutsche Bank: Headed program management of large-scale, global application, infrastructure and resource initiative to outsource retained estate to a Cloud provider, including business case submission and PMO governance. Also, at the request of the Director of Strategic Programs, built a Resource Marketplace with RfP-selected Suppliers to enable Program teams to select necessary talent at pre-determined availability windows and daily rates. WeMCL Ltd., Toronto, Canada 01/2000 – 12/2003
Sole Proprietor, IT Contracting & Project Delivery Operated as an independent, international IT Contractor providing technical guidance and expertise in the Technical Support/Network Administration, Cybersecurity and Project Management domains to a variety of Clients across the legal, banking, telecommunications and media industry sectors. Clearances & Visa Status
• Dual Canadian & British Citizenship
• UK Security Clearance: SC NPPV3 Vetted for UK Parliament / House of Commons
• US Permanent Resident Green Card Holder
Methodologies & Best Practice Exposures
Waterfall, Agile, SAFe, Scrum, Kanban, PMP & CISSP (training in progress), ITIL v3/4, SDLC, TOGAF, SABSA, ISO27001, NIST CSF, PCI-DSS, GDPR, COBIT, SOC2, HIPPA, CMMI, SFIA, 7S, Lean/Six Sigma Education
Sault College, Sault Ste Martie, Ontario, Canada Radio College of Canada, Toronto, Ontario, Canada Aviation & Flight Technology Electronic Engineering Technology 1984 1985
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