Park University

Founder at Howell Program Management Inc.

Mesquite, Texas

Over 30 years of technology experience, with 20+ Years of Technical Program/Project Management, utilizing PMI / PMP waterfall and Agile methodologies for Infrastructure, Enterprise Software Development, and Operations Projects. Looking for full-time employment, but also providing W2, 1099 and C2C Program and Project Management Services.

Howell Program Management, Inc.

Founder

Wipro is a global services provider delivering technology-driven business solutions that meet the strategic objectives of clients. Wipro has a workforce of over 150,000, serving clients in 175+ cities across 6 continents with a revenue of more than 8 billion USD.IT Program/Project Manager (Visa VOCC account, remote, Apr – May ‘18)•	Provided program / project management for Visa Operations Command Center readiness for ISO / IEC 20,000 project. Project was abruptly shut down by the client before requirements gathering phase was concluded.IT Operations / SOC Program Manager (Levi Strauss & Co account in Southlake, TX, Sep ‘17 – Mar ‘18)•	Managed the Server Operations Center (SOC) Program and Services for this retail client. Teams include 42 team members.Program Manager (Ingredion account Apr 2017 - Aug 2017)•	Provided governance, reporting, issue tracking and overall Program Management for the client’s transition from Lotus Notes to Office 365. The 28 O365 Team members, dedicated and matrixed, report to me for this effort.Sr. PM (AXIS account Dec 2016 - Apr 2017)•	Provided Project Management for delivery of 3 of the 4 major Infrastructure and Operational projects for this strategic client to improve on ITIL processes.U.S. Transition Lead (HSBC account Jul - Dec 2016)•	Provided program management for the knowledge transition of 200 personnel in the U.S. and Canada.Sr. Data Center Transition Architect / PM (Neiman Marcus account Feb - Jun 2016)•	Hired to provide guidance for the Neiman Marcus data center relocation project. Due to a change in managed services providers, Wipro no longer provides services to Neiman Marcus. Completed knowledge transition to the new vendor in June, 2016.•	Provided guidance for Neiman Marcus data center projects, such as implementing a POS offshore lab, Hadoop Expansion, LAN expansion, EMC VMAX refresh, platform scalability and high availability, and introduction of 3rd party appliances, Distil and Splunk (Big Data).

Wipro

Program Manager  -  Global Infrastructure Services

Director, EPMO * From 9/2015 until 1/2016 provided support and direction for the Enterprise Program Management Office.Director, IT Program (Product) Management* Reporting to the CIO, provided leadership for launching various complex programs and products.* Managed teams of 50-80+ Managers, Developers (.NET, ISIS, COBOL), Project / Product Managers, Architects and Analysts, in Houston, Indianapolis, St. Louis and Offshore, that support the embossing, personalization, graphics and mailing of cards, printing of statements, letters, pamphlets, booklets and inserts, as well as working with our Electronic Delivery team to provide digital access to the documents.* Over 100 clients were supported by my teams.  Industries (along with some clients) include Retail (JC Penney), Associations (AAA), Transportation (Honda, Nissan), Entertainment, Financial (JPMorgan Chase, Bank of America), Hotel (Marriott), Government (Xerox), Communications (Cincinnati Bell), Utilities (CenturyLink) and Healthcare (UHG, Cigna, Kaiser, CVS / Caremark, HCSC, Highmark BCBS, BCBS-MA).* Demonstrated success in cultivating strong working relationships and partnerships between Clients, General Managers, Account Management, Operations, Sales and IT Leaders, with a focus on success thorough collaboration.  Greatly improved year over year our client satisfaction.

Fiserv

Director, IT Program (Product) Management  -  Output Solutions

Provided Program/Project Management for the migration of MedAssets data center from the Terremark datacenter located at Level3 in Dallas, TX, to the CyrusOne datacenter in Lewisville, TX.  The move included 66 virtual servers, 27 physical servers, 3 storage devices and associated communication equipment.

Corus360 (contracting at MedAssets)

Sr. Consultant

- Provided guidance, budget management and support for Blockbuster’s (BB) Infrastructure, Data Center, Operations, and Distribution Center teams.  Utilized SharePoint for document repository and version control.• Provided Program Management for the migration of 2 data centers (McKinney, TX and Piscataway, NJ) to 2 other Data Centers (Meridian, CO, for development/test and Cheyenne, WY, for production).  Scope includes transformation of all applications and data currently running on AS/400, DEC Alpha/VAX, Fujitsu, Sun and AIX server hardware and software to new platforms based on VMware, Windows 2008, and either Solaris or Redhat Linux and replacing end-of-life Shark, NetApp storage arrays, end-of-life SAN switch hardware and network hardware with current higher performance servers, storage and technology, while upgrading Oracle databases and Solaris/RHEL Operating Systems to current versions.• Provided Project Management for the migration of BB Exchange from MS BPOS to on-premise Exchange at Dish, which was the first ever migration from MS BPOS by any company• Facilitated the upgrade of NetBackup to version 7.1 in support of BB’s 300+ Windows and UNIX servers• Managed the upgrade of servers with unsupported O.S. so as to become PCI compliant.

InfoVision (contracting at Blockbuster)

Senior Consultant

Directed 30 IT professionals, responsible for uptime and delivery of all production services, consisting of Systems Engineering ( Network / Cisco, EMC / HP XP Storage, VMWare, Citrix / Wintel Sys Admins ), Data Operations, Systems Analysts, Data Center ( outsourced to Terremark / Verizon ) and Application Support Engineering ( SQL, .Net ).•	Managed resources in support of a portfolio of 50+ projects simultaneously.

Santander Consumer USA Inc.

Director of IT Production Management and Control

Provided project management guidance, project budget management and support for Blockbuster’s (BBI) Corporate Infrastructure, Data Center, Operations, and Distribution Center teams.•	Improved the USPS Planet Code process, reducing customer complaints.•	Provided Project Management support for DVDs by Mail Netbook deployment, a joint venture with Comcast that is bringing additional revenue to Blockbuster.•	Provided PMO guidance for BB Data Center organic growth ( Windows, UNIX, SQL and Virtual Servers / LAN / WAN / Web  Applications, Databases, Firewalls, VMware ESXi, SAN Storage, NetApp, Sun Solaris ).•	Implemented Intelligent Mail barcode ( IMb ), upgrading B2B software, sorter control computers and label printer firmware in Blockbuster’s 40 U.S. Distribution Centers to handle USPS requirements and avoid costly fees.

Manager, Oracle Support and IT Change ManagementCreated and provided PMO Governance for IT related projects at Flowserve that involve IT Shared Services resources. Managed portfolio of 100+ simultaneous projects. Managed L2 Oracle Production Support, 3rd party vendor relationship with Offshore Team and IT Production Change Control.  Coordinated Enterprise Applications and OneNeck Data Center SOX compliance.•	Created IT Change Control and QA processes, leading to a significant reduction in production interruptions, reduced backlog from over 600 requests to under 200 and cut average development lifecycle by 1/2.  Received 2009 ‘Spirit of Flowserve’ award for these improvements.•	Implemented HP Mercury load and functional testing tools (QTP, Quality Center, LoadRunner), reducing overhead costs associated with manual regression testing.•	Implemented new Change Mgmt/Object Migration tool, Quest Stat, eliminating manual migration of Oracle objects from dev to production.•	Created internal processes leading to 0 Significant Deficiencies for our 2008 and 2009 internal and external audits. Manager, RIE (Reports, Interfaces, Enhancements) DevelopmentManaged Oracle Development (team of 11 analysts / programmers) for new Projects and Production Support activities.•	Received 2007 ‘Spirit of Flowserve’ award for commitment to creating and managing new Global Oracle Business Council, Oracle Application Production Support and IT Change Control processes.•	Provided development support for successful deployment of Oracle 11i (version 11.5.10) ERP into Germany, Netherlands, Spain, China and Texas.Sr. Project ManagerProvided on-site IT PM for the deployment of Oracle 11i ERP into Dortmund, Germany, with Finance, Order Management, Manufacturing, MRP, Sales and Service as major tracks.•	Received 2006 ‘Spirit of Flowserve’ award for commitment and collaboration provided during Project STAR, a global effort by Flowserve to initiate ERP deployment world-wide.

Flowserve

Manager, Oracle Support and Change / Release / Resource Management

Provided management guidance, budget management and support for Blockbuster’s (BBI) Corporate Infrastructure and IBM’s Data Center teams.•	Successfully upgraded the Warehouse Management System ( WMS ) and other environments ( 23 UNIX servers, 1 NT server ) from Oracle database 8i ( 32-bit ) to 9i ( 64-bit ).•	Installed and migrated users to new Blackberry server.•	Upgraded to Tivoli Enterprise System Management’s monitoring and data-warehousing products.•	Upgraded the Application Performance Monitoring ( APM ) environment utilizing Veritas.•	Installed hardware to handle BBI’s new Network Attached Storage ( NAS ) environment utilizing Network Appliance ( NetApp ) storage devices moving from EMC.•	Led Task Force in optimization / performance tuning of the Provia WMS ( warehouse management system ) for 890,000 sq ft warehouse.

Adea Solutions (consulting at Blockbuster)

Consultant, Infrastructure Project Manager

Created and managed the Program Management Office accountable for deployment of EGL’s strategic applications.  Additional responsibilities included coordination of Process Change Management, Training and company-wide Communications.•	Successfully deployed EGL’s new Global Forwarding/Transportation ( web-based J2EE solution developed utilizing offshore resources ) and customized Oracle Financial / HR ( Oracle 11.5.8 for FIN and 11.5.9 for HRMS ) systems and supporting infrastructure, utilizing integration tools  (EAI ) and an operational/financial data store ( ODS ) to drive tracking and reporting functionality and automate inter-company settlement processes globally.

Eagle Global Logistics (now called CEVA Logistics)

Director, Business Systems Development / Regional PMO

As interim “Regional CIO”, managed all aspects of Information Technology in support of over 150 locations in Europe, Middle-East, India and Africa.  Staff included Development, Data Center ( AS/400, Windows, and UNIX ), Network Engineering, Help Desk Services / Customer Support, PMO and ERP / B2B Integration departments.•	Supported Sales Team on visits to potential new clients, evaluating and recommending products and services, which ensured alignment with overall corporate and business strategy.•	Aligned Help Desk with business requirements, providing more focus and much improved customer satisfaction.

Regional IT Director, Europe, Middle East, India and Africa

Reported to Division President and managed all IT activities, including Program Management for Logistics implementations and support of Warehouse, Yard Management and Supply Chain systems.•	Created and supervised team of Programmers, Analysts, Project Managers, Network Engineers, Level 1 and 2 Help Desk Support Specialists and DBAs to manage development ( OOD, ASP, IIS, Java Script, Visual FoxPro, SQL, EAI - SeeBeyond, Gentran, WebMethods ) and deployment of new logistics products.

Director of IT, Logistics

Provided leadership and Program Management support working for EGL as a contractor.  Coordinated EGL’s efforts with Dell in building out Austin’s 200,000+ square foot warehouse and implementing web-based software solutions to enhance Dell’s “just-in-time” delivery to their customers.

Consultant, Program Management

Provided management and vision in the design, architecture and implementation of enterprise-wide intranet, extranet ( B2C ) and Business-to-Business ( B2B ) initiatives.  Provided product / project management for developing and implementing requirements for Internet Coupon Products.  Directed Object-Oriented Development ( OOD ) efforts ( ASP, IIS, XML, Java, Sun Solaris, Unix, Oracle 8i ) between this pre-IPO company and our strategic partner, First Data / FDR, improving customer satisfaction and business relationships.  Left after company closed it's doors.

YClip.com

Director, First Data Technical Relationships

Coordinated the development ( OOD, ASP, Oracle, RS/6000, AIX ) and provided project management and pre-sales support of new Products, including Internet Bill Payment, statement and check imaging, portal, wallet, insurance, brokerage, wire transfer, lending and many other banking and financial products, for this pre-IPO Internet Financial Services company that had developed one of the first online banking systems. Initiated and nurtured business relationships with service bureaus, switches, processors, service providers, organizations, associations, merchants, third party vendors, strategic alliances, etc.  Prioritized product delivery, coordinating efforts with all departments. Drafted and negotiated alliance/partnership contracts and reseller agreements.

FundsXpress

Director, Product Operations

Created and led Task Force of over 100 technologists in developing and implementing detailed systems requirements to enhance the Data Center’s recovery process, keeping expenditures under the $100 m budget. Administered disaster recovery/contingency efforts for all FDR business units and data centers throughout U.S. and Australia.  Provided program management to insure FFIEC Y2K requirements.

Director, Business Continuity Planning

Managed and coordinated the accomplishments of over 200 Project Managers, Team Leaders, Consultants, Analysts, and Programmers ( including offshore development ) in converting credit card accounts, while nurturing the relationships for each client, domestic and international.  Successes included conversions of SunTrust Bank, Wells Fargo, as well as conversions of portfolios for First USA/Bank One, Chase, Fleet, Associates and others.  Reduced $1m budget expenditures 30% while improving customer satisfaction, employee retention, and meeting or exceeding all goals and objectives.  Designed and implemented conversion improvement and knowledge transfer management initiatives.

Director, Conversions Services

Directed all activities involving the Distributed Systems (DEC, HP, Tandem, LAN, WAN), Product Development and Database (Oracle, SQL, DB2) groups, including requirements definition, strategy, competitive analysis, development, project management, pricing, training, marketing, and pre-sales support of new Products.  Product Manager for First Signal, a GUI client/server, object-oriented, file transmission management product (developed in C and C++, with TI_____ILLEGAL_CHAR_SSSTART146ILLEGAL_CHAR_EEEND_____s Case Tools, for Unix and NT platforms) which allows proactive management by generating alerts.  Responsible for $3.4mm budget.

First National Bank of Omaha

Operations Officer

Managed the Tandem Systems Programming Team, specializing in ATM (automated teller machines) and POS (point of sale) support. Taking on role of transition manager, worked with team to design and install network to run Greyhound's reservation, fare, and scheduling system and baggage claim system.  Maintained $3.6mm budget, reducing expenditures over $725k the first year.  Served as technical sales support for prospective clients, providing re-engineering solutions while nurturing strategic partner and vendor relationships.

Affiliated Computer Services (now called Xerox)

Manager of Systems Programming

I was part of the MTech/MBank group that was bought by EDS. I directed the team in managing, tuning, designing, enhancing, and implementing the hardware, software (Cash Management and Wire Transfer), data communication, and databases.Received ‘Hustle Award’ for efforts in coordinating the move of the downtown Dallas data center, with a redesign of hardware, database architecture and data communications.

Electronic Data Systems

Systems Manager

While at Luke Air Force Base, in Arizona, managed Quality Assurance inspections and coordinated training of over 200 personnel.

USAF

NCOIC Branch Training/Quality Assurance (Luke Air Force Base)

While at Clark Air Base, in the Philippines, responsible for troubleshooting of specialized electronic equipment.  Held "Top Secret" security clearance throughout career in the United States Air Force.

Dan .Howell

Dan .Howell