Bachelor of Arts in Management (BA)  ·  University of St. Thomas – St. Paul, Minnesota

Gartner Certified Project Manager ·  IBM e-Business Solution Advisor · Spherion Certified Quality Manager  ·  Spherion Certified Project Manager ·  PMP - logged in all required hours & now have to sit for 35 hours of seminars to get the certificate.

·        Methodologies: Waterfall, Prince II, RUP, Agile, SCRUM, Extreme Programming, ADM & a high degree of exposure to Six Sigma & ITIL(since 2005)

·        Hardware : Citrix thin client, Client Server, AS400, Clustered Servers, Grid Computing, Distributed Servers, IBM Mainframes, Desktop, MAC, Cloud computing, VM ware.

·        Software: Share point, Aris, Maximo, Tivoli, IBM Websphere, Base24, CR2, S1, Expert in Microsoft Office Suite, Microsoft Project, MS Project Workbench, MS Exchange, Lotus Notes & Clarity, Plainview, ETL SAP Business Objects, IBM Cognos, VM ware. SunGard, T24, I-flex.

·        Databases: DB2, Oracle, Sybase & SQLServer

·        Data Warehouses: Oracle, Teradata, SAP Business Information Warehouse

·        ERP systems : SAP's ERP systems • Oracle’s ERP system combined with Retek, CDMS & Portal, Microsoft Dynamics, Sage

·        CRM Solutions: Oracle’s Siebel CRM, Salesforce.com, Uniquare, Sage, Microsoft’s CRM, SAP’s CRM, for internal decision making and for Call center support.

·        Programming Languages: C#, C++,.NET , JAVA, XMPP, APEX, SQL, COBOL, PHP, ASP.NET, Visual Basic , Info Basic, RPG, Oracle SQL Forms & Report Writer.

·        Operating Systems: Unix, Linux, IBM OS Z/Virtual Machine (z/VM), OS400, Windows, MAC & Linux

·        Other Technical Skills: High Volume Storage such as EMC, Disaster Recovery Planning & Implementation, Data Centers, B2B, B2C, B2E Integration, Web services, XML, & Web Applications/Sites & Portals

·        Networking: (TCP/IP, WAN technologies, VPN, routing protocols, load balancers, routers, switches), Internet & Intranet Protocols, VoIP and IVR 

·        Data & Content Migration

·        E-commerce through Websphere, web services and XML

·        Documentum, (Enterprise Content Management), Autonomy, File Net (later moving to IBM’s enterprise record management system, Open Text, and Vignette

·        EAI: Websphere (MQ series), Apache web server, XML, Web services, SOAP, SOA.

·        In-depth knowledge of security including hardware & software solutions such as firewalls

·        In-depth knowledge with tools for infrastructure monitoring & VoIP

·        A good exposure to Cloud computing.

independent advisor – MN & the Middle East

Sr. Advisor (June 2011 to November 2011)

Worked on assignments for clients in Kuwait and Dubai.

Siscom – MENA / Riyadh, Saudi Arabia - One of the Middle East's major consulting firms.

 (contractor) Acting as the Sr. Director of Banking Technology / Business Advisory Services (2011 to June 2011)

Created the vision, mission, strategy, business plan & a go to market plan for the practice & commenced Business Development activities with the EVP of Business Development. I also created all the methodologies, collateral & ensured that we had strong relationships with our software vendors, one of whom was Temenos as we became their service delivery arm in the Middle East. While in SISCOM I also provided management of full project lifecycles for the portfolio of projects, presales, sales, business development, vendor relations, development / implementation of Financial Services technologies (Inclusive of SAP’s Financial Sector Solutions), establishment of workflow management systems, rollout of BI Solutions.

·        As a team, with the VP of Business Development, we Selected & Managed Vendor Solutions, for the Banking Practice, i.e. Core-Banking, Trading, Portfolio Management, (front office, mid-office & back-office), FX & Fund Transfers, Treasury, ATM & & Card Services, on-line trading/banking etc.

·        Oversaw all Vendor & 3^rd Party vendors.

·        Oversaw the development and implementation of solutions were both BI, e-commerce centric & Basel II compliant using SAP’s BusinessObjects & IBM’s Cognos

·        SDLC, Integration/Implementation of vendor products, data conversion, SLAs & post implementation maintenance agreements.

·        Oversaw vendor relationships for the business solutions that we selected.

·        Managed the RFI, RFP and Proposal process.

·        Played a major role in the initiative that was led by my boss to rebuild the company’s website & portal.

Temenos –Found by Gartner to be the leading & most widely used banking application globally

Program Manager (2008 to 2010)

Spearheaded the full implementation of T24, a Core Banking Solution inclusive of all other modules required to operate a bank or an Asset/wealth Management Institution. In addition, I oversaw the integration of all support systems interfacing with the flagship product. Directed planning, gathering of business requirements, test case development & execution, implementation, & completion of assigned projects. Led turnaround efforts, identifying & addressing operational areas in need of change, improvement, or elimination. Ensured the continuous provision of guidance, tools, resources, support, & motivation to team members with a strong focus on effectively tackling system issues & discrepancies. Selected Contributions:

·        Planned the project - time, team, activities, resources, financials - using suitable project management tools. Produced roles/responsibilities documentation, risk mitigation plans, communication plans, change management plans, issue identification & resolution plans. Managed interaction with Vendor & 3rd party. Ensured meeting rhythms and that all Projects were on-time and within budget if not even ahead of time lines and below budgets. partners.

·        Communicated the project plan to the project team and to all stakeholders. Agreed and delegated project actions. Managed and motivated - informed, encouraged, enabled the project teams. Checked, measured, monitored, reviewed project progress - adjusted project plans, and informed the project team and others. Completed project review and reported on project performance; gave praise and thanks to the project team. Project follow-up - trained, supported, measured and reported results and benefits.

·        As a Program manager for a project, I was challenged by taking over a failing program encompassing seven projects, achieving a successful turnaround through the implementation of stringent governance, proper management methodologies, restructuring & optimizing the performance of the IT group. For projects that were slipping or showed a level of risk, I jumped in as the PM.

·        Delivered bank wide systems from Core-Banking, Portfolio Management,(front office, mid-office & back office solution), Trading Solution with FIX, Asset Management, Mutual Funds, FX, Fund Transfers, Treasury, ATM & Card Services, Internet & Mobile Banking, Business Intelligence/Analytics through ETL from the data warehouse implemented at the bank. In addition there was a heavy emphasis on e-commerce with banks interfacing with brokers, asset managers, other banks, the central bank & the bank’s clientele through a variety of intelligent channels.  Moreover, we integrated content and record  management systems with T24. These were green field implementations or were migration and upgrade project.

·        Structured a Project Strategy with a complete set of project collateral & artifacts,

·        Data & Content Migration for several large scale banks.

·        Data / content management with Documentum.

·        Oversaw the integration of IBM’s Enterprise Record Management Solution with T24 with other banks implemented File.Net with T24 and Vignette.

·        Oversaw the implementation, application & Upgrades for infrastructure i.e. Hardware/storage/networking

·        Managed teams comprised of Temenos project staff, outsourced resources & the outsourced development in Chennai, India.

·        Ensured that the integration between T24 & the ERP systems implemented at the banks was effectively carried out.

·        Ensured the full QA cycle started with the requirements gathering & analysis. Test cases were developed and executed for unit testing, technical testing, integration, functional performance and load testing.

·        Helped implement Data warehouses, Disaster recovery and Data centers.

·        Held complete financial oversight from managing the budget, to the review & approval of expenses including the overall program(s) profitability.

·        Held regular steering committee meetings between the client & Temenos to resolve all issues & keep all Stakeholders abreast of the program’s progress

·        Integrated IVR & VoIP with the Flagship Product.

·        Participated in Pre-sales functions for projects within my region.

Consulting Services (Middle East, US & Europe)

Independent Advisor / Consultant (2004 to 2008)

Responded to RFI, RFP and agreed to the Proposals to deliver expert consulting services/PM in the areas of Business Process Management, Business Analysis, Engagement Management, Project/Program Management, Change Management, Operational change, QA, Strategy & Planning, IT strategy development, ERP implementation, Retail & Distribution System Implementation, Telecom, Wireless Connectivity, Investment banking & Wealth Management, Healthcare systems, & Financial services. Selected Consulting Projects:

·        AS A PM

o   For Several Government Entities in  Dubai, I automated many processes by implementing or converting to Oracle’s ERP & CRM. In addition used e-commerce & Business Intelligence to, reduce expenses, enable a swifter time for decision making & elevate performance in a global recessionary time. Implemented IVR and VoIP. Ensured the full QA cycle started with the requirements gathering & analysis. Test cases were developed and executed for unit testing, technical testing, integration, functional performance and load testing. Implemented and integrated IBM’s Enterprise Record Management Solution for records and content management implementation with other relevant solutions. Implemented IBM’s Data warehouses, Disaster recovery and Data Centers. Enhanced web Management/Content/Experience with Vignette Web Content Management, which is OpenText, which created an interactive Web experience personalized for each Web site visitor delivered to mobile devices and traditional browsers. These were turnkey solutions all thee way from strategy to networking.

o   For another Enterprise, a conglomerate of financial services firms, (Asset Management, Portfolio Management, Capital Markets, FX, Treasury, Trading & Brokerage) I implemented a full strategy for the Enterprise, put in place much more efficient Policies & Procedures & Enhanced the operations into a lean service delivery conglomerate through elevating their automation to be an e-commerce centric environment equipped with the latest Business Intelligence capabilities reducing the time for decision making. Ensured the full QA cycle started with the requirements gathering & analysis. Test cases were developed and executed for unit testing, technical testing, integration, functional performance and load testing. Implemented Data warehouses, Disaster Recovery, and Data Centers. Implemented records and content management implementation

o   For a Leading Software Company in Dubai, I acted as the SME and PM & in conjunction with the CTO elevated the firm into a leader of a full Web based financial Solutions provider(Brokerage & Portfolio Management) that were e-commerce centric & included Business Analytics through the use of ETL to enable dashboards & reporting. The solutions were capable of electronic data interchange with Banks, other Brokers, Capital Markets, the Central Bank & Customers. Ensured the full QA cycle started with the requirements gathering & analysis. Test cases were developed and executed for unit testing, technical testing, integration, functional performance and load testing. The implementation involved significant data migration and conversion.

o   Set up the Risk Advisory Services Practice for KPMG from scratch into a fully functional, operational & highly profitable practice in line with SOX & Basel II.

o   For a major manufacturer in Saudi Arabia, as a Program Manager I performed Business Transformation (BPM, BPI, BPR) to produce a lean operational structure. I oversaw the implementation of SAP’s ERP, SCM with SAP Data Warehouse & Manufacturing suite of solutions, then initiated  & implemented e-commerce trading for the company with its suppliers & customers. Implemented a BI platform for intelligent dashboards & reporting and IBM’s Enterprise Record Management Solution and  Documentum for Enterprise Content & Records management. Ensured the full QA cycle started with the requirements gathering & analysis. Test cases were developed and executed for unit testing, technical testing, integration, functional performance and load testing. This program had both green field and conversion/migration projects.

o   Implemented an ERP solution with a full retail module for a group of retail companies in Dubai.. This client became a totally e-commerce based retailer with full Enterprise Application Integration from the retail customer point to the reordering of goods & producing BI dashboards/reports. Extensive QA was implemented from the initiation to the sign off of the project. This role involved significant data migration and the use of IBM MQ Series. Enhanced web Management/Content/Experience with Vignette Web Content Management, which is OpenText, which created an interactive Web experience personalized for each Web site visitor delivered to mobile devices and traditional browsers

o   Implemented Oracle’s CDMS for a healthcare payment provider organization with File.net and oversaw its integration with the ERP & CDMS systems.

o   Advisor to Honeywell in Strategy & Marketing:

§  Drove development of strategic marketing plans targeting Saudi Arabia and the Middle East for this diversified manufacturing Fortune 500 company.

§  Managed market analysis, reporting, strategic planning, and establishment / maintenance of communications structure encompassing promotions utilizing media agencies, press, and additional external parties. Selected Contributions:

§  Collected Requirements from the HQ C-level and the Business Units in Dubai.

§  Developed a Strategy for the Middle East.

§  Fueled revenue generation in assigned region while capturing savings through the development of successful corporate brand and strategic marketing programs, resulting in business development and new corporate ventures. Achieved growth of 35% especially in the Saudi Market (the first market I was assigned to address)

·        Business Development and Program Manager IBM / GBM (Gulf Business Machines is the arm of IBM in the Persian Gulf Region) for Financial Services in the Capital of the United Arab Emirates, specializing in business development, marketing, & program management. Developed a substantial pipeline & signed multi-million deals within my tenure.

·        Implemented Microsoft Dynamics ERP for several small to medium firms.

IBM/GBM – Kuwait City, Kuwait GBM is the arm of ibm in the persian gulf region

Head of Professional & Business Consulting Services (2003 to 2004)

Re-established the company’s losing business unit into a highly profitable Professional & Business Consulting practice in Kuwait, strategically aligning the Practice’s needs with the corporation’s practices. Selected Contributions:

·        Turned around a low-performing Business Unit into a highly profitable Business Unit

·        Worked with all account executives in the presales, sales & project realization.

·        Spearheaded service & performance improvement in the areas of business process management, policies, procedures and QA so that QA functions would commence with the Gathering  and analysis of requirements till the sign off and post live support segments of the solutions.

·        Implemented the Software Solutions that comprised our portfolio of Solution Services Offerings. The hardware used was always IBM hardware (Mainframes, AS400 Computing Machines, Clustered Servers & Grid Computing).

·        Acted as the Program Manager for the Projects that the Practice was managing and in some cases I acted the PM myself. These were green field implementations or were migration and upgrade project.

·        Implemented BI solutions with Data warehouses & scripts to extract, transform & load the data into Crystal Reports.

·        Selected Solution  from vendors and Managed Vendor Relationships

·        Spearheaded Programs focused on Workflow Systems, CRM, AML, e-commerce, Treasury, FX & Fund Transfers, Core-Banking, Portfolio, Asset Management, Wealth Management & Trading Solutions, ATM, Card Management Systems, IBM’s Enterprise Record Management System, content management implementation, Websphere for Web/Portal solutions, Mobile Banking & Electronic Banking inclusive of IVR & VoIP.

·        In addition to Financial Services we also focused on Govt., Education & Training centers, Healthcare & Construction. For Education Services we oversaw the implementation of Documentum as a content management solution that was used in an e-learning environment.

·        Turned projects into Turnkey projects with Consulting, Software, Hardware, networking to create a bundled one stop solutions for clients.

·        Honored with commendations from IBM’s CEO for superior performance & contributions.

Spherion – Minneapolis, Minnesota -  was one of the leading Professional Service Firms

Senior Director of Enterprise Application Integration & Business Development (2001 to 2002)

Transformed this Fortune 500 company's EAI practice from a Staffing Services vendor to a High-End, Full-Service Consulting/Project Management/ SDLC or Vendor software implementation/Business solution/Professional Services Provider. Developed & managed corporate strategy, business plans, P&L controls, teams, partnerships, & the sales executive support structure. Selected Contributions:

·        Enhanced productivity & performance while increasing profits during a challenging recession in IT by developing the Practice into a Solution Provider instead of a pure staffing services practice.

·        Developed the Vision, Mission, Strategy & Business Processes & secured the budget that achieved a reduction of expenses by 30% in the first year & by 25% in the second year thus achieving an overall substantial cost savings.

·        Oversaw and managed all Vendor Relationships

·        Oversaw the implementation of enhanced web Management/Content/Experience with Vignette’s Web Content Management, which is OpenText, to create an interactive Web experience personalized for each Web site visitor.

·        In addition to servicing the financial sector we targeted Best Buy, Target, other retailers, Manufacturing, Healthcare & Service Oriented firms. I worked with the account executives in both pre-sales & sales functions for opportunities inclusive of professional services.

·        Responded to RFI’s, RFPs and agreed to Proposals.

·        Elevated the QA standards on SDLC projects which contributed to Spherion being recognized as the QA company.

·        Fueled increases in business while cutting costs by forging & cultivating strategic offshore partnerships.

·        Enhanced company services to achieve a ranking as one of IBM’s leading business partners.

·        As a PM, I conducted a Full SDLC of a Website & Portal with complete content management for a major Media/Advertisement firm in Minneapolis, MN & advised on the Implementation of SFDC as the CRM Solution.

·        Acted as a Program Executive for a Program a full SDLC program with BCBS of MN.

·        Acted as a Program Manager for a full SDLC project with MN DOT.

·        Implemented Vignette at Several Sites In MN, USA

·        The EAI practice had 4 business units Technical Project Management, Microsoft Technologies, JAVA / J2EE & Open Source. Each Business Unit was led by a Managing Consultant.

·        Acted as the Portfolio Manager for all projects that the practice was managing.

International Turnkey Systems – Kuwait City, Kuwait & Florida, USA

Head of Financial Services & Principle Consultant (1998 to 2000)

Assumed the role of Project Manager for all Financial Services Projects. Established the strategy, staffing plan, policies processes, technology requirements, training for practice members, mentorship, & oversaw vendor partnerships Selected Contributions:

·        As a PM I implemented a bundled one-stop turnkey solution provider encompassing consulting services, IT Strategy, Business Process Management (BPM, BPI, BPR) along with the business solutions, hardware, networking, DR, DW, Web Based & Mobile Solutions, IVR, VoIP & SLAs for post sign off support.

·        Acted as the Subject Matter Expert & Program Manager for the customization, additional development & Implementation of the Core-Banking solution.

·        Selected the Software Solutions that comprised our portfolio of Financial Services Offerings. Software solutions included Core-Banking, Treasury, Trading, Risk Management, ATM & Card Services, Asset Management, FX & Fund Transfer, a complete portfolio management system (front, mid, & back office functionality), Treasury, Analytics, & more.

·        Conducted all Vendor Management Functions

·        Carried out Pre-sales & Sales Functions with Account Executives responded to RFI’s, RFPs and agreed to Proposals.

·        As a PM:

o   Engineered the processes of the practice to achieve significant savings & higher project margins by utilizing the utmost effective PM methodologies, SDLC methodologies, enhancing delivery capacities, implementing more structured testing/quality management procedures. Ensured the full QA cycle started with the requirements gathering & analysis. Test cases were developed and executed for unit testing, technical testing, integration, functional performance and load testing.

o   Carried out significant data conversion and migration.

o   Implemented upgrades to newer releases.

o   Implemented Data warehouse solutions & used scripts & crystal reports to extract intelligent reports.

o   Oversaw the setup, implementation and Operations of Disaster Recovery  and Disaster Recovery Systems.

o   Made sure that the solutions were e-commerce centric so the solutions would electronically interchange data with other banks, asset managers, brokers, the central bank & most importantly clients.

o   Carried out several data conversions and migration.

o   Implemented File.net at banks and integrated the solution with all banking products we delivered.

o   Implemented IVR & VoIP at all client sites.

o   For Internet Banking, oversaw the design, architecture, content management, development and implementation of the solutions.

Warba Medical supplies – Kuwait City, Kuwait

Partner & PM for Warba Medical Supplies (1993-2000) – Family owned business. Part time contribution of approx.. 20-30 hrs. per week as I concurrently held a full time job.

Assessed current situation, defined the AS IS State then defined the TO BE STATE. Oversaw the Strategy of the transformation to the To Be State & put together a strategy for re-engineering policies & procedures, a go to market plan, the automation of the operations, developed better relationships with suppliers to improve the supply chain mechanism. Warba became the exclusive importer & agent for many of the global leaders in medical supplies, hospital equipment, pharmaceuticals, & ethical cosmetics.

I re-engineered the company’s processes to be e-commerce centric with the Government’s Health Ministry, our vendors & our clients. This process was quite detailed & time consuming & it was iterative in nature so it consumed several years & was still ongoing as when the government’s regulations changed the interfaces had to change & the same thing with the vendors.

Implemented a company-wide full ERP solution with a complete retail, distribution & CDMS solution for the enterprise & our group of pharmacies.

I grew the bottom line so that Warba became the 2nd largest & the most profitable enterprise in Kuwait in its economic sector

Other Professional Experiences

Path Solutions (The Premiere Provider of Islamic Financial Solutions) – Kuwait City, Kuwait(1993 to 1998)

Head of PMO, & Service Delivery

hilti - Jeddah, Saudi Arabia Technical Marketing Advisor (1991-1993).