Head: IT Strategy & Business Technology
Transguard Group
Total years of experience :22 years, 11 Months
I am responsible for the technology strategy, corporate business relationship management, managing the group’s technology investment portfolio and developing scalable, integrated technology solutions to enable the Transguard Groups strategic objectives.
KEY ACHIEVEMENTS
• Completed a group GAP Analysis, including the evaluation of the current services, hardware, software, processes, personnel, and operations, to develop a needs assessment with technology roadmap recommendation to the CIO.
• Introduced processes for Business Relationship Management, Demand Management and Service Portfolio Management including policies, procedure and metrics to provide strategic alignment, communicate, prioritize and manage and group business technology investments with the Group Executive (GE).
• Conceptualized, introduced and managed a Business Analyses Framework (Six Sigma, BABOK & CBAP) to support effective decisions on technology initiatives for value-add services and to support technology project delivery. The result is a 75% decrease in technology project delivery delays, 63% decrease in project change request submission, and the ability to measure benefit realization which was not possible before.
• Introduced and formalized regular ICT steering committee meetings to provide strategic leadership for IT through the alignment of IT strategic objectives and activities with enterprise strategic objectives and processes. Utilized an Opportunity Scoring Matrix to quickly prioritize pipeline business opportunities through executive collaboration and a business case methodology including return on investment (ROI) for effective business decisions.
• Spearheaded proposal approval and effectively drove teams of business analysts (3) and project managers (4) who successfully delivered key projects with a combined ROI of 3+ Million Dirhams. Such projects include: Salesforce.com to support the acquire, engage and retain customer lifecycle; Contract Management System leveraging SharePoint (Office365) integrated to Salesforce.com; a Supply Chain RFP eAuction Tool to support the RFP process; Transport Management System to manage transportation routing and scheduling; and a Meal Management System for site based staff.
Group Business Technology Manager responsible for the strategy development, financial management, project management, service delivery and internal operations to support 1100 employees across seven business units in the GCC operating in various industries including manufacturing, retail, trading, financial investment and real estate.
KEY ACHIEVEMENTS
• Completed a group GAP Analysis, including the evaluation of the current services, processes, capability and operations, to develop the recommended enterprise IT Strategy to the GCE Group Managing Director.
• Spearheaded the development of an enterprise-wide IT strategy, aligned with the business objectives, developing a new IT operating model to include organization structure as well as enhanced enterprise architecture and governance practices in-line with the ITIL framework.
• Instituted regular IT Steering Committee meetings with respective BU’s to ensure IT alignment with business objectives and to prioritize all projects. This included developing a uniform monthly reporting process to the management team, and implementing processes and standards for project initiation, project management, reporting, and prioritization.
• Spearheaded the proposal and implementation of Salesforce.com in collaboration with the Commercial Director to streamline the entire customer acquisition, engagement and retention life cycle, including sales staff performance management against set KPI’s.
• Developed and managed a long term infrastructure strategy to centralize IT services through cloud-base solutions and server virtualization for redundancy leveraging leading edge technologies from VMWare, Microsoft, EMC and Cisco for a proper unified communication platform including a Call Centre integrated to Salesforce.com.
• Established a Vendor Management Policy including processes for proper vendor evaluation, selection and performance measurement. Negotiations for enterprise initiatives resulted in 15 - 25% savings for software licensing agreements, maintenance contracts, and hardware for the enablement of business initiatives.
ROLE
• Regional IS / IT Manager responsible for the IT Strategy, Development, Budget, Internal Operations, Infrastructure, IT Service Management and Support of 360 Users across 3 Divisions in 12 countries;
• Development and continual improvement of the IT Strategy, IT Plan and IT Budget;
• Act as a thought leader; gain buy-in and support for IT Vision and Strategy;
• Provide technical leadership for Enterprise IT Architecture, Integration and Standards of Systems;
• Work with the Business and IT to influence the evolution towards a Service Environment that optimizes for Flexibility, Scalability, Performance and Availability;
• Followed Project Management Methodology for the initiation, approval and management of major IT projects and IT budgets,
• Integrated systems and coordinated priorities between the IT department and user departments;
• Adhered to Internal Control Objectives to approve, document and maintain priorities, standards, policies, procedures, tech notes, best practices and overall IT performance,
• Reviewed the adequacy and allocation of IT resources in terms of funding, personnel, equipment, and service levels.
• Approved vendors used by the organization and monitors their financial condition;
PROJECT ACHIEVEMENTS
• Successfully Developed Global IT Participation by building relationships with foreign hubs, sharing information, and setting a global support structure for the MEA Region.
• Successfully Hired and Managed 6 direct employees as well as third party contractors across 5 regional locations
• Successfully Centralized Regional IT Services and Support for the users of all 3 divisions implementing an Incident and Change Management System to record, track, escalate and manage incidents and changes according to a standard SLA.
• Successfully planned and executed an office move with 70 users onto 2 floors without any downtime of business services or applications.
• Successfully managed system implementation of a Demand Planning System, CRM and Voice Tracking System integrated with MS SQL Server.
• Successfully planned, managed and coordinated a new Network Topology, connecting all 5 offices to a Wide Area Network with the DANONE Domain ensuring 100% network connectivity, information security information sharing.
• Successfully planned, managed, virtualized using VMware, and standardized all Data Center Infrastructure with no business interruption and complying with internal control requirements saving on cost of additional infrastructure for servers and future projects.
• Successfully planned and managed the implementation and migration of Lotus Domino Server, and the migration of all users of 3 divisions to Lotus Notes 8.5 as per DANONE Standard.
• Successfully planned and managed and completed the standardization of all user hardware and software of 3 divisions across all 12 countries.
• Successfully planned, managed and completed a sales force project for 65 Egypt users providing them with standardized computers, information security and remote network connectivity.
• Designed and documented a Disaster Recovery Plan for DANONE Middle East and Africa
• Successfully planned and managed a project to implement teleconferencing solutions with Tandberg and Scopia to reduce communication costs.
• Developed documentation - Policies, Procedures, Tech notes, Training Material and Best Practices
• Completed 3 Leadership Courses and a Project Management Course.
An International Assignment for Shell Trading US Company to conduct training, review operations and improve IT support services in the Shell International Trading Middle East (SITME), Dubai, United Arab Emirates office.
• Managed the SITME Office IT comprising of 40 users, Responsible as IT Focal Point.
• While managing the SITME Office IT, spearheaded projects to improve IT capabilities after assessing the needs of the office and analyzing the existing state of IT support.
• After frequent discussions and collaboration with other services in SITME, implementing and leading projects to maintain the site effectively.
• Proactively proposed and successfully implemented cost saving measures for projects and operations.
• Initiated and developed new and improved company processes and procedures.
• Performed in a Team Lead role and gained international exposure through working with people from different backgrounds, functions and cultures; and working as a mentor providing guidance
• Critically analyzed the role of a TIS Analyst in the SITME office in order to determine the requirements of the position, and presented documentation/reports outlining the competencies, knowledge and skill sets required for Shell management to effectively shortlist candidates.
• Undertook the training of local support to meet the needs of the TIS Analyst role in SITME.
• Spearheaded, implemented, managed and coordinated the project to restructure and secure SITMEs data on a server. This included coordinating with multiple teams and managing the demands of different groups of users and the overall needs of the company
• Reviewed existing Business Continuity Testing and implemented and managed the setup of a Business Continuity Testing for SITME.
• Performed System Administration functions
• Undertook problem analysis and resolved network and application issues with traders and other users within Shell Trading.
• Recognized numerous times during this period at Shell for holding the highest levels of service.
• Project Lead for the setup and support of the office in Norfolk (Virginia)
• Project Lead for site move and setup of the Blueprint Project to the Pennzoil Tower in Houston
• Project Lead in the San Diego Business Continuity initiative during the California fires.
• Technical Focal Point for Shell Trading remote office sites including Barbados and Syracuse office locations
• Provided important aid for projects related to the Barbados, Syracuse, Cambridge and Denver offices.
• Performed System Administration functions. Provided Problem analysis and resolving application and network connectivity issues with traders and other users within Shell Trading in various parts of the world.
• One of 3 individuals appointed and seconded by Shell to set up and run the emergency evacuation in Houston as a result of hurricane Katrina
• Managed the Briar Park office, assessing the needs of the office site and implementing projects to maintain the site effectively.
• Responsible for 2 divisional moves and 2 remote site hardware upgrades
• Assigned as Project Lead in coordinating with the IT Regional Manager and Project Manager on the needs of the FEMA site and setting up the FEMA site in Houston (The Astrodome) for the Hurricane Katrina initiative.
• Assisted in planning, managing and implementing technology related projects within the company.
• Managed Windows 2000/2003 Active Directory networks and performed network troubleshooting to isolate & diagnose common network problems.
• Provided phone support, on-site support, and developed a working relationship with key individuals in each office to ensure that the evaluation of technology needs in these assist these sites in evaluating their technology needs to support their business objectives.
• Undertook product liaison responsibilities for major products by working with independent software and hardware vendors.
• Recognized quarterly for regularly holding the highest levels of customer service since December 2003.
• Maintaining and troubleshooting Shell networks and individual computers in both the legacy and Global Infrastructure environments.
• Support other team members and contribute to the collective knowledge of the team.
• Helped to train new employees.
• Perform systems administration functions, problem analysis, systems monitoring
• Recognized quarterly for regularly holding the highest levels of customer service since December 2003.
• Maintaining and troubleshooting Shell networks and individual computers in both the legacy and Global Infrastructure environments.
• Support other team members and contribute to the collective knowledge of the team.
• Helped to train new employees.
• Perform systems administration functions, problem analysis, systems monitoring
• Developed and maintained current the technology plan as the organization changed and expanded.
• Advised departmental directors on the purchase of new hardware and/or software for increased productivity.
• Managed, Maintained and supported a Microsoft Windows 2000 network of 60 users and 6 servers.
• Contract assignments for the installation, maintenance and upgrade of networks, servers and user computers.
Bachelor Degree in Interactive Media Design, studying Media Design, Web Design, Graphic Design and Marketing.
Development of All types of Multimedia incl. Web Development, Web Design, Project Management, Graphic Design, Video, Print, Marketing.