I am actively seeking employment, as of November 24, 2009. My updated résumé / CV is reproduced in text below.
Please feel free to download a PDF copy of my current résumé.
Rob Lee
Objective
Management or senior individual contributor role within an Operations or Professional Services team in the technology, engineered products or pharmaceutical sectors where demonstrated strengths in requirements gathering, analytical problem solving, meticulous attention to detail, the ability to motivate people and effectively mobilize resources will be supported by my passion for customer service and exceeding expectations that will allow me to continue to delight customers.
Profile
Experienced department manager with demonstrated strengths in: Forging strong relationships with direct reports, staff in other departments, management peers and clients; Mobilizing resources to deliver products and services that exceed customer expectations; Motivating people to achieve and exceed personal, departmental and company objectives.
Diverse experience in the technology, engineered products and pharmaceutical sectors, including international work experience and demonstrated culture-bridging skills. Functionally bilingual in English (mother tongue) and French (conversational fluency acquired during 4-year assignment in France).
Skills and Strengths
- Meticulous attention to detail
- Problem solving, root-cause analysis, solution synthesis
- Passionate about delivering excellence in customer service
- IT Project Management/SDLC experience with Waterfall and Agile methodologies
- Knowledge of solutions selling techniques
- Strong presentation and written communications skills, able to adapt content and style to a wide range of audiences from shop-floor to C-level executives.
- Consensus building and conflict resolution skills to obtain buy-in and achieve positive outcomes
- Active listening, patience
- Technically savvy: expert user of Microsoft Office tools (Word, Excel, Power Point, Visio, Outlook), experienced user of and content creator with online social media tools (blogging, social networks, audio podcasting)
- Mentoring, coaching and teaching
Professional Experience
PROBLEM SOLVING:
- Engineering background in aerospace industry: performed analysis and design work, prepared aircraft type certification documentation.
- Software development and business analysis experience: requirements gathering, performing as-is/to-be process improvement exercises with business users.
- Resolving issues raised by internal and external customers: software bugs, product defects, implementing Change Requests to update functionality as business needs evolve, order shipment and invoicing errors
CUSTOMER SERVICE:
- Management of Customer Care group: direct reports included 4 Customer Service Representatives and 5 Inside Sales Technicians. Frequent direct interactions with customers to resolve escalations of order issues or warranty claims.
- Direct client contact: Managing software implementation and upgrade projects for internal business users and external customers, ensuring critical “go-live” deadlines were met by managing internal and external resources, providing timely communications to clients resulting in a high level of customer satisfaction demonstrated by very positive post-project feedback.
PROJECT MANAGEMENT:
- Experience with a wide range of IT projects: short term, small-scale software implementations, enterprise wide, global-scale software implementations, enterprise-level software development product release life-cycle. Clients for these projects ranged from internal business users to large external customers.
- Managing projects within highly regulated industries:
- Preparing, reviewing and signing compliance documentation relevant to aircraft and helicopter design, analysis and flight test programs.
- Demonstrating regulatory compliance with pharmaceutical cGXP guidelines (e.g. current Good Manufacturing Practice) of an enterprise-wide EDMS (Electronic Document Management) implementation including compliance with 21 CFR Part 11 Electronic Signature requirements.
Employment History
Desire2Learn Incorporated – Kitchener, ON (Enterprise Class e-Learning Software)
Program Manager, LE Product Team – September 2008 to November 2009
Dual role, combining Project Management of software development projects within the LE (Learning Environment) Product Team with personnel management of direct reports including: 6 software developers, 2 Product Designer/Business Analysts and 4 Software Quality Assurance Analysts.
Worked closely with the Technical Product Manager for the LE to schedule product design, development and QA resources to deliver specific new functionality and bug fixes throughout a yearly product release life-cycle which included a yearly major release and 4-5 interim maintenance, mini or minor releases. Coordination of release schedule and product suite release activities with other Product Teams through regular meetings with peer Program Managers.
Additionally responsible for managing the on-going development and maintenance of a customized add-on software package for a key client. Weekly direct contact with client for status calls, gathering new requirements, addressing software bugs and scheduling software deployments. Scheduled resources within the LE Product Team and with Deployment Services via their Resource Manager.
Accomplishments:
- Coaching, mentoring and career development of direct reports, including giving performance and competencies evaluations, awarding salary increases and bonus allocations.
- Recruited several new hires and replacements for departing team members. Participated in candidate interviews for direct report positions and for roles on other Product Teams. Regularly reviewed new applications received into HR Inbox for candidates of interest.
- Execution of LE Product software release projects, meeting target release deadlines.
- Successfully managed the development and maintenance of new and existing customized add-on software for key external client, achieving a very high level of customer satisfaction as demonstrated by messages of appreciation received from senior client team members.
Client Project Manager, Professional Services Organization –June 2007 to September 2008
Project Management of client initiated software implementation, upgrade and integration projects. Responsible for ensuring timely project execution and budget control through the application of recognized “best practice” Project Management methodologies and tools.
Accomplishments:
- Exceeded expectations of hiring manager by providing significant contributions to the success of the department in much less time than anticipated after being hired; was tasked with providing mentoring and leadership to subsequent hires.
- Quickly building strong relationships with clients and colleagues in Account Management and Delivery Services teams to ensure efficient and effective use of limited Implementation Consultant and Deployment Specialist resources over multiple concurrent projects of varying complexity and scale.
- Successfully managing client relationships within scope of project execution to ensure high level of customer satisfaction through open and timely communications, and by going the extra mile to resolve problems that put deadlines at risk.
- Received many post-project compliments from clients for keeping them well informed and providing a smooth, well managed implementation with timely resolution of unexpected issues.
ASCO Valve Limited – Brantford, ON (Engineered Products: Solenoid Valves, Fluid Control)
Manager, Customer Care and eBusiness – 2004 to 2006
Managed the Fluid Control Products (FCP) Inside Sales/Customer Service department with direct reports including 4 Customer Service Representatives and 5 Inside Sales Technicians. Responsible for customer-only extranet, including implementation of eCommerce functions (e.g. on-line ordering, RMA request processing, stock availability check, etc)
Accomplishments:
- Contributions to exceeding business objectives; annual sales planning and budget forecasting process; assisted Outside Sales team with resolving delivery issues and improving customer satisfaction levels.
- Supervised order management within Customer Service department, with “hands on” problem resolution for customers including expediting delivery of late orders; frequent direct customer contact when problems were escalated through Inside Sales and Technical Support staff.
- Extensive liaison with other departments including A/R, Purchasing, Production Planning, Inventory Control, Manufacturing, QA, Warehousing/Order Picking and Shipping.
- Developed strong relationships with colleagues at foreign subsidiaries to gain their support in expediting orders of finished goods to meet difficult timelines and customer requirements.
- Key contributor on Six Sigma team which successfully implemented process improvement in Order Management flow which raised on-time delivery of a product line from 75% to 90+%.
- Recruitment of replacement personnel into vacant Customer Service and Inside Sales Technician positions.
- Performed probationary, interim and annual performance appraisals for FCP Sales staff; reviewed salaries and made recommendations for increases.
- Managed the relationship with the external vendor for the implementation of several new eCommerce functions on the customer extranet.
Aventis Pasteur Canada – Toronto, ON (Pharmaceutical Industry: Vaccines)
Project Manager, IT Department – 1999 to 2004
Project Management activities including leadership, planning, reporting, presentation and facilitation. Further responsibilities included management of System Change Control, Organizational Change Management and Quality Management processes and documentation.
Accomplishments:
- Relocated to France for 4 years in order to lead a global team (15+ people from France, Canada and USA) implementing a corporate-wide Documentum-based, Electronic Document Management System (EDMS) platform supporting multiple ebusiness requirements.
- Successfully validated the EDMS platform to comply with 21 CFR Part 11 pharmaceutical regulations on ebusiness initiatives.
- Successfully managed, through Change Control/Change Management, the implementation, maintenance and enhancement of multiple EDMS applications on the platform.
Senior Analyst, IT Department – 1996 to 1999
Provided IT support to internal customers and processes, performing business systems analysis and Business Process Improvement facilitation through to post-implementation user support and trouble-shooting.
Accomplishments:
- Configuration of Materials Management (MM) and Application Linking and Enabling (ALE) modules of a global, multi-site SAP implementation project.
- Led internal customer groups through “brown paper” exercises to define existing “as-is” business processes and model “to-be” business process improvements for implementation in SAP.
- Selected and implemented a stand-alone EDI system to meet external customer requirement for electronic order processing.
Previous Business Experience and Accomplishments prior to 1996
Progressively more responsible roles in Engineering, Programming and Systems Integration.
Sr. Programmer/Analyst at Hostess Frito-Lay Canada, Mississauga (Food Industry)
- Successfully took over the maintenance and enhancement of a sales order, inventory control and manufacturing order processing system developed using Cognos 4GL tools.
- Provided support to internal customers at remote warehouses and field sales representatives, via pager and telephone.
Sr. Aerodynamics Engineer at Eurocopter (MBB Helicopter) Canada, Fort Erie (Helicopter Design & Manufacturing)
- Executed aerodynamic design studies and flight performance analyses to support engineering design and marketing activities for light-utility helicopters.
- Developed a Project Budget vs. Actual data management and reporting system for the Project Management Department, using Cognos 4GL tools.
Aerodynamics Engineer at deHavilland Aircraft of Canada, Toronto (Aircraft Design & Manufacturing)
- Performed aerodynamic design and analysis for short-haul commuter and utility aircraft.
Education
UNIVERSITY OF TORONTO – FACULTY OF APPLIED SCIENCE AND ENGINEERING
Bachelor of Applied Science and Engineering (B.A.Sc.) degree, 1979
Engineering Science program, Aerospace major
Activities, Experience and Skills Outside of Professional Domains
- Active within the Social/New Media community:
- Experienced with a variety of social media tools such as blogging software (WordPress, TypePad) and social networking applications like Twitter (via Twitter website and desktop clients like Twhirl and TweetDeck) and Facebook.
- Podcamp (community centric “unconferences” in Social/New Media space) presenter (Toronto and Montréal) and organizer (Finance coordinator for Podcamp Toronto)
- PAB (Podcasters Across Borders conference) serial attendee & occasional presenter
- Connected with podcasters and other social media community members around the world Digital audio editing and post-production, technology guru for wife’s podcasts, responsible for server maintenance and podcast audio file hosting management; contributor of digitally recorded audio to other podcasters
- Committee participation:
- Currently serving as Finance coordinator on the Podcamp Toronto (PCTO) Organizing Committee
- Served as secretary and treasurer of the Hart House Archery Club (HHAC) at University of Toronto. Also was an archery instructor/coach with HHAC.
- Served as treasurer of the Ontario Association of Archers.
- Treasurer of the Desire2Learn Social Committee.
- Ignatius Farm in Guelph: 2 seasons of CSA (Community Shared Agriculture) membership, currently a volunteer member of CSA Core Group and the BAC (Business Advisory Committee)
References
References will be provided on request.
v IT Project Management/SDLC experience with Waterfall and Agile methodologies
