ITIL Service Manager and Strategic IT Leader, IT Project Manager

STEFAN GORECKI

***************@*****.*** 309-***-**** United States

Summary

Strategic IT Leader with a proven track record of delivering complex technical programs and optimizing operational support. Expert in navigating Agile, hybrid, and waterfall environments to align technology solutions with business goals. Adept at managing multi-million dollar budgets and cross-functional teams, with a dedicated focus on building high-performing, inclusive cultures that drive professional excellence and accountability.

Skills

●IT Program, Project and Risk Management

●IT Service and Operational Management

●Waterfall, Agile and Hybrid methodologies

●Solution Development Lifecycle, Application Development and Operational Support

●Coaching, Team Building, Conflict Management and Communications

●Practiced at Strategic Planning, Data Analytics and Risk Management

Experience

The Oyster Grotto Valletta, Malta

Owner and Operator

04/2022 - 08/2025

●Launched oyster bar and restaurant, creating a unique dining experience in the local market.

●Managed daily operations, leading a team of three employees and executing accounting tasks to ensure financial accuracy. This included providing detailed financial and operational updates to business partners and investors.

●Coordinated with Maltese compliance and government agencies to navigate regulatory requirements for business launch and execution.

Citi Financial Tampa, Florida

IT Risk Project Manager

11/2021 - 04/2022

●Directed enterprise initiative consisting of 8 project team members for compliance with federal regulatory records management and e-discovery requirements for their Exchange email system.

●Managed project timelines, educated key leaders in various departments and facilitated stakeholder meetings to gather requirements and provide updates.

Caterpillar Peoria, Illinois

IT Project Manager

10/2019 - 03/2020

●Led Network Access Control (NAC) initiative consisting of 6 analysts to enforce trusted network access and strengthen network security with Cisco Identity Services Engine (ISE).

●Orchestrated project migration of accounts and network-connected devices from Cisco Access Control System (ACS) to Cisco ISE and Active Directory.

●Scope included 76 sites across America, Canada, South America, and Europe.

State Farm Bloomington, Illinois

IT Program and Project Manager

06/2015 - 01/2018

●A thought leader for IT Risk Management transformation initiatives, integrating risk management awareness and practices into traditional waterfall, hybrid and agile development methodologies resulting in informed risk decisions earlier in the solution development lifecycle.

●Instituted Essential SAFe practices within the IT Risk Management program, enhancing alignment and collaboration across project teams.

●Introduced agile techniques across program projects. Implemented daily stand-ups, product backlogs, sprint backlogs, and Agile/Kanban boards to improve project visibility and reduce risk assessment delivery by 25%.

●Eliminated traditional project schedules to streamline workflows and enhance transparency of progress through Agile/Kanban boards.

●PMO consisted of four project managers and approximately sixty analysts with an annual budget exceeding 10 million dollars.

State Farm Insurance Bloomington, Illinois

IT Program and Project Manager

03/2013 - 06/2015

●Led State Farm's Cyber-Security Defense Center (CSDC) capability assessment and orchestrated multiple initiatives to implement recommended modifications to safeguard policyholder information, transitioning from a reactive incident response approach to a predictive, mission-focused program.

●Researched, developed, and executed an IT Risk Management framework (ISACA's Risk IT) for State Farm Insurance, enabling proactive risk and compliance activities within System Department programs and projects.

●Recommended changes through strategic initiative to implement key components of the risk management framework.

●Streamlined administrative activities in waterfall projects by supplementing with agile techniques that enhanced project transparency and demonstrated incremental delivery of business value.

State Farm Insurance Bloomington, Illinois

IT Project Manager

01/2012 - 03/2013

●Directed deployment and support of CISCO's Unified Communications (UC) solution across large State Farm Operation Centers, improving internal communication and customer experience.

●Streamlined the cutover process from Avaya to UC to allow for the decommissioning of Avaya, eliminating the need for a separate effort.

●Utilized agile best practices during each deployment, including daily stand-up meetings and retrospectives to facilitate project execution and control as well as improve team dynamics.

State Farm Insurance Bloomington, Illinois

IT Program Manager

05/2010 - 01/2012

●Developed a Digital Development Center PMO and employed agile best practices to direct, educate, and develop resources for planning, designing, and creating IT applications utilizing digital standards, governance, requirements, and methodologies.

●Advanced the utilization of RAID (project risk, assumptions, issue, and dependency management) in partnership with other development center PMOs to enhance overall program and project delivery success rates.

●This two-year program managed an annual budget exceeding 20 million dollars and my scrum team collaborated with a total of 9 other programs and their scrum development teams.

State Farm Insurance Bloomington, Illinois

IT Program Manager

02/2008 - 05/2010

●Enhanced enterprise collaboration by deploying collaborative tools, processes and training, cultivating end-user skills, and partnering with key departmental executives to create an ‘Information Workplace' PMO.

●Collaborative tools included SharePoint, Instant Messaging, Outlook, search engines like BING.

●Projects incorporated Scrum/Agile techniques to boost delivery speed and improve development team morale.

●The PMO operated for just over 2 years with an annual budget close to 10 million dollars and included 5 projects and their respective development teams.

State Farm Insurance Bloomington, Illinois

IT Project Manager

02/2006 - 02/2008

●Improved collaboration between State Farm Agents and customers by implementing social networking capabilities including Facebook, Twitter, and YouTube.

●This involved governance and training of over 30,000 State Farm Agents and their staff to ensure information security and brand protection.

State Farm Insurance Bloomington, Illinois

Senior Technical Service Manager

02/1999 - 02/2006

●Streamlined IT support operations by spearheading the development of knowledge items and proactive incident monitoring through automation, creating efficient incident/change management technical support teams for the State Farm Enterprise.

●Elevated IT support operations' service levels and accountabilities by promoting Service Management tools (HP Service Desk), enhancing processes (ITIL) and advancing Service Level Agreements and objectives between Incident and Problem management teams.

●Led and developed the first Security Operations Team as a result of the “I Love You” virus event. This team consisted of our best technical leads from various platforms and the mission was to train these individuals in security skills and capabilities as well as research threat detection and response techniques.

●This team eventually evolved and matured into what we now refer to as Cyber Security.

State Farm Insurance Bloomington, Illinois

IT Project Manager

02/1998 - 02/1999

●Selected as one of first 50 formal IT project managers at State Farm Insurance.

●Led the first major application development project utilizing offshore resources to modernize Property and Casualty applications.

●This one year project had a 9 million dollar budget. It supported and directed 30 offshore software development resources, ensuring timely delivery and alignment with project objectives.

State Farm Insurance Bloomington, Illinois

Application Developer/Senior Analyst

02/1987 - 02/1998

●Enhanced productivity of Property and Casualty Insurance Underwriting operations by developing and supporting batch and online end-user applications, including accounting, payroll, and underwriter systems.

●Improved our SDLC (i.e. application development, job control tuning skills and insurance knowledge) through mentoring and coaching numerous application developers in my role as a senior analyst.

●Led initiative to refresh application developer orientation and training, advocating for improvements based on personal onboarding experience.

Education and Training

Bradley University Peoria, Illinois

Bachelor's in Computer Science, Business Finance

05/1987

Certifications

●AWS - Introduction to AWS Cloud

●AI Mastery (Claude, ChatGPT, DeepSeek, Jasper, Midjourney, Lovable, Gemini, Stable Diffusion, Kling)

●Leading SAFe/SAFe Agilist (SA) - SAFe

●SAFe Scrum Master (SSM) - SAFe

●SAFe Product Owner (POPM) - SAFe

●Certified in Risk and Information Systems Controls (CRISC) - ISACA

●SCRUM Master - SCRUM Alliance

●Certified Project Management (CPM) - Project Management Leadership Group

●ITIL Version 3 Foundation Bridge - ITIL Certified

●Information Privacy and Data Protection Training - IAPP

●Executive Leadership Training - University of Michigan

●Chartered Property and Casualty Underwriter (CPCU) - Society of CPCU

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