Greater Philadelphia
Military officers are trained by placing them into new situations, observing how they lead their team and make use of all available skills and equipment, then conducting an “after action review” to learn from both success and failure. It is a continuous learning process emphasizing strategic thinking and focused execution. Executive leadership development at GE is very similar. A key career pathing goal is to experience multiple functional roles in different businesses and cultures. When the marketplace and customer needs inevitably change, leaders do not get stuck in “the way we’ve always done it,” but instead draw upon their broad experience to explore alternatives and pilot innovations. After years of U.S. Army officer and GE executive leadership training, the habits of continuous learning and striving to improve upon the status quo are deeply ingrained. LEAN Six Sigma thinking and process design are embedded in everything I do, regardless of the job title. Where there are people (customers, patients, employees, vendors, regulators), there are products and processes to continuously improve to maximize value and minimize waste. Common themes from across my career: Negotiating agreements and closing the deal Teamwork, both as a team member and a leader Execution excellence driven by continuous process improvement Analytical decision making, whether assessing the marketplace and business strategy or using statistical tools to reduce defects and waste Working with regulatory agencies and government officials
Identified a marketplace gap in premium event services as existing vendors exited due to lack of profitability. > Developed a business model and value proposition to exclusively attract and win high margin opportunities. > Designed a preeminent, boutique brand and marketing strategy which achieved 98% lead conversion rate. CJC average contract revenue is 222% of industry average. “Preferred Vendor” status in Wilmington, DE and SE PA. > Financial performance: 69.7% gross margin and 58.7% EBIT.
Joined Progressive State/Product leadership team in the midst of enormous change. Hired to manage profitability and customer retention during several disruptive product upgrades and implementation of game changing technology. > Charged by VP of Progressive Direct Auto Insurance to lead the first state implementation (VA) of “Usage Based Insurance” (UBI) technology. Marketed as Progressive’s “Snapshot” program, it is the latest step change innovation in auto insurance. Progressive remains the industry leader, awarding $600M in safe driving discounts since 2007. > Leadership and direction of all aspects of product design, pricing and systems configuration/programming projects executed by a highly networked, cross-functional team of 40+ IT and process experts. > Championed website sales development and UX pilots, reconfigured all customer facing processes. > Lobbied VA legislature to pass critical legislation. (The VA bill passed by my team became the country wide model governing the use of UBI technology in both premium pricing and claims.) > Successfully transitioned $150M VA book from outdated product pricing models to state of the art platforms. > Led companywide analysis of financial, legal and customer retention models of future product transitions to develop recommendations used by company directors to establish company-wide policy. > Maintained 12-15% underwriting profit margins and market share despite several significant and highly disruptive renewal rate changes and three new product features. > Improved customer retention and reduced customer complaints by more than 50% by analyzing millions of premium calculations, then partnering with IT to eliminate multiple programming sources of error.
Identified and quantified financial impacts of customer defection during peak profitability. Proposed creation of a new business unit focused on customer retention and profitability enhancement. > Increased annual value of retained assets from $15M to $28.5M. > Awarded GE Financial Pinnacle award for significant business impact. > Formed and led team of actuaries, GE Corporate auditors and scientists from GE Global R&D to develop a multivariate renewal pricing model for the fixed annuity portfolio. (Project received GE Corporate audit award.) > Recruited and led team of 12 direct reports linked to several networked cross-functional resources to build, monitor and continuously improve the customer retention capability of all customer facing processes.
> Conducted broker surveys and segmentation analysis to clarify customer expectations and identify process/product improvement opportunities > Managed teams of Black Belts and project portfolio focused on broker relationship development, marketing material development and asset retention > Recruited to a team (of 3 Master Black Belts with highest technical and teaching skills) charged with developing and delivering Six Sigma training for all business leaders and several hundred exempt employees. Directly coached executive leadership and senior managers through Greenbelt certification. Aligned black belts with remaining exempt population to provide coaching through their Greenbelt certification.
Recommended by head of GE Plastics Global Sourcing to be one of two Human Resource Leadership Program graduates selected to GE Global Audit Staff, to pilot whether emerging HR leaders had the business knowledge and analytical skills to perform along side Finance and Technology Leaders on some of the most challenging and technical assignments in the company. > Won highest Corporate Audit award for resolving significant audit findings at a high tech company doing business on three continents. (Six awards granted per year to top performers of 180 member audit team. HR pilot successful.) > Conducted financial, compliance and process audits in seven GE businesses across the US and Europe.
> Negotiated all raw material contracts and maintained on-time materials sourcing for plant producing 5K tons/annum Noryl plastic > Six months after starting the position, the price of oil spiked. The methanol spot price quadrupled (our key raw delivered in multiple railcars daily), critical shortages developed for several other petroleum based key raws, and an explosion/shutdown of a key single source supplier pushed Sourcing into the center spotlight. > Analyzed, tracked, negotiated, cajoled, leveraged contacts, communicated, partnered, swapped - in short, used every skill and out-of-the-box idea to address the crisis. > Awarded the GE Plastics award, alongside my manager, for heroic efforts to manage costs and supply in an extremely volatile environment while never allowing the plant to shut down for lack of raw materials.
> GE Human Resources Leadership Development Program graduate. > 2 year rotational training program (on military leave of absence 1991-1993). > First assignment at GE Corporate Research & Development Center included hands on experience in exempt compensation, "Session C" performance evaluation and succession planning process, creation and implementation of an employee suggestion system and sponsorship of the GE "Workout" program for employee driven process improvement (a pre-cursor to the current GE focus on Six Sigma quality improvement). > Second assignment at GE Plastics included facilitation of team recruiting and interviews, 360 performance team management and evaluations, diversity programs and plant communications/community relations programs. > Special assignment for GE Plastics Americas as Project Manager for the USA employee satisfaction survey including design, administration, analysis and response planning.
As a 4 year Army ROTC scholarship recipient, I entered active duty 2 months after the successful ground war in Kuwait. (Note: On Military Leave of Absence from GE.) Assigned to the 25th Infantry Division & 45th Support Group at Schofield Barracks, HI, the mission priorities of entire officer cadre were a) rebuilding units cannibalized by divisions deployed to Kuwait b) preparing for potential conflict in North Korea and c) the disaster response mission for Hurricane Iniki. > Executive Officer of 300+ member maintenance company, responsible for all aspects of training and mission readiness of both personnel and equipment. Also assigned as Headquarters Platoon Leader with direct management responsibility for 75+ soldiers and ownership of all company equipment, assets and finances. > Special assignment: Selected by Battalion Commander as Officer in Charge (OIC) of a relief task force deployed with the Hurricane Iniki disaster response team. Provided electric generators and support to power key facilities (Disaster relief HQ, airport, hospitals, nursing homes, Red Cross support sites, etc.) across the island of Kauai. > Promoted to Office of the Commanding General, 25th Infantry Division & 45th Support Group. One of three officers leading the administrative support team for all forces stationed at Schofield Barracks. Deployed in April 1993 to South Korea for “Team Spirit,” a joint military training exercise with South Korean and international forces.