Global Engineering Executive

Michael Coppert… OPTIMIZING COMPANY POTENTIAL THROUGH EXCELLENCE IN TECHNOLOGY

***** ******* ***** **. ** NV 89135 • 702-***-**** • ********@*****.***

Global Engineering Executive providing visionary leadership and innovation. Recognized for exceptional contributions with management and nurturing of high-tech start-up’s, creation of high-performance Software development teams and unparalleled delivery of the highest levels of Customer Service. Hands-on Leader, adept at coalescing and inspiring cross-functional teams to exceed expectations in delivering high-quality products to the market on time.

Impact Oriented Professional, recognized for taking on major and complex initiatives, adapting to rapidly changing environments and identifying/resolving mission critical issues to ensure bottom line success.

Core Competencies that Drive Results

- New Product Development/R&D

- Logistics and Operational Efficiencies

- Agile Systems Development

- Business Metrics/Systems Analysis

- Executive Leadership & Communications

- Global experience - Out sourcing/Off-Shoring

- Team Mentoring/Development

- Vendor negotiations/Relations

- Strategic Planning & Assessment

- Project Management

- R & D Full Development Lifecycle

Resourceful – Passionate – Detail Oriented – Results Driven

A Career of Delivering High Quality Solutions through Technology

IGT – Acres Gaming - Las Vegas, NV

Global leader in the design, development and manufacture of gaming machines and systems products, as well as online and mobile gaming solutions for regulated markets. IGT purchased Acres Gaming in 2003 for their innovative gaming products and bonusing technologies supplying casinos around the world.

Executive Director of Engineering (2007 –2011)

Directed key Engineering initiatives critically needed to elevate the department to a world class software development organization. Responsible for global source control, company-wide staff augmentation, Engineering Integration and Performance Labs, Project Management, Technical Publications and the Integration of IGT’s Research and Development Center in Beijing China.

• Led enterprise-wide software deployment effort to simplify and streamline software installation activities for over 160 separate installation packages. The result was an advanced internal product that improved the quality of the installation while reducing installation time from 22 hours to less than two hours.

• Centralized multiple source control systems into one standard microsoft TFS environment. Led the implementation of this effort which streamlined development, enabled code sharing, provided standard metrics and tools for Global development.

• Partnered with Microsoft on a one-year companywide initiative to establish a standard branching strategy for all products. Led the implementation which resulted in higher levels of product quality and increased levels of programmer productivity.

• Implemented a company-wide staff augmentation program, complete with gaming industry specific MSA’s, SOW’s and ICA’s. Created online tools necessary to administer all aspects surrounding these contracts, complete with performance evaluations supporting five Engineering departments.

• Led the Engineering infrastructure build out and process integration with US-based teams. Assisted with the rapid creation of a new R&D Development Center in Beijing China, where we hired 280 employees in less than 24 months.

• Established an Engineering Project Management Office supporting over 450 Engineers and driving over 50 Major, Minor and Hot-Fix releases each year.

• Introduced a Customer Advisory Board (CAB) program, enabling customers to interact with executive management and participate in feature evaluation throughout the product development cycle. This initiative improved Customer Satisfaction levels and validated product planning activities.

• Led development of the first Major product release where, for the first time, all applications were developed and tested as a complete package. This high-quality release set the tone for future releases.

• Introduced a centralized method of distributing demonstration software to internal sales offices within IGT. This Application Distribution Center, managed over 140 users and delivered over 1,000 software installations in the first year to South Africa, Asia, England, Australia, Europe, and the United States.

VP of Casino Software Development (2003 - 2006)

Hand-picked by the company President to lead the Engineering team through critical shortcomings identified during an external GGS systems audit. Rapidly identify gaps within Software Engineering and correct processes within an established and limited budget.

• Led management team in an organizational evaluation, matching resources and structure to the business needs and aligning existing talent to specific positions within the department.

• Implemented formal Build process, peer reviews, code reviews and check-in policies to address process GAP’s and improve product quality. Accelerated the acquisition/implementation of new automated testing tools to improve coverage and efficiency.

• Established a Defect Review Board incorporating Product Management, Product Assurance, Engineering and Service to identify and prioritize defects within previous software releases.

• Designed and implemented a fully-integrated Engineering workflow system, including a comprehensive activity tracking system which yielded key data points supporting new departmental metrics.

• Developed and delivered a comprehensive set of Product / Engineering support / user / reference materials. Over 220 technical support documents were generated and distributed during internal training workshops to transfer Engineering knowledge to the Service organization.

VP of Customer Service (2001 - 2003)

Specifically hired to lead the reorganization and global expansion of the Customer Service division during a period of accelerated growth.

• Led the implementation of a Help Desk Support system which included issue tracking, change management, and a knowledge database to centralize key support data. Created standard installation/upgrade templates along with creating sustainable and repeatable training materials.

• Led accelerated 3x growth of department resources within the first 14 months to keep pace with business demand. Balanced service cost increase by generating $4.3 million revenue in year one through redesigning and executing competitive Hardware/Software maintenance contracts and by introducing Professional Service offerings to our customers.

• Led successful development and implementation of a secure, self-service external Web portal for improving service and communications with Acres Gaming Customers.

• Successfully stepped into an Engineering role to evaluate, isolate and resolve a critical performance issue between our system and one of our largest customer’s software.

Mpower Communications - Las Vegas, NV

Provides broadband data and voice communication services to small and medium size businesses, and residential users offering Internet, voice over DSL, long distance and local phone services.

VP of Corporate Information Technology (1997 2001)

Specifically hired to lead the expansion of Corporate IT with the addition of a Software Development team supporting Information Technology, Operational Support Systems and custom software development.

• Led accelerated growth of department resources hiring 33 development resources within the first 18 months to keep pace with business demand. Led the design and build-out of a 3,000 sq ft, Tier 2 Data Center. Initiated and directed the redesign and implementation of a new layer 3 network supporting over 2000 users, resulting in annual cost savings of $200,000.

• Reduced unplanned system outages from an average of 15 hours per week to less than 15 minutes per quarter, by addressing hardware design shortcomings, establishing quality assurance test environments/procedures and drafting new maintenance procedures to eliminate the “Human Factor”.

• Increased user productivity going from 24 lines per person per hour to provisioning over 600 lines per each hour by designing automated programs to translate customer orders into commands executed by local and long distance telephone switches. The company was able to redeploy over 50 percent of dedicated resources to other tasks.

Casino Data Systems - Las Vegas, NV

Global developer of casino management information systems; designs and manufactures video interactive gaming machines and operates multi-site link progressive (MSP) systems.

President of Systems and Services (1996 - 1997)

Vice President of Operations (1995 - 1996)

Vice President of Engineering (1994 - 1995)

Grew financial performance Transformed CDS Systems division in just 3 years from a small company with great potential ($27.1 million revenue ’94) to one of the top-performing organizations ($46.2 million revenue ’96). Exceeded profit goals through driving change on multiple fronts (e.g. quality improvements, accelerated feature development and organizational restructuring).

IBM Corporation - Las Vegas, NV | Rochester, MN | Oakbrook, IL (1978 – 1994)

Provides information technology (IT) products and services worldwide.

Senior Market Support Representative (1990 – 1994)

Market Support Engineer (1988 – 1990)

Advisory Systems Engineer (1983 – 1988)

Customer Engineer (1978 – 1983)

Delivered specialized support for AS/400 and other IBM midrange systems. Trained on Competitive systems including DEC, HP and Unisys with a primary focus on network design, telecommunications and advanced problem determination. Recognized and awarded for innovative software programs that generated $6 million of revenue for the company. Recognized 11 times for outstanding Leadership, Customer Service, new program initiatives, Innovative Solutions and Technical Excellence for the mid-west region.

Education / Affiliations

General Education, Plainfield High School, Plainfield, IL

Computer Science, Joliet Junior College, Joliet, IL

Coursework in Information Technology, University of Phoenix

IBM Systems and Software Product Training

Advanced System Design/Communication Training- IBM

Advisor, UNLV MIS Executive Advisory Board member, Vice Chair

Advisor, UNLV Computer Science Executive Advisory Board member

Professional Development

Executive Leadership, Kerr Hill, San Ramon, CA

NexGen Management, IGT Training Center, Reno, NV

Management Leadership, IGT Training Center, Las Vegas, NV

Advanced Computer/Networking, IBM Training Center, Atlanta, Georgia & Dallas, TX

AS/400 Certifications, IBM Rochester, MN & Las Vegas, NV

Accomplishments

IBM Means Service Award 3x

IBM Rookie of the Year / IBM System Engineer of the Year Award

IBM System Engineer Symposium Award 3x

IBM Regional Manager Award

IBM Technical Excellence Award

IBM Leadership Award

Patent Award winner #: US7712083B2

Entitled: Method and apparatus for monitoring and updating system software. 2010

Patent Award winner #: US20070106553

Shared Inventor - Entitled: Pari-mutual betting with bonus feature. 2007

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