Chicago, Illinois, United States
A driven and customer-focused senior operations executive and top corporate officer with a proven track record in technology development and operations management and delivery, people development, organizational design, product implementation, security and compliance, strategic planning and execution, process improvement, cost analysis and savings, and team building. Proven track record in large-scale, multi-brand, and multi-tenant operations, software development, QSR, eCommerce technology, regulatory compliance (PCI, CCPA, GDPR) and multi-cloud implementations, including on-premises, colocation, AWS, and GCP. Utilizes strong business and legal acumen to guide companies through M&A transitions, offering technical expertise and transition planning. A critical and strategic thinker who provides leadership and guidance related to strategy development and performance metrics for the long-term success and growth of an organization. COO, CTO, GM | Digital Transformation | People Operations | SaaS | Cloud Infrastructure | Security and Compliance
Advising clients in technology, information security, operational improvement and design, business strategy, organizational design, and digital operations with a focus on team building, corporate culture, and growth. Extensive background in scalability, digital transformation, cyber security, and SaaS platform development. Led teams of every size from 1-2 people at small start-ups to 300 people teams at some of the largest firms in the world. Available as a fractional CIO, CTO, or COO, digital transformation, operational optimization, and strategic consulting.
Operations and technology leadership, including all departments and functions, sole CEO report, overseeing long-term, strategic operations, and day-to-day functions for the leading provider of ARE test prep and architecture community platform. Responsible for Product (Product Management, Design, Content Creation, Market Analysis, UX, UI, Brand), Learning (Learning Design, Curriculum Design), Engineering (Development, QA, DevOps), Sales (B2B Direct Sales, Lead Generation, B2C), Marketing (Digital Marketing, Social Media, SEO, Brand), Finance (P&L, R&D, Budgeting, Forecasting, Multi-State/Multi-country Tax filing), Customer Success (Customer Support, Account Management, Analytics & Insights), People (HR, Benefits, Insurance, IT, Hiring/Firing), and Legal (Compliance (PCI, CCPA, GDPR, ADA, etc.), Employment Law, Disability) Key Accomplishments: - Transitioned organization to a product model, including the hiring, training, and development of product leadership - Grew sales 30% YoY, including 50% B2B growth through updated sales model and product positioning - Led company to highest employee satisfaction scores (8.6/10) and eNPS (60) in the 4 year time since company started tracking - Migrated company to modern platforms for HR, benefits, health and wellness, and brought HR, payroll, and legal in-house - Launched Spectacular.design, a professional network for architects and brought platform development in-house, hired a senior level engineering team, and began a multi-year project to align our brands and products - Migrated company to EOS, operating as the operational head of the organization with all departments reporting
Oversaw strategic operations of company’s eCommerce teams, including quality assurance, site reliability engineering (SRE), technical support, cloud operations (AWS, Google Cloud), compliance (PCI, CCPA), and performance monitoring. Handled optimization of technical and financial performance for operations functions, tracking to larger company performance metrics and long-term goals. Led Chicago office, including facilities, infrastructure, and security. Managed SRE, Cloud Ops, and QA to reduce time to release and cost through increased automation, standardization of Site Reliability Engineering practices, and migration to modern cloud and API practices. Led high volume and transaction planning across vendors, departments, infrastructure, and cloud. • Implemented high availability architecture and design strategy to produce redundant, scalable architecture honed through iterative approach. • Managed budget and cost reductions platform while continuing to increase volume, integrating teams to improve efficiency and reduce redundant work in cloud, security, and compliance. • Provided leadership for compliance and security across PHC (including PCI). • Led integration efforts post-merger for QuikOrder and Pizza Hut digital teams including technology integration. • Implemented standardized tooling and tracking through JIRA, allowing for detailed capitalization and R&D credit tracking. • Implemented automated portals for franchise operators to access routine information, resulting in 50% reduction in support volume and automating routine tasks. • Led integration of operations teams to decrease team size and reduced outside consulting support • Expanded cloud strategy to reduce cost by moving to multi-cloud (GCP, Azure, AWS) and cloud-agnostic solutions, reducing risk profile and improving bargaining position with vendors. • Implemented continuously integrated and deployed solutions, resulting in reduction of deployment time from months to weeks.
Established operating strategy to implement proprietary eCommerce solutions, handling over $3B in annual transactions for some of largest QSR firms. P&L responsibility for >$30MM budget. Developed and maintained multiple platforms to support diverse clients, from multi-tenant solutions to highly scalable & redundant custom solutions. Day-to-day execution of administrative and technical functions: financial planning, e-commerce architecture and technical planning, security and compliance (CCPA, PCI), cloud strategy (AWS, GCP), vendor and contract management, facilities administration. Led IT, Cloud Ops, QA, HR/hiring, security, support, procurement, architecture, and compliance (PCI, CCPA, GDPR). • Led organization growth: 35 to 100 employees, 150% revenue growth through client expansion, increased development revenues, and platform consolidation • Establish core competencies and strategic partnerships to reduce fatigue, provide focus, and improve margin through strategic use of SaaS platforms for non-core competencies, focusing on competitive advantages: IP, industry-leading retention of top technical talent, and culture. • Created highly available, multi-region, multi-tenant physical and cloud architectures predicated on iterative design, scale and load testing. • Decreased capital spend 30% YoY through migration to scalable cloud infrastructure. • Reduced average time to market by 65% through adoption of agile development. • Invested in development of automated practices and cloud practices • Directed M&A of company to Pizza Hut Connect with company owners, providing technical expertise and transition planning • Completed annual PCI assessment, used opportunity to improve security posture of organization. • Successfully navigated security incident to protect client and customer data, building entirely new infrastructure simultaneously and moving services without interruption Acquired by Yum! Brands December 2018
Worked to implement infrastructure and networking projects for QuikOrder/National Systems Corp, a leading provider of eCommerce solutions. Designed, managed, and maintained client websites, networks, and eCommerce solutions. Responsible for hiring and managing network infrastructure team, cloud operations, and vendor solutions. • Built and designed internal and client eCommerce solutions • Prioritized staff and asset usage for various projects based on rapidly changing client demands. • Provide legal knowledge and experience to ensure regulatory compliance. Supported legal team on proprietary company systems, software, and patents. • Managed cloud (AWS, GCP) and on-premise data centers, cyber security, and architecture • Implemented highly redundant, highly scalable, eCommerce solutions for high performing Quick Service Restaurants.