Principal Program Manager IT Governance & Project Oversight

KHURRAM WAQAR

San Leandro, CA 510-***-**** ******@******.***.*** linkedin.com/in/kwaqar

Principal Technology & Transformation Leader AI, Digital Engineering, Enterprise Delivery & Executive Advisory PMP Senior technology leader and PMP-certified program manager with 15+ years of experience delivering AI-driven platforms, real-time data systems and enterprise integrations across global, distributed environments. Proven track record partnering with senior leadership to define priorities, establish governance cadence and align cross-functional teams across engineering, data and business functions. Strong focus on execution, governance, data integrity and operationalizing AI systems at scale. Known for translating complex technical initiatives into clear, decision-oriented insights, proactively identifying risks, removing blockers and driving consistent delivery in compliance- driven environments.

CORE COMPETENCIES

Program & Delivery Leadership - Executive Alignment Governance Cadence Cross-Functional Coordination Operating Models Decision Support

AI/ML Program Delivery – Production ML Deployments Real-Time Decisioning Systems Model Integration Enterprise Systems & Integrations - Telephony (Avaya, Cisco, Genesys) CRM Multi-System Architecture SaaS Platforms Data & Platform Engineering – Data Pipelines ETL (Talend) BigQuery Low Latency Systems IT Operations & Service Delivery - Incident Management SLA Management Production Support Application Performance & Reliability Compliance, Risk & Data Governance - SOC2-Aligned Environments Operational Controls Audit Readiness Data Integrity PROFESSIONAL EXPERIENCE

Afiniti - AI company delivering predictive, data-driven platforms optimizing call center operations and enterprise decisioning 08/2010 – 10/2025 SENIOR DIRECTOR, Global Deployment and Engineering (2023-2025) Scope - Led deployment of Afiniti’s AI platform across multiple enterprise clients, integrating machine learning models into live call center environments with real-time decisioning, operating within secure architectures incorporating encrypted data flows, network segmentation and controlled access aligned with SOC 2 standards. Owned end-to-end program delivery, including planning, prioritization, execution, governance alignment, budget oversight and executive reporting.

• Oversaw integration of Afiniti’s AI platform with telephony, CRM and operational systems (Avaya, Cisco, Genesys), enabling real-time decisioning and scalable enterprise deployments.

• Partnered with enterprise executives to define technology transformation strategies, modernization roadmaps and AI adoption priorities aligned with business objectives and operational goals.

• Directed cross-functional teams across engineering, data science, infrastructure, operations and vendor organizations, ensuring system reliability, model performance and low-latency execution in production environments.

• Established governance frameworks including executive reporting, risk management, issue escalation and performance tracking to maintain alignment with delivery commitments, KPIs and business outcomes.

• Facilitated executive workshops, architecture reviews and strategic planning sessions to evaluate technology investments, operational readiness and enterprise transformation opportunities.

• Managed senior stakeholder relationships and vendor partnerships, providing decision-oriented recommendations, resolving delivery challenges and ensuring alignment with contractual and organizational priorities.

• Mentored project managers and technical leaders while driving process improvements that enhanced delivery consistency, operational efficiency and execution discipline across global programs. Key Program Outcomes

1. Delivered $4M revenue impact by leading high-volume production integration for TruGreen, removing vendor blockers and stabilizing delivery.

2. Supported Altice USA retention engagement handling six-figure monthly call volumes with expected $1.2M annual revenue. DIRECTOR, Global Deployment and Engineering (2016-2023) Scope - Led Afiniti’s AI-driven platform deployments and enterprise system integrations for international clients, managing cross-functional teams of up to 40 across engineering, data and technical operations, while driving architecture alignment, vendor ecosystems and end-to-end program execution.

• Directed multi-site deployment programs, including a 14-site Sprint rollout (30-week program with parallel 6–8 week site cycles), coordinating execution across distributed teams.

• Led integration of AI-driven systems across heterogeneous environments, enabling real-time data exchange, predictive modeling inputs and scalable decisioning workflows.

• Managed global vendor ecosystems including telephony platforms, data providers and infrastructure teams, ensuring alignment across technical and operational dependencies.

• Established governance frameworks including financial tracking, risk management and executive reporting to support large-scale program visibility and control.

• Managed concurrent initiatives, tracking scope, timelines, resources and risks to ensure consistent execution and delivery aligned with defined KPIs and business outcomes.

• Collaborated with client architects and engineering leaders to define solution architectures, integration strategies, deployment models and technical roadmaps supporting large-scale enterprise transformations. Key Program Outcomes

1. Managed 15 simultaneous deployments at Sprint and Telefonica Brazil leading a 40-person matrix team and building dashboards that improved throughput, quality tracking and delivery reliability. 2. Supported customer pursuits, solution strategy and executive stakeholder engagement that enabled Afiniti's successful expansion into the Brazil market and generated approximately $2M annually in recurring revenue. PROGRAM MANAGER, Software Deployment Services (2010-2015) Scope - Managed enterprise application delivery programs from discovery through deployment, supporting structured planning, risk management and stakeholder coordination across technical and business teams.

• Managed end-to-end delivery of enterprise application initiatives, including planning, scheduling, risk management and stakeholder coordination.

• Developed project plans, RAID logs and status reports to support structured program execution and oversight.

• Coordinated across technical and business teams to ensure deliverables were completed within scope, timeline and budget.

• Supported development of standardized processes to improve delivery consistency across multiple projects. PTCL / Jazz - Large-scale telecommunications service providers in Pakistan 03/2005 – 06/2010 EARLIER EXPERIENCE - Enterprise Platform and Systems Delivery

• Implemented centralized enterprise application and service delivery systems supporting 3,500+ internal users.

• Improved support workflows, incident tracking and escalation procedures to strengthen response times and service reliability.

• Delivered transformation of billing and customer service platforms supporting 7M+ users, improving digital access and simplifying operational workflows.

TOOLS & PLATFORMS

Jira Confluence Microsoft Project Microsoft 365 (SharePoint, Teams) AWS Environments Program Dashboards Enterprise Application Integrations CRM & Operational Systems IT Service Delivery Tools ACHIEVEMENTS

1. Delivered global rollout of Afiniti predictive AI platform generating $10M+ annual revenue. 2. Reduced revenue leakage by 15–20% through billing platform transformation at PTCL. 3. Contributed to rapid rollout of Broadband DSL services at PTCL in 7 months. 4. Implemented the Enterprise Management System at Jazz within 1 year. EDUCATION & CERTIFICATIONS

Education

Master of Information Systems Management Carnegie Mellon University Bachelor of Science (Honors) – Civil Engineering University of Engineering & Technology, Lahore Certifications

Project Management Professional (PMP) Project Management Institute

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