IT OPERATIONS / PROJECT MANAGEMENT / APPLICATION DEVELOPMENT

IT team leader with extensive experience in IT operations leadership, system ana lysis and software application development, and IT project management. Dedicated individual who is passionate about applying technology to improve business proc esses and to provide a significant competitive advantage for business enterprise s.

KEY COMPETENCIES

> IT Operations Leadership - Skilled at hiring, training, and leading IT teams t o manage multiple concurrent projects in application development and process imp rovement. Managed business systems operations, working the executive team to ali gn IT with strategic business goals and to deliver greater productivity and oper ating efficiencies throughout the organization.

> System Analysis / Software Application Development - Skilled at identifying bu siness needs and building/modifying software to solve business problems across t he organization. Software application development has ranged from modernizing ER P systems to introducing supply chain portals, automating credit and collections processes, creating web-based purchase requisition processes, and selecting and implementing quality management software systems.

> IT Project Management - Proven ability to deliver projects on time and under b udget, facilitate quick and effective resolution of project issues, and demonstr ate strong customer focus through continuous education and communication.

PROFESSIONAL EXPERIENCE

KLEIN TOOLS, INC. - Lincolnshire, IL 2006 - April 2011 Family-owned hand tools manufacturer serving the electrical, construction, and t elecommunications industries, with 1,000+ employees and an international network of 5,000+ distributors and retailers - including Home Depot.

Manager of Business Systems Operations and Application Development

Hired in 2006, and retained after the CIO and IT management team were released.

Assumed responsibility for business systems operations, application development , and business process improvement. Hired, trained, and managed a staff of 12; oversaw the development, testing and implementation of all application modificat ions. Additional key areas of responsibility included maintaining system availab ility 99.9%, system backups, nightly job processing, operating system upgrades, and managing a 24/7 Help Desk.

* Oversaw the IT project portfolio. Gave priority to projects that were aligned with overall strategies of the company, that had the greatest probability of suc cess and ROI, and would maximize resources of the IT department.

* Reduced IT costs 30% by using VM Ware to consolidate servers, thereby reducing leasing costs and software maintenance fees. Also consolidated faxing applicat ions into one corporate-wide application. Reduced the dependency on outside con tractors with permanent employees.

* Initiated movement to modernize a legacy ERP application (PRMS) with a graphic al user interface, allowing the presentation of more information without travers ing through multiple text screens, and resulting in greater productivity for the end user.

* Oversaw the rewriting of an antiquated Supply Chain Portal. Increased functio nality by allowing suppliers to enter information and provide more information r educing supply chain management workload. The portal became the primary source of communication between suppliers and purchasing.

* Developed an IT solution to automate the credit and collections process. Incr eased the number of collections calls from 16 to 60 calls a day by reducing time required for customer research. Also instituted a fully-automated credit limit review process.

* Improved the document scanning process, by implementing OCR technology to extr act data from ERP applications and automatically indexing documents, reducing th e need to handle the documents multiple times and eliminating the need for repet itive data entry.

* Replaced paper-based purchase requisition process with a web-based process all owing electronic work flow approvals, data validations, audit trails, and histor ical information. The new system was integrated to the ERP system to eliminate duplicate data entry. Also set up a web site that interfaced with the corporat e ERP system to sell obsolete tools.

* Introduced low cost technologies such as PHP and Zend Frameworks for graphical user interface. Evaluated other opportunities for low cost open source softwar

e to replace existing software.

* Key role in the selection and implementation of a quality management software system, integrated with the ERP system, to unify and standardize quality reporti ng amongst all of the plants.

* Implemented Vendor Managed Inventory (VMI) solution in 4 weeks enabling additi onal international sales with Canada. Also oversaw the implementation of flexibl e Canadian pricing, allowing Klein Tools to be more price competitive in Canada.

* Formed and directed urrent business model from the vendor. This on in sales from Home

a team that improved shipping processes by enhancing the c of shipping from a central location to drop ship directly change allowed Klein Tools to access additional $1.2 milli Depot.

* Upgraded Cognos, a business intelligence and performance management tool, fro m 7.3 to 8.4 to take advantage the enhanced dashboard capabilities to graphicall y communicate key performance indicators Initiated "lunch and learn" sessions to train personnel in the use of Cognos.

* Increased developer productivity and project completion rate by 25% through th e use of change management software, modular programming, design review meetings (to eliminate redundant efforts), and improved project management.

RAPID SOLUTIONS GROUP (RSG) - Mount Prospect, IL 1998 - 2006

Manager of Application Development

Managed multiple concurrent, high profile IT projects representing over $6M in a nnual sales for a provider of customized electronic print to the financial and p harmaceutical industries. Worked directly with clients such as Pfizer, Morgan St anley, Merck, Dreyfus, Ameritrade, Van Kampen, and Eli Lilly. Hired, trained, a nd managed an application development staff of five.

* Applied an Agile style to development and used modular design and reusable pro cedures to shorten programming by 30%. This enabled us to easily modify and sel l new application features to other clients.

* Applied modular design and reusable code to shorten project duration by 30%. E ncouraged extensive use of - Application Program Interfaces (APIs), allowing gre ater application functionality.

* Relocated the data center with multiple client accesses from Mount Prospect, I llinois to Kansas City, Missouri in less than 3 months, with no interruption to production.

* Supported sales efforts by delivering easily understood technical presentation s to non-technical client company personnel.

* Recognized by Merck and Pfizer for high level of commitment to their projects; recognized internally as a hard working, results-oriented leader.

RUBIN BROTHERS INC. - Chicago, IL 1997 - 1998

Manager of Application Development

Recruited by Rubin Brothers Inc., a private company specializing in protective i ndustrial clothing, and a client of Ed Paull and Associates, to manage applicati on development in support of its manufacturing operations.

ED PAULL AND ASSOCIATES - Oakbrook, IL 1985 - 1997

Information Technology Consultant

Provided custom software and applications support to small to mid-sized business es. Gained valuable experience in defining business problems, developing busines s requirements, and presenting technical solutions to resolve business issues.

EDUCATION / TECHNICAL SKILLS / ACTIVITIES

DE PAUL UNIVERSITY - Chicago, IL Bachelor of Science, Commerce; minor in Accounting

Technical Skills: AS/400 RPG/ILE; AS.400 SQL; Microsoft Office (Word, Excel, Po werPoint, Outlook, Project)

User Groups: OMNI and SystemiNetwork

Licensed Soccer Coach, Arlington Aces, 2000 - Present