Vanessa HUMPHREY

Founded North Star to provide growth and transformation advisory services to innovative
and high growth companies

* Senior advisor to CEO for a leading taxi app (growth, performance, transformation)
* Mentor two startups in Accelerator .NXT- OXY Program

Manage strategy, performance, corporate PMO, risk, regulatory, legal, and quality departments
• Developed and implemented growth strategy, carrying out up to 120% growth
• Redesigned corporate PMO department and successfully delivered 40+ projects, including strategic products launches such as Mobile App, IP-TV and security services for residential market, B2B SD-Wan, IP-voice, Metro-Ethernet, and Wi-Fi services.
• Drove business profitability and growth by supporting strategic initiatives, such as customer experience, ISO certification, products launch, business intelligence implementation, and performance management.
• Transitioned the company to digital strategy execution, project management and BI tools.
• Ensured legal and regulatory compliance to TRA standards.
• Implemented best management strategies and straightened company engagement, operations, and budgets during COVID-19 crisis.

Secured operational and financial turnaround and renegotiated long-term loan.
• Improved business performance and profitability by reorganizing HR operations (staff 40+), contracts and outsourcing strategy.
• Managed relationships and communication with lenders, partners, and government stakeholders.

Internet of Things, brand name mOmkin, is the exclusive Sigfox Operator in Oman and delivers end-to-end IOT solutions. Launched end 2016, Sigfox network now covers more than 80% of Oman population and is already present on key pilots across several industries.

Key achievements at date includes
- Strategy definition, Business Plan & pricing models’,
- Channel and commercial partnership strategy and development
- Interaction with Sigfox HQ and ecosystem (SO, device markers, IOT platform).
- Greenfield launch building blocks: Legal set up, governance and process, operational model, launch profile.
- Reporting to shareholders and board preparation.

Program lead on 2 strategic mega projects providing ICT, Smart City or Security services
- Set up and run program function, governance, KPIs and methodologies
- Pilot services and streams portfolio (across service life cycle and decision gates)
- Interface with internal and external stakeholders.
- Accountable towards senior management, reporting and risks management.

Lusail Smart City (Qatar)
Program delivers to the client and key government stakeholders ICT infrastructure and associated services (FTTX, Wifi, TETRA, IBS, Equipment room management, Duct Management) as well as core smart services portfolio (smart city platform, smart irrigation, smart metering, CCC, SCADA, Smart lightning, Water features…).
Specific accountabilities on this program includes
- Services and contracts portfolio management, in interaction with client and key government stakeholders.
- Cross functional core team 20+ management, including business development, partnership, solution, bid, delivery and operations; as well as coordination of delivery bodies (regulatory, legal, technology, marketing…)

Other Mega Project (Confidential)
- Initialisation of a mega project bid including ICT, CCC and security modules, including organisation set up and recruitment (80+), governance and methodology set up, partners onboarding (50% of resources). Deal expected c. €500mls, bid 5mls.

Business Intelligence Automation Program
Designed and led BI automation project to support group-wide performance management. 15-months, 1MUSD project integrating all OpCos’ datawarehouses with central BI solution
- Group Data Model and data warehouse based on SAP Business Objects technology
- BI maturity assessment program across 8 operating companies
- Executive performance dashboards to the attention of Group and Opcos management,
- KPIs extraction between Group and OpCos (300+ KPIs, monthly) coordinating mixed Group/OpCo resources

Group PMO
- Set up Group PMO processes and ran RFP for online PMO tools
- Designed strategic program portfolio management framework
- Consolidated monthly Group activity reports

Performance management
Managed and supported the process of OpCo performance management
- Coordinated with Group function the definition and maintenance of KPIs
- Developed Excel reporting template
- Coordinated reporting collection and review process on monthly and quarterly basis with Management Committee performance representatives

Responsible of the direction of operations in Dubai
- Manage projects portfolio of 10M€ per year, with team up to simultaneous 50 consultants (80 in total)
- Set up and run the operations structure in Dubai and interface with headquarters in Paris
- Define governance models and quality programs; support PMO set up on the field
- Responsible for project financial performance and cost control
- Manage client interface on contractual aspects and “sales to cash”
- Recruit and manage team of 2 in charge of operations (in Dubai and on site)

Independent management consultant in Strategy and Transformation

Support organisations and large projects in transformation topics, such as:
- Defining corporate strategy and strategic planning
- Setting up and monitoring key performance indicators
- Reaching operation excellence (process improvement, quality management)
- Setting up and operate Program Management teams


Global commercial strategy for IOTA, international Oil & Gas HR service provider
(€ 80m turnover in 2008)
- Directed project between European headquarters and middle east subsidiaries
- Diagnosed current situation in term of growth, competitors and market presence
- Designed new services offering and commercial strategy for 2010
- Detailed roadmap and transformation plan for 2010Responsible for coaching Management Team and CEO in defining their commercial strategy for 2010.

PMO for an IT infrastructure cost saving program at Société Générale (Leading French Bank, € 21.8bn turnover in 2008)
Responsible for setting up PMO role and activities, on an $18m project across 40 sites in 10 European countries. Key activities included:
- Planning design from both Business and Technical perspectives
- Build project budget framework
- Set up performance dashboards
- Design communication activities (newsletter, internal project communication)
- Define governance guidelines (decision making; budget approval…)

WTA/Nedjma was launched in September 2004 after 7 months preparation. Nedjma provided exclusive Edge, GPRS & Push to Talk technologies over the Algerian market and reached 1, 5M subscribers, 1200 employees by Q1 2006.

With direct report to CEO, responsible for setting up and running the Corporate PMO department during the launch of the 3rd GSM operator in Algeria. During the first 2 years of operation, my scope of responsibility was extended to strategic planning activities and the creation of quality department.

Corporate PMO
-Set up PMO organisation at corporate level and across departments
-Coordinate company activities on behalf of CEO, to successfully launch t service within 7 months
-Prepare and facilitate board of directors meetings
-Implement control management tools and Balance Score Card dashboards
-Lead special task forces on request / emergency - such as the launch new offer, budget reviews, stock shortage, cost saving programs…

Corporate Governance
-Define company policies regarding performance tracking, strategic planning and shareholders reporting.
-Report operational results to shareholders on monthly and quarterly basis
-Co-design and write management reviews for the long term financing project raised up in Year one (a $490 millions syndicated project financing).
-Prepare and facilitate operational reviews

Strategic planning
-Design and co-facilitate first strategic planning workshops with board members
(3 day off site to define company vision, mission and 3 year strategy plan)
-Design and organise the strategic planning sessions with senior management to empower strategy across the company (2 days, 60 pax )

Quality
-Design transversal - business critical processes during the launch
-Set up the Quality Program and organisation
-Run first transversal quality diagnostic

Management
-Co-recruited and trained the 8 departments’ PMO managers
-Recruited and managed the Quality team, of 3
-Planned succession to local and expat staff

Senior Managing Consultant within the Strategy/Transformation, specialised in fast roll out project delivery for telecom and aerospace industries. Within 4 years, followed a fast track progression up to managing consultant, and managed a sales portfolio of €2m/year encompassing projects held in Europe & US & North Africa.

Management and Operations
- Proposal and delivery teams management
- Managed teams up to 5 consultants, and up to 25 including client teams
- Wide experience in managing client interface at SVP - CEO levels.
- Member of the EADS Commercial task force (focused on Airbus)
- Mentoring junior consultant
- Knowledge expert on Accelerated Solution Environment (ASE ®), Rapid Solution Workshop (RSW ®), IT / ebusiness strategy, Balance Score Card. Telco In a Box.

Main consulting assignments managed
- Corporate PMO deputy and member of the board of directors during the launch of the 3rd GSM operator in Algeria.
- Project Director responsible for the headquarter construction for a Telco operator in Algeria (€4m infrastructure project)
- As advisor to post paid marketing manager, design the 1st Customer Centric Program for Orange France, roll out of communication plan (€500k).
- Definition of Airbus Customer Portal strategy and implementation. As deputy to Airbus Project Director, managed cross-functional teams during both phases (€2m consulting project, 4 consultants over 2 years, 25 persons).
- Advise the Ebusiness Strategy Manager on Airbus portals governance
- Responsible to define Alcatel ebusiness corporate governance for Customer Portal
- Project Manager in charge of defining Aventis Pasteur Corporate Internet strategy, reporting to the SVP Communication
- As project manager, lead the definition of Corporate Information Planning for Creyf’s Interim (team of 5 consultants / IT experts, reporting to the CEO).
- Lead PMO activities during the integration of Eckes Granini (1 year integration program of 3 major European fruit juice companies)

Cegetel RSS : 3 years licence allocated by French Health Ministry (e-government). Personally in charge of Project portfolio management (100+ projects) and interface between marketing and technical departments

Cegetel Entreprises: Fix and internet subsidiary of Cegetel, SFR group, created March 1998. I designed over 20 intranet business applications; developed rapid roll out methods & tools, and ran trainings on these

Free Lance Internet Projet Manager
Internet Projet Manager (Euriware)