Vendor & Stakeholder Relationship Expert

Donald Gutoski

********@*******.*** 647-***-****

Subject Matter Expert in / Vendor, Performance Manager, Relationships, Stakeholders and Clients

Top-performing adaptive professional with proven abilities in providing solutions for long-term development, perfected through 25+ years' progressive experience, building and maintaining strong relationships. Elicit and document client requirements, and engage with project delivery/staffing, project management, vendors, sales, and stakeholders. Working with contract negotiations, vendor management, evaluation and selection, analytics, governance, service delivery, and staff (up to 70), and being the insight expert to 400+ vendors. Establishing and cultivating relationships (client/stakeholder/vendor) by owning the business. Working within cross-functional teams, budgets, contract negotiation, and technical sales. Consistently contributing to increased revenues, driving savings, decreasing risk, engaged via adaptable approach with teams, excellent communications, P & L responsibilities, playbook/non-playbook, pipeline, budgets and portfolios up to 7 M/yr.

QUALIFICATION HIGHLIGHT

Strong ability to elicit, analyze, and develop requirements, collaborate with team environments, or as an independent contributor, utilizing a "take charge" attitude, charismatic, dedicated & committed. Outstanding interpersonal, entrepreneurial, continuously enhancing relationships, stakeholder, vendor management, negotiating contracts, HR, vendor evaluation and selection, reporting, requirements writing, and presentation skills. Able to expand within relationships to grow and engage profitable business relationships. Responsible for cultivating clients, analyzing and documenting processes & requirements, professional services, human resources, policies, budgets, costs, schedules, strategies, and project engagement. Extensive experience with Government, Crown Corp. & Corporate 1000, vendor engagements, IT and business governance, policy adherence, development, change management, business & workplace transformation, proposal development (RFP, RFI, RFQ, RFS, – MOU, MSA), SOWs, Scope, NDAs, SLAs Bid evaluation and scoring, eliciting, mapping, human resource & relationship development. Analytical and organized with excellent troubleshooting abilities, capacity to capture the "whole picture" utilizing out-of-the-box thinking, agile, and adaptive in engaging and collaborative engagements.

PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT

Presentations to V, D, Teams, stakeholders, vendors, IT, and business management. GAP, KPIs, analytics, change management, onboarding, reporting, and process mapping. Extensive knowledge in IT consulting, analyzing requirements, staffing, HR, negotiating contracts, calculating value for money, KPI’s, SLAs, relationship management, vendor and procurement governance, oversight & management. operations, application development life cycle, project and program management, operations processes, COTS Apps, Cloud, dashboards, analysis, QA, operations, budgets, legal, forecasting, and reporting. Experience with Office365, Excel, ServiceNow, Oracle iProcure, CRM, PowerPoint, Visio, Zoom, WebEx, MS Teams, SAP-Fieldglass, Flextrack, and SalesForce.

CAREER HISTORY

Metrolinx – VMO Senior Vender Performance Analyst (Mat leave - contract) 05/2024 – 10/2025

Metrolinx is the Leading Transit group in the golden horse shoe region servicing millions of customer on rail transit annually – grossing 1.2+ billion dollars a year in fare transit. My position in the VMO IT procurement of hardware, software and other technology products and services.

Working collaboratively with business, legal, project managers, legal, operations and stakeholders understanding their needs and translate them into requirement documents & requisitions adhering to process, policy and procedure. Produce vendor calls for products and services in (short / long list – single source - tenders) in an auditable fashion that is accountable, transparent to the governance of Ontario procurement policies and procedures.

Continuous reporting, order follow up, review of requisition and purchase / deal updates, team KPI development and effectiveness tracking of “Value for Money” / TCO. Obtain quotes from vendors and drive savings at every opportunity.

Working throughout the requisition life cycle to process and close out tickets in ServiceNow and Oracle iProcure to manage the timely delivery of products and services.

Working with vendors to stream line quotations requirements, deliverables and adhere to administrate contract agreements, vetting on amendments, additions, top-ups, continuous savings and strategies on renewals (term, value add, replacements, service cancellation etc.).

Continuously saving on each requisition. Weekly status meetings on upcoming renewals & new acquisitions ensuring timely delivery on all projects through out the purchasing cycle.

Our group saves millions in the fiscal year in savings through contract and service negotiations for software, renewals and hardware purchases – 150% plus of forecasted budget savings.

Working with ServiceNow, Excel & Oracle iProcure, special assignments, research, special agendas, contracts, reviews and renewals.

Flextrack Canada – Ontario Government Vendor Performance Manager (Contract) 02/2023 – 06/ 2024

Flextrack is a leading-edge SaaS - VMS designed to maximize a fair, auditable, and transparent vendor bidding process for government, corporate, and private organizations.

Vendor Relationship Manager to cross-functional teams, and levels within the Government of Ontario, Key Contact to 400+ IT vendors with over 2800+ RFPs annually and contracts (250M+).

Develop measurable accountability governance framework, performance reports, matrix-driven KPIs, measuring and managing vendor, delivery, reporting on vendor quotes and how to create more value for money, (through vendor quote analysis) and stakeholder relationships.

Develop key performance indexes and management reports – "Value for Money", and scorecards for vendors, OPS, and internal groups.

Advising on changes to pre-release RFPs for clarification. Ongoing improvement of vendor performance, reporting, and relationships as well as ensuring active vendor participation in BID submission and responsibilities are clearly defined and followed.

Continuously improving requirements and the engagement process.

Developing KPIs, analytics, change management & vendor performance improvement reports.

SME in providing advice and guidance to vendors relationships' submission processes, RFP - response guidelines, and vendor training.

Manage the vendor performance expectations for the Government of Ontario (insight, reporting, score carding, KPIs).

Regular status meetings and updates with teams, directors, legal, stakeholders and operations.

Developed, manage and rolled out vendor scoring, surveys, reports and strategic change plans.

Ongoing process data and reporting improvements in excel and Salesforce.

Federal Department of National Defense, IT Vendor Relationship Manager 09/2020 – 02/ 2023

DND Military Benefits provides discounted service and everyday products (90,000+ SKU’s) to members of the Armed Forces, Veterans, and the RCMP. These are provided through outlets & online with a cloud SaaS, POS system.

Reporting to the Director of the PMO, providing various relationship management, analysis, vendor performance, contract negotiations, change management and vendor incident reports.

RFI/RFP development, vendor evaluation, scoring & selection, contract offer and engagement, changes, process oversight, drive savings, budgets, payments, POs & invoicing.

Define and design contract requirements, agreements, renewals emphasizing increased vendor accountability, vendor evaluation and selection, KPIs, TCO, reduced corporate risk, adherence to contractual mandates cross function with legal & documentation and deliverables.

Working within a cloud SaaS, COTS applications environments, performance, delivery, calculating value for money, increased QA testing alignment and patch timeline acceptance.

Defining deliverables in the POS system, vendor score cards, metrics and KPIs, vendor performance, patch management and quality assurance.

Implement governance contracts and process change plans for suppliers, service and delivery.

Decreased patch management, testing, and delivery times to production by 21%.

Reviewing vendors for risk, engagement and restrict cost overrun.

Regular meetings with stakeholders, operations, delivery, legal, teams and committees.

Updates on projects, testing, patch management and vendor delivery.

Continuous improvement, monitoring cost, performance and risk, new vendor sourcing.

Government of Ontario - Vendor Relationship Business Analyst (Contract) 09/ 2018 – 08/2020

The Province Data Center Operations (DCO) produces 550M+ documents for the government & public in various formats (election documents, licenses, health cards, secured cards, financials, confidential information, RFPs Contracts etc.).

Working within operations managed service projects to consolidate 5 large provincial print and data centers (DCO) into 3. Transforming the services from the Data Center Operations (DCO) to the Information Technology Services (ITS) cluster (restructuring for efficiency, governance, and compliance).

Collect, analyze, and document artifacts from suppliers, requirements analysis, vendor information for compliance, governance, RFP, BAFO, NDA, MOU, SOW, SLA, Scope, billing, invoicing, payment, contract negotiations, documenting design and service details for the transformation of the provinces' services SOPs, etc.

Key contact - (SME) subject matter expert for reviewing the 150 different contracts, processes and delivery for vendors.

Vendor/bid evaluation, selection vendor negotiations and review, management, contract award, implementation and administration, legal wash through, SLA negotiations, drive savings, KPIs, performance scoring, governance, reporting, compliance and change management.

Relationship, stakeholder, vendor management GAP analysis and change management.

Define, develop and validate more than 150 different IT vendor contracts, performance, vendor evaluation and selection, contract negotiations, processes, and services, KPIs, scoring as well as manage multi-vendor & sole-source supplier solutions.

Developing, implementing and administrating vendor contracts, and governance processes.

Updating services, costing of deliverables, supporting, and facilitating requirements, purpose, objective, deliverables, RFPs, continuous review of vendor SLA administration, service to date, budgets, costs and, performance.

On-going, meetings, negotiations, presentations, Op’s, team and vendor updates.

Implement strategic change plans for contract service and delivery.

By weekly scrum sessions, collaborating with stakeholders, cross-functional teams, Legal, OSS, vendors, and delivery.

Review, edit, and negotiate vendor contracts, RFP – grandfathering, SLAs, scope definitions, SOWs, and vendor MSAs.

Continuously taking on new assignments for review, consideration, and input.

Weekly reporting, review issues resolution, progress, collaborate with vendors, and peers.

Regular meetings with groups (IT, QA, legal, stakeholders, vendors, operations, delivery, etc.)

Experis - Cisco Canada Engagement Manager 02/2014 – 05/2018

Cisco Canada is a state-of-the-art technology, communication, and service company providing a wide range of products in Technology & Communication. Our challenge was to merge multiple suppliers into a single managed solution vendor management operating framework.

Implementing managed service governance, compliance amongst contracts and processes, recruitment, HR, legal, HR, aligning stakeholder expectations, business relations, vendor management (contract negotiations, SLAs). Up sell the managed service usage and adoption across Cisco groups, sharing best practices and driving value for our clients. Proactively add value to our clients & deliverables.

Manage all aspects of the service transformation (governance), consolidation GAP Analysis - "As-Is to Be" delivery, supporting and facilitating projects, ongoing performance change management of value for money, the project objectives, activities, establishing governance, deliverables, and tracking progress.

Improve expectations, relationships, reporting, forecasting, billing, profitability, & changes.

Liaise with IT, operations, legal, cross-functional teams, business units, recruiting, HR, finance and project/position requirements.

Establish, implement service plans, and governance, i.e. Book of Business, CRM, contract negotiations, and processes.

Elicit & analyze information, MSA, MSPs, SOWs, Scope, SLAs, change, renewal, terminations, invoicing - billable to contract, NDAs and document revisions.

Weekly scrum sessions, continually improving the delivery, cultivating relationships throughout all touch points as well as negotiations, vendor evaluation and selection, vendors, stakeholders, legal and business partners, be the "Key Contact" member of the team.

Lower risk for managed services vs. co-employment, re-defining scope, utilizing team efficiency, manage complex, rapidly moving projects, keeping stakeholders, vendors & teams informed.

Implement strategic change plans for service and delivery.

Managing 70+ people, up-sell 120+ Cisco management X- Canada (quote, SOW & proposals).

Developing staffing plans, legal, HR, managing budgets, P & L, forecasting, task plans, issue resolution, updating client project playbook, and renewals with multiple vendors.

Decreased client costs by 600k annually, aligned processes, standardized rates and budgets, profit margins ($7M+ portfolio), and maximized client value through service delivery, payroll/rate, and implemented HR policies and procedures.

Collabera Canada, Business Relationship Manager 06/ 2012 – 02/2014

Collabera - a CMMI level 5 IT service management company, is an end-to-end business, VMS and IT staffing solutions organization.

•From a Canadian startup, responsible for sales, recruiting, and client relationship management.

•Promoting our managed services, up-sell clients, writing proposals, contract negotiating, analyzing requirements, pitching value propositions, and expanding in accounts.

•Recruiting, interviewing, and on boarding candidates, using existing/new contacts in Banking, Insurance, Financial, Telecom, and Government technology markets, and running campaigns.

•Be the trusted advisor to IT & business clients' service requests, human resources policies, task development, creating value statements & propositions, contractor, stakeholder and vendor management & negotiations. Perform needs analysis, hire, release, and complete engagement. Reporting requirements (i.e. sales to date to quota, pipeline), SOWs, change management, budgeting, costing, scheduling, playbook management, margin forecasts, checking invoices & rates and hours billed, target prospect call lists, ongoing project status, and KPIs).

•Develop SLAs, collaborate with clients, and vendors, for contract change management.

•Go-to-Market strategies, annual budgets, and forecasting. Writing and responding to proposals and requirements on an ongoing basis (NDAs, RFP. RFI, RFQ, MSA and contract negotiations, MSP). Update CRM on all prospect contacts, sales calls and recruitment teams. Exceed objectives by 130% of objective.

ADGA IT Consulting, Government Relationship Manager 02/2008 – 05/2012

ADGA IT Consulting has expertise in IT staffing and in-house development. Target markets are the Ontario Government, crown corporations and municipal organizations. Responsibilities include;

•Increase and service revenues annually by 15-20% with a new business target of $4.M / yr.

•New and existing client development, and cultivating long-term relationships.

•Manage all aspects of the business, selling, clients', creating value statements propositions, recruitment, negotiating, vendor agreements, MSA, MSP, SLAs, change management, analyzing, documenting requirements, process mapping, project status, SOWs, billing, interviewing, on boarding candidates, HR & receivables management.

•Responding to client engagements (SOW, project coordination between IT and business). Short-term staffing assignments to larger sourced/outsourced projects.

•Respond to Government RFI, RFP, and RFQ response development, and presentations, manage proposal cycle, sourcing and pricing.

EDUCATIONAL HIGHLIGHTS

iNet Certified Program in Public Procurement

KnowBe4 Introduction to Cybersecurity

OSG Inc. AODA Workplace Wellness

Red Cross First Aid / CPR

TechnoCanada QA Testing/Agile/Jira

Global Knowledge ITIL Change Management Fundamentals

AceIT Project Management

iNet MS Access

York University - Schulich School of Business Strategic Marketing

Algonquin College Business Marketing

Nobel Technology Business Analysis

IBM Rational Sales Mastery

IBM DataStage for Business Intelligence

Dale Carnegie Leadership Training for Managers

Dun and Bradstreet Credit and Financial Analysis

Miller-Heiman Relationship Selling

Forum Corporation's Partnership Selling

CGI ISO 9000

Additional Many other corporate and HR courses

Canadian Federal and Provincial Security Clearance

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