Project Manager / Director / Leader / Business Analyst

Richard S. Blum

New York City

Cell Phone: 917-***-****

E-Mail: ***********@*******.***

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IT DIRECTOR & PROJECT MANAGER

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Areas of Expertise:

-- Project Management -- Senior-level, certified project management professional with 15 years of hands-on, project life cycle experience spanning the full cycle from birth of the initial concept through to goal completion; driving successful outcomes on diverse portfolios of complex, large-scale projects in cross-functional, matrix environments that span broad geographies and organizational boundaries.

-- Strategic Planning -- Managing the impact of technology on key business drivers, working with stakeholders to reach consensus and overcome obstacles to change, finding alternative courses of action in constrained situations, driving structure into 'gray areas'.

-- Process Improvement -- Building business cases in support of technology proposals, creating product portfolio life cycle strategies to suit market demands, translating strategic goals into deployable tactics, pro-active problem prevention, fostering close cooperation between business and technology teams, tactful yet persistent resolution of sensitive and political issues.

-- Relationship Management -- Fostering a team entrepreneurial spirit between customers, vendors and technical staff to develop business, capture opportunities, seek innovative solutions, manage risk and ensure commitments to sponsors and stakeholders are achieved in the midst of dynamically changing business environments.

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Experience & Demonstrated Performance:

Toy Industry Association, Inc.

New York, NY

October 2008 – Present:

INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY DIRECTOR

-- Provided senior-level leadership for all technology operations and initiatives, with particular emphasis on support of critical business systems, delivering projects on time and within budget.

-- Implemented strict standards for IT systems development and on-going operations.

-- Led the organization’s strategic IT directions, working with a wide range of stakeholders to implement IT solutions during times of frequent, rapid changes in the business environment.

-- Established priorities for IT operations and project initiatives using a business mindset, and regularly evaluated the extent to which IT was meeting business needs.

-- Led the technology direction with an eye on increasing productivity, achieving cost efficiencies and keeping business politicking to a minimum.

-- Applied a strong entrepreneurial approach to perform cost benefit analyses on proposed projects and evaluate the actual value of work to be performed.

-- Managed the business aspects of technology, and mediated the resolution of complex technical issues, helping non-technical stakeholders understand complex systems.

-- Controlled prioritization, execution and implementation of all IT projects, ensuring a clear and consistent vision and measurable goals for each project.

-- Regularly presented IT policy options and alternatives to senior management, representing alternative points of view while remaining personally objective.

-- Led the end-to-end development of a unique, revenue-generating, web-based, workflow system used by the toy industry for compliance with government safety regulations.

-- Brought financial accountability to IT activities and earned a distinctive reputation for identifying areas needing improvement and for taking advantage of opportunities to reduce costs, cut waste, and streamline operations.

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Epsilon Interactive

New York, NY

October 2007 – May 2008:

PROJECT DIRECTOR

-- Built a specialized development and operations team and strengthened their abilities to deliver e-commerce capabilities to Fortune 500 clients, providing strategic direction on issues of scope, priorities, resources, deadlines, budget, and quality assurance.

-- Served as an agent of change, bringing together multiple workgroups to create reliable, standardized processes for software configuration and deployment.

-- Demonstrated success coordinating large-scale projects involving geographically and functionally diverse stakeholders.

-- Maintained frequent, direct communications with clients to foster good, long-term working relationships and successful project outcomes.

-- Guided and motivated domestic and off-shore staff in balancing cost, schedule, and client value in the design and implementation of client projects.

-- Led accurate capture of client project requirements, negotiated product development activities aligned with client needs, and produced account P&L analyses.

-- Established service level standards and guidelines, including how to manage customer expectations and avoid being sidetracked by political influences.

-- Created a culture of teamwork based on continuous improvement, ensuring staff understand the full scope of what they are accountable for and are fully equipped to fulfill client business requirements.

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JP Morgan Chase

New York, NY

July 2001 – October 2007:

TECHNOLOGY PROJECT PROGRAM MANAGER, VICE PRESIDENT

-- Project governance and planning for mission-critical, multi-platform, technology infrastructure and applications used throughout the global enterprise.

-- Built a strong partnership with business units and operations groups to manage risks, issues, and cross-functional interdependencies.

-- Prepared well-defined proposals from high-level requirements.

-- Planned for efficient use of the firm’s global technology investments in a consolidated, post-merger environment.

-- Mitigated risks and contained costs at the same time accommodating business growth needs.

-- Strengthened system implementation procedures using root cause analysis to prevent problems and reduce operational risk.

-- Creatively bridged audit compliance gaps by fostering a collaborative effort to resolve deficiencies.

-- Navigated stakeholder stalemates by spotting issues before they could become real problems, bringing the right people together, tactfully applying listening and negotiation skills and facilitating their work on common goals.

-- Helped produce order out of chaos by bringing diverse technical teams and business management together to build group consensus around strategy.

-- Matrix managed, coached and mentored in-house and outsourced/contractor work teams on large, complex projects and programs.

-- Created business cases for technology proposals and arbitrated acceptance from senior management by demonstrating how the benefits of each solution outweighed perceived obstacles and objections.

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EMC Corporation

New York, NY

October 1999 – June 2001:

TECHNICAL PROGRAM MANAGER

-- Directed professional services teams focused on developing and deploying technology integration solutions and providing on-going production support to major clients.

-- Contributed to business objectives, strategies, processes, and built a professional, team environment.

-- Provided senior-level supervision of technology integration projects, keeping frequent, pro-active and diplomatic contact with client senior management.

-- Moved new products from development to delivery, driving add-on business within existing accounts.

-- Key enabler in resolving conflicts between service providers and end-users by getting diverse groups to work together effectively.

-- Built team confidence and credibility by rewarding pro-active service to customers.

-- Designed and implemented standardized operating procedures to help maintain alignment among diverse service delivery teams that need to work together harmoniously.

-- Led the sales team’s focus on the pro-active fulfillment of client technical needs.

-- Motivated support teams in the use of project management best practices to foster a healthy and resilient service delivery model.

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Citibank

New York, NY

May 1997 – September 1999:

SENIOR PROJECT MANAGER, VICE PRESIDENT

-- Provided senior-level project governance of concurrently run, large-scale IT development and integration initiatives through their full project life cycles.

-- Advised senior management in the assessment of benefits vs. costs of projects needed to re-engineer and renovate the technology operating environment.

-- Matrix-managed all aspects of technology build projects from end to end, including contractual relationships with strategic vendors, coordination of work contributions from international, cross-functional teams, and roll-outs of new products.

-- Demonstrated ability to step in and provide rescue assistance to projects in progress and manage technology operations in a dynamically changing business environment.

-- Team leader in an internal “general contractor” role, enforcing accountability and making sure effective project management principles are consistently followed.

-- Led complex, inter-disciplinary projects to successful completion, including those at which others had previously failed to achieve.

-- Coached technology professionals in problem resolution, helping to develop their use of creative intelligence in overcoming obstacles and preventing future occurrences.

-- Directly involved in the division’s resource and budget forecasting process.

-- Created beneficial, long-term relationships with auditors, vendors, and consultants.

-- Ensured compliance of vendors against their contractual obligations.

-- Achieved successful results across a large, decentralized organization where long-term planning, negotiation, and influence skills are essential.

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Reuters

Hauppauge, Long Island & New York, NY

January 1989 - February 1997:

PROJECT MANAGER & BUSINESS ANALYST

-- Provided expertise in planning and executing complex, cross-functional projects.

-- Added leadership in strategic planning and process management, building a collaborative team environment.

-- Demonstrated flexibility, versatility and ability to independently carry many concurrent priorities to successful completion.

-- Used analytic skills, business process analysis, ROI forecasting for planning and problem-solving, even when issues were poorly defined at the start.

-- Managed software development on state-of-the-art, web-based, real-time financial market data products deployed over the internet and proprietary networks. Matrix managed 25 domestic, off-shore and outsourced work resources.

-- Created and supervised a central project management office (PMO) chartered to orchestrate and control production of product deliverables contributed by multiple, geographically and culturally diverse domestic and offshore groups.

-- Controlled project scope, schedule, deliverables, budget and management reporting throughout all project life cycle phases according to industry best practices.

-- Established use of both agile and classical software development methods including iterative life cycle phases and prototyping, using CMM practices and PMBOK tools.

-- Negotiated resolution of project change management and quality assurance issues amongst the project delivery teams, product mgrs., senior mgrs., and end users.

-- Employed Six Sigma methods to identify opportunities, implement process improvements, enhance the effectiveness of quality assurance, and achieve audit compliance.

-- Facilitated strong stakeholder relationships by building trust and personal credibility, doing whatever is needed to ensure deliverables are met and product quality levels are achieved or over-achieved when possible.

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Education, Certifications, Other Skills:

-- Master of Business Administration (MBA/Management), Long Island University, New York – Graduated with Distinction, 1979

-- Bachelor of Science, Brooklyn College of the City University of New York – Graduated With Honors, 1977

-- PMI Certified Project Management Professional – PMP Certification #212010

-- Active volunteer mentor in the PMI New York City Chapter Mentor Program

-- Quality & Process Improvement -- Six Sigma Green Belt, 1998

-- NASD/FINRA Securities Series 7 & Series 63 trained

-- Earlier career roles: Systems Administrator, Accounting Systems Analyst, Business Analyst, Senior Network Administrator, and Project Leader

-- Strong skills in visual presentations, documentation, editing, and proof-reading

-- Expert-level proficiencies in Microsoft Project, Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Publisher, Visio

-- Profile on LinkedIn --> http://www.linkedin.com/in/richardblum

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