Cedarville University

Abington Heights High School

Senior IT and Business Solutions Leader | Championing Business Relationship Management & Strategic Partnerships | Bridging Business and Technology  | Driving Organizational Change through Cross-Functional Collaboration

Acosta Group

Senior Vice President Enterprise Business Solutions

In this role I am accountable for establishing and maintaining an ongoing level of engagement between IT and Business Partners to drive value within the company’s strategic objectives.  My Primary focus is to act as a trusted advisor that bridges the gap between business and technology solutions and is a liaison between IT and the business units.  Earning a seat at the table to be a respected contributor to the business leadership team and to actively engage with business leaders and discuss future plans and strategies is a key objective.  A major goal for this role is to grow the level of Relationship Maturity within the company by measuring the current maturity level of Business Unit engagement with IT.  This role requires strategic thinking and bringing intellectual rigor to understanding the landscape and engage multi-functional stakeholders to drive business outcomes.  To be successful in this role it will require demonstrated success in building a learning culture, learning strategies, program integration, program evaluation, or performance management.

Vice President Business Solutions

Acosta

In this role I am a main point of contact between IT and the business and a strategic, high-level, business-focused partner who helps business functions optimize their technology investments and use them in a way that helps advance business goals and strategy.  The role is responsible for understanding business strategy, analyzing business processes, eliciting, analyzing, and documenting business requirements.  The role provides direction and guidance to business partners to enable the best information technology solutions that meet the business needs.  As a trusted advisor to the business units, the position bridges the gap between business partners and technology solutions and is a liaison between IT and the business units.  This position has the responsibility to operate as an IT leader and trusted advisor for M&A activities including due diligence, day one readiness, integration, and implementation of IT Applications.

Vice President Information Technology

In this role, I am responsible for the planning, execution, and management  of cross-functional projects related to products, services, and intellectual property. My primary focus is on developing solutions for business problems or identifying opportunities to drive business value. To achieve company goals, I direct the operating, sourcing, contract negotiations, vendor relationship, and govern the $7.5M budget. I have introduced several methods for tracking project management, workload planning and corporate business performance metrics. Organized all IT functions around partnerships to better support business unit goals.

Below are some of my key contributions:
• Led migration of an on-premise environment to cloud platform and streamlined data governance and data integrity initiatives to clean and maintain core data.
• Launched a cyber security program to educate employees on security threats, which reduced phishing click rate from 36% to 17%.
• Maximized effectiveness and reduced costs by 11% related to the acquisition, implementation, and operation of IT and data management systems.
• Steered all IT vendor relationships, negotiated related contracts, and created annual IT business plans reflective of corporate and business unit initiatives.
• Acted as change agent and leader in a new company of 16 acquired companies and navigated culture changes, executive leadership changes, etc.
• Oversaw complete construction remodels for a 17,000 sq.ft. office with accountability for budget, layout, actual construction, decor, etc.

Impact Group

Senior Vice President Information Technology

In this role I was accountable for the organization's technological direction including planning, executing, and maintaining the best practices that align with corporate functions. Im implemented strategies to ensure optimal technical operations by overseeing all aspects of IT, including system security/information management, corporate project management, application development, infrastructure management, and technology operations. I was also responsible for the support for business objectives and requirements including business strategic plan structuring, identity management framework, and negotiations.
Some of my notable contributions are:
• Partnered with company president to redefine and relaunch new company mission, vision and core values by redefining core values/best practices and successfully implemented a companywide CRM (Salesforce).
• Cooperated with third party contractor to create a "one version of the truth" database for business needs and deployed a Business Intelligence tool for analytics (DOMO).
• Managed complete construction remodels for 27,000 sq.ft. office (budget, layout, actual construction, decor, etc.).
• Established lean management strategies to meet the strategic requirements of this growing company.
• Increased production through cultivation of high morale, implementation of clear standards, and total accountability of all team members, resulting in increased efficiency and service.

VP Business Solutions

Harlow-HRK Sales & Marketing, Inc. an Impact Group Company

As the head of marketing and analytical services, I created and implemented strategic marketing plans to lead a team of 42 people with four direct reports and produced effective sales collateral that targeted and educated the customer. I revamped the corporate brand identity to ensure continuity throughout market segments. I conceived and implemented integrated marketing communication plans that maintained brand consistency, maximized effectiveness, met measurable objectives and executed customer relationship management strategy.
Some of my key contributions are:
• Developed and maintained business metrics to manage performance, cost, and productivity, developed lean strategies that addressed the voice of the customer.
• Managed staff  including hiring, talent development, performance management, and retention efforts.
• Developed and implemented on-going training and support services for system users.

VP Marketing & Analytical Services

Skills: Nielsen · People Management · Merchandising · Budget Management · Shopper Marketing · Consumer Products · Customer Insight · Analytics · Contract Negotiation · Category Insights · Consumer Behaviour · Persuasion · Data Governance · Decision-Making · Critical Thinking · Analytical Reasoning · Collaborative Problem Solving · Retail · Team Leadership · Strategic Influence · Emotional Intelligence

Director Of Category Development

Skills: Nielsen · People Management · Merchandising · Shopper Marketing · Consumer Products · Customer Insight · Analytics · Category Insights · Consumer Behaviour · Persuasion · Decision-Making · Analytical Reasoning · Retail · Team Leadership · Strategic Influence · Emotional Intelligence

Category Development Analyst

Skills: People Management · Merchandising · Consumer Products · Persuasion · Decision-Making · Retail · Team Leadership · Emotional Intelligence

Rob James