Kenneth Vaz

• Market analysis & creating a strategic plan for the division to meet targets.
• Daily monitoring the operations of the division.
• Implementing methodologies to improve productivity and maximize profits.
• Controlling budgets and optimizing expenses when required.
• Managing key client accounts.
• Managed a team of design and estimation engineers, evaluated designs and propagated ideas towards value engineering solutions.
• Ensuring team motivation.
• Recording, forecasting and monitoring progress of prospective projects on the CRM (Microsoft Dynamics).
• Regular interaction with Finance / Procurement / Operations / HR / Admin divisions on concerns related to functioning of the division and company in general.
• Identifying and acquiring the right resources to achieve goals.
• Reporting to the Managing Director on a monthly basis to discuss sales targets and strategies.
• Analyzing potential requirements and devising strategic approaches to achieve success.
• Meeting with potential stakeholders with the aim of building a strong rapport and growing a long-lasting relationship with them.
• Acquiring new products and solutions.
• Liaising and negotiating with manufacturers / distributors / dealers before and after project award.
• Organising product and brand specific sales and technical trainings for the team.
• Negotiatiating contracts.
• Follow up on recoverables from clients, as and when required.

• Planning on scheduled phases and milestones of the project.
• Contract management
• Team management
• Preparing procurement plans
• Preparing invoicing plans
• Assisted the design team in identifying potential issues arising due to site conditions and helped in finding solutions to resolve them.
• Executing, and finaling the project according to strict deadlines and within the budget.
• Acquiring resources
• Coordinating the eforts of team members and third-party contractors or consultants
• Reporting to the higher management on project progress

Project references with Black Arrow:

1. Doha Oasis Mixed Use Development Project

a. Digital Signage endpoints - 288 nos. (included 8 diferent types of shapes and sizes of displays) b. IPTV endpoints - 1050 nos. c. AV system - 10 nos. Meeting / Training / Conference rooms. d. Audio system for the gym and a DJ and live band audio system for the restaurant. e. Guest room audio system - 150 nos. f. Room Booking system -10 nos.

2. Qatar Petroleum District (3 Towers)

a. Digital Signage endpoints - 133 nos. b. Room booking system - 76 nos. c. Meeting / Conference / Boardroom - 95 nos. d. Real Time Operations Center - Collaboration and Real-time monitoring rooms - 7 nos. (Specialty spaces).

3. Qatar Armed Forces - New Naval Base (39 buildings)

a. AV systems for 107 spaces that include Meeting rooms, Conference rooms, Boardrooms, Lecture Halls,

Key Profile: Project Manager (AV solutions) on the Qatar Foundation Headquarters & Strategic Studies Center building project with a team comprising of 6 AV Engineers, 23 AV technicians, 7 back ofice staf and 2 control system programmers in addition to helpers, drivers, etc. The project comprises of 32 huddle spaces, 25 meeting & conference rooms, 3 auditoriums, a multipurpose Hall, a Telepresence room and a State-of-the-Art Boardroom. In addition to this, IPTV, Digital Signage, a Room booking system, lighting control and HVAC control constituted an intergral part of the AV system. All the AV equipped spaces are monitored and controlled centrally. This project had been successfully completed and handed over in Nov 2017.

My duties as a Project Manager encompassed the following…
• Planning on scheduled phases and milestones of the project.
• Value engineered the project by assisting in re-desigining the system.
• Estimated costs and developed budgets.
• Guided the HR dept on the skill set of the resourse persons required for the diferent scopes of work.
• Interviewed all candidates prior to hiring.
• Conducted in-house weekly meetings with all key personnel on the project.
• Represented all site meetings requested by the Contractors / Consultants or Client.
• Resolved numerous onsite technical challenges and manpower issues.
• Guided the procurement personnel on the proper timeline to order equipment.
• Liaised with the Consultant, Manufactures, Vendors and Specialists to sort out technical challanges.
• Monitored and reported progress.
• Engineered and fabricated customized hardware.
• Controlled the quality of workmanship through frequent onsite visits.
• Managed risks.
• Managed on-site and ofsite conflicts.
• Reported milestones completed to the finance dept inorder to proceed with Invoicing.
• Followed up on due payments and successfully recovered all outstandings.

I was also the Project Manager for an AV Maintenance Contract for 45 buildings of Qatar Foundation that spans over 3 years with an extension for 1 more year. I have, along with my team successfully completed 2.5 years. I overlook into overall activities of an AV engineer, 9 AV support technicians, 1 service center and a back ofice support team. The scope of this project includes preventive & corrective maintenance, operational support on the installed systems, AV support for events and consultancy services for all new requirements within the diferent facilities.

As a Project Manager I have been responsible for the following duties…

• Defined the scope and flow of this project.
• Guided the HR dept on the skill set of the resourse persons required.
• Defined the scope of each support technician, the engineer, the repair technician and the back ofice staf.
• Conducted fortnightly meetings with the team.
• Conducted regular technicial trainings and trainings on proper ethics of working and interacting with clients.
• Regurarly kept a check on actions taken by the team on tickets raised by the client towards issue resolution.
• Attended meetings with clients as and when required.
• Consulted on requests for any new requirement by the client.
• Built up personal relations with clients that resulted in new business.
• Estimated costs of repairs.
• Prepared quotations.
• Identified potential prospective business from preventive maintenance records.
• Reported progress to the finance dept inorder to proceed with Invoicing.
• Followed up on due payments and successfully recovered all outstandings as of date.

Key Profile: Overlooked into the functioning of the AV division (Pre-sales & Sales) with a team of four sales engineers and back ofice staf.

• Conducted fortnightly progress meetings with the team.
• Conducted personal and manufacturer based in-house and out country trainings.
• Attended techno sales meetings with clients along with the team.
• Managed all pre-sale related activities.
• Liaised with manufacturers and vendors.
• Appointed new vendors & suppliers.
• Placed orders and negotiated with principals for discounts on projects.
• Prepared sales reports that were discussed with the higher management.
• Assisted in technical issues faced by the project team.

Note: 90% of deals closed were based on the clarity of the AV solution and the thorough understanding of each project via technical presentations to the client or consultants and contractors, in addition to commercial negotiations with contractors.

• Responsible for technical pre-sales of AV systems.
• Key contact for all audio related products.
• Providing assistance to the Sales Manager in qualifying potential projects, prior to bid.
• Meeting with clients to discuss their requirements & preparing system designs as per their needs.
• Preparing system schematics and technical drawings in AutoCAD & Visio.
• Preparing RFP documents (BOQ’s, specifications & schematics) for consultants.
• Preparing submittals and getting approvals.
• Preparing budgetary costs and final financial proposals.
• Responsible for preparing & delivering presentations in Power point.
• Placing orders and corresponding with suppliers & principals which includes negotiations for discounts on projects.
• Providing technical assistance to the execution team on issues faced during implementation & during the commissioning phase of the project.
• DSP programming & commissioning of audio related projects.
• Training of university & school teaching staff on Interactive technologies.

Key Profile: Oversaw the functioning of the AV division (Sales, Pre-sales & Technical).

• Responsible for Audio Visual pre-sales through to execution of projects.
• Responsible for establishing new vendors & suppliers.
• Corresponding and negotiating with principals.

• Manufacturer of Consumer and Professional audio systems. Owned three small scale manufacturing units in Mumbai and three dedicated audio showrooms - 2 in Mumbai and 1 in Goa. (25 staf)
• OEM for various local brands.
• AV rentals for events (9 staf).

Hands-on experience on Tannoy, Crown, Mackie, Alesis, Studer, Yamaha, Tascam, Shure, Shennizer, etc.