// Resume (CV)

James P. MacLennan

Seasoned IT leader with a broad background in strategic visioning, tactical & operational planning and management, and effective & relevant system/process design. Focused on delivering timely, measurable, and sustainable results that support business objectives. Recognized for creative, high impact performance with consistent delivery of strong results through formal and advisory leadership.

Education

MBA, Marketing Concentration, DePaul University, Chicago, IL, 1992
BS, Electrical Engineering, University of Notre Dame, Notre Dame, IN, 1985

Experience

($BB manufacturing company)

(Chicago, IL area)

2005-Present Executive Director, Information Technology

Divisional CIO role, with direct responsibility for these functional areas within IT:

  • Supply Chain Systems: SAP, JDA/Manugistics, and other custom systems in support of R&D, Procurement, Product Engineering and Commercialization, Planning and Inventory Control, Manufacturing, and Logistics (Warehouse & Transportation).
  • Information Management: Providing data warehousing & analytics solutions on the SAP BW platform, along with supporting tools and custom development for SQL Server and Oracle database environments, using multiple reporting & analytics platforms.
  • SAP Application Support: Operational and break-fix support of all SAP modules; this role manages the ABAP developer pool, plus all external resourcing relationships. This role also owns the company’s vendor relationship with SAP and JDA/Manugistics.
  • International IT: The company has a presence in Europe and Mexico; the IT organizations for these wholly-owned subsidiaries report up through me.

Within IT, I manage seven direct reports, and a total team size of over 40. Total operating budget these groups is in excess of $21M.

In addition to these organizational groups, I also have responsibility in these areas:

  • Business Unit IT Director: The company has two major business units; I oversee IT for the larger of these ($2B annual revenue), and own the relationship between IT and this organization.
  • Project Management Office: Corporate IT is grappling with the traditional challenges of balancing IT resources against ongoing “run-the-business” support and projects that drive the business forward. I am leveraging my experience at Searle and Culligan to implement process & procedure, metrics, and knowledge capture tools, in support of our Resource Portfolio Management initiatives.

Strategic IT

  • IT Project Lead for integration of major ($750M) acquisition; co-directed team of 300+ business and technical resources, implementing major business process change, SAP and other enterprise systems. Project successfully completed, rolling out to nine sites in 12 months, and defining process standards and project management framework for future integrations.
  • Created a comprehensive, evergreen Enterprise Architecture review of the company’s strategic application portfolio, in preparation for our next major SAP upgrade.
  • Drove renegotiation of SAP software agreements to deliver an upgrade path while reducing total cost of ownership for this platform.
  • Developed a complete set of performance metrics and TCO calculations to accurately illustrate the cost of customizing our enterprise software.
  • Developed innovative ways to drive IT alignment with strategic business plans, and provide clear line-of-sight for balancing resources against critical change management issues and new business opportunities.
  • Completed strategic analysis of the RFID technology and business environment; the company has a large investment in process and technology supporting customer requirements for RFID tagging of products, but could not clearly define the cost / benefit challenges. This effort allowed the company to respond effectively to key customers requests; we continue to monitor our investment in this area.

Tactical IT

  • Driving IT tactical planning and integration for recent acquisitions.
  • Rationalizing technology platforms and toolsets in our Information Management group; eliminating redundant technologies to simplify the portfolio and drive down support costs.
  • Took over project management responsibilities for a high-visibility, time-sensitive project in the Logistics area; project was significantly behind schedule and dysfunctional. Drove alignment between key IT teams and business units that owned the processes; rejuvenated project team and delivered on original schedule.
  • Providing real opportunities for staff growth and advancement through structural reorganization and introduction of cross functional project and requirements reviews.
  • Introduced Technology Roadmaps methodology across multiple areas of IT, providing 6-12 months visibility to strategic and tactical projects, for prioritization and schedule dependencies
  • Facilitating resolution of international design and implementation issues as the company reworks our entire global network infrastructure.

Project Management

  • Automated and streamlined the IT Project Forecast process, which provides an integrated, forward-looking summary of resource requirements and constraints for all IT projects.
  • Leading the technical and user-interface design for project portfolio management toolset; we are providing opportunities for internal developers to learn new development skills while upgrading the quality and timeliness of our project tracking data.
  • Pioneering the use of collaborative knowledge management and social networking tools; implemented and introduced a wiki platform; driving the use of blogs and discussion forums.

Culligan International

(Northbrook, IL)

Culligan is a $700M global provider of water treatment products and services.

2000-2005 Director, Information Technology

  • Assumed lead IT role in October, 2004, after departure of CIO; managed annual North American IT budget of $5M; responsible for 30+ member global IT team, including internal / external resources.

Strategic IT

  • Drove IT strategic planning for 2004 divestiture from Veolia / USFilter, including work plan and master budget ($2M) for all IT projects.
  • Developed a Business Architecture that captured a vision of an IT-enabled business model, and created the Technical Architecture that directly supports that model.
  • Developed strategic approaches for Sales Life Cycle Management and integration of Commercial Services Networks.

Tactical IT

  • Coordinated operational support of multiple ERP systems, including detailed issue / resolution management, and implementation / management of business-driven prioritization process.
  • Implemented the eBusiness Integration Hub; a “Center of Excellence” approach for facilitating electronic transactions between external trading partners and internal business systems. Supported 20 trading partner relationships, estimated monthly cost savings $25K.
  • Created concept and high-level architecture for the Channel Partner Locator, a web service that leveraged our existing investment in geographical software. Processed 35,000 requests per month, estimated monthly cost savings $150K.
  • Consolidated web application development under IT; introduced project management, asset control, development methodologies.

Business Change

  • IT Project Lead for major (>$10M) ERP implementation, coordinating internal & external IT resources; managed integration partners and hardware & software vendors.
  • Managed multiple projects in support of the corporate divestitures, including the consolidation of call centers, transfer of customer service and support for select product lines.
  • Initiated and mentored Hyperion Financial Management implementation for corporate consolidated financials; second-generation effort includes groundwork for Sarbanes-Oxley compliance.

Project Management

  • Standardized project proposals, approvals, tracking, and prioritization; these efforts have evolved into the IT Project Management Office (PMO), featuring process and metrics that help Culligan maximize the value of our IT investments.
  • Implemented an issue tracking system, with comprehensive management reporting, that proved invaluable in managing complex projects with limited resources.
  • Created the corporate intranet site, with supporting process and documentation that enables site creation, document sharing, and content management without IT involvement.
  • Created a comprehensive “boilerplate” Master Services Agreement for technology projects, which affords excellent protections while streamlining the vendor approval process.

Vendor Management

  • Multiple (>$5M) software / hardware contract / purchase negotiations for technology projects; often called in by legal group for input on technology discussions in different business units.
  • Drove professional services contracting in support of multiple projects, including creation of proposal, specifications; budget / arrangement negotiations, and ongoing monitoring.

Pharmacia Corporation (Monsanto / GD Searle)

(Skokie, IL)

Pharmacia was created in 2000 through the merger of Pharmacia & Upjohn with Monsanto Company and its G.D. Searle pharmaceutical unit ($3.9B in sales).

1999-2000 Associate Director, Strategy Development

  • Completed impact analysis of eBusiness concepts & technology on the pharmaceutical industry, with focus on driving R&D productivity, and developing relationships with prescribers, key influencers, and the distribution chain.
  • Introduced improvements to the Long-Range Planning process, tightening the connection with corporate IT. Improved visibility of total IT spend; highlighted opportunities for productivity improvements & alignment with corporate strategic direction.
  • At the end of 1999, the Pharmacia & Upjohn merger converted my role to support integration of two complex IT organizations; developed IT architectural requirements in support of eBusiness initiatives in the merged organization.

1996-1999 Associate Director, IT Relationship Management

  • Primary liaison between multiple business units and IT, including Global Medical Marketing and Managed Care organizations, Strategic Communications, Marketing, and Field Sales, and the corporate (Monsanto) Human Resources / Staffing group.
  • Took over troubled projects in Managed Care, supporting the validation of contract purchasing claims. Adjusted goals & tactical plans, managed multiple teams to common objectives, and delivered effective short-term results while supporting a strategic data warehousing vision.
  • Defined overall architecture for a Call Center / Document Management system; worked with IT and business project managers to make sure projects came in on time / under budget. Involved in technical specifications, vendor evaluation, and contract negotiations.
  • IT support for Monsanto’s corporate Knowledge Management initiatives; designed and implemented localized projects applying these concepts to pharmaceutical marketing processes, including cross-corporate work with a strategic partner.

Adams Elevator Equipment Company

(Niles, IL)

Adams is a $28M manufacturing & distribution company serving the elevator industry.

1993-1996 Director, MIS

  • Responsible for 10+ member IT team, including internal / external resources.
  • Led a large business re-engineering project, introducing a significant business process change while downsizing technology platforms. This effort included multiple technology projects, upgrading the front-end business processes for an important SBU. Duties included all user interface design, data modeling, technical specifications, evaluation, selection and management of external consulting resources, plus coordination of the testing and rollout phases.
  • Other development projects included an EIS implementation consisting of custom applications for the unique data constraints at Adams. The first module, an “animated P&L”, allowed drill-down analysis that identified over $100,000 of problem spending within minutes of it’s introduction.
  • Developed an automated link between Adams’ AS/400-based job tracking system and a number of finite shop scheduling packages. The system incorporated work center modeling & capacity planning, daily work schedules, and automated customer follow up & status reporting.

TenMan Systems, Inc Des Plaines, IL

(Des Plaines, IL)

TenMan was an $8M software & services provider, focused on Real Estate/Property Management.

1985-1993 Manager of Product Development

  • Responsible for design & development of AS/400 and PC-based products.
  • Managed 10+ member development, implementation and customer support teams.
  • Specific projects included one of the first PC-to-midrange data communication products, a number of separate finance, accounting, and management modules for the System/36 and AS/400, and the conversion of a suite of System/36 products to native code on the AS/400. In addition, designed and programmed three PC-based Property Management systems.

Publications

www.cazh1.com – Professional web site / selected essays, plus blog; on Business, Information, and Technology, 2004-Present
Content syndicated on Social Media Today web site, 2009-Present

Front End of Innovation blog – Contributing author, 2008-Present

Smart Data Collective web site – Featured blogger, 2009-Present

Resistance is Futile (ThinkWrap column), Datamation Magazine, Cahners Publishing, Feb 1995

SQLWindows 5.0 (Product Review), Software Development Magazine, Miller Freeman Publishing, Jan/Feb 1995

Contributing author, Financial Applications in Windows, Windows Connectivity Secrets, IDG Books Worldwide, 1994

Skill Sets

Vertical Markets

Consumer Package Goods, Consumer Durable Goods, Consumer Products, Financial, Foodservice, Franchise, Manufacturing, Pharmaceuticals, Professional Services, Property Management, Real Estate

Global Markets

North America (Canada, Mexico) Europe (France, Germany)

Business Training / Practices

Balanced Scorecard, Business Process Re-engineering (BPR), Knowledge Management (KM), Lean Manufacturing, Mergers Acquisitions & Divestitures, Organizational Change Management, Portfolio Management, Project Management Office (PMO), Scenario Planning, Strategic Planning, Total Quality Management (TQM)

Technical Methodologies

Client/Server Design/Architecture (n-tier), Configuration Management (SCM), Data Modeling, Information Engineering (IE), Internet/Web Design/Architecture,
Information Technology Infrastructure Library (ITIL), Object Oriented Analysis & Design (OOP), Service-Oriented Architecture (SOA), Software as a Service (Saas), Software Metrics, Software Quality Assurance (SQA), Unified Modeling Language (UML)

Functional / Operational Areas

Audit, CAD/CAM/CIM, Customer Call Center, Channel Management, Communications, Customer Service, Distribution, Electronic Commerce, Engineering, Finance, Help Desk, Human Resources, Legal, Logistics, Manufacturing, Marketing, Payroll, Procurement, Production and Inventory Control, Property Management, Research & Development (R&D), Recruiting / Staffing, Sales Management, Sarbanes-Oxley, Supply Chain Planning, Transportation, Warehousing

Application / System Disciplines

Collaboration Platforms, Customer Relationship Management (CRM), Data Warehouse, Decision Support Systems (DSS), Distributed Databases, Document Management, Electronic Data Interchange (EDI), Enterprise Application Integration (EAI), Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP), Executive Information Systems (EIS), Groupware, Material Resource Planning (MRP), RFID, Sales Force Automation (SFA), Workflow, Web 2.0, Web Hosting Services, Web Standards

Computer Languages / Standards

C, CSS, Gupta SQLWindows, HTML, Java, JavaScript, jQuery, Lotus Notes, MS Access, MS Visual Basic / VBA, Pascal, Perl, PHP, Powerbuilder, Progess/4GL, Python, RPG/CL, VBScript, XHTML

Relational Databases

DB/400, MS Access, MS SQL Server, Oracle, Progress, SQLBase, Sybase SQL Server, Watcom SQL

Development Tools / Environments

Adobe Acrobat, Apache, AutoCAD, Blackberry, Cold Fusion, Documentum, Eclipse, Front Page, mod_perl, MS Index Server, MS Office, MS Project, MS Visio, MS Web Server (IIS), S-Designor, Visual Interdev, Visual Studio, WebTrends, Windows Help System

Operating Systems

HP/UX 11i (Unix), Linux, Novell Netware, OS/2, OS/400, Palm OS, Windows CE, Windows NT Workstation/Server, Windows 2000 Workstation/Server, Windows 2003 Server, Windows XP/Server, Ubuntu

Application Suites

Baan (light), Hyperion Enterprise, Hyperion Financial Management (HFM), JDA/Manugistics, JD Edwards (light), MAPICS, Peoplesoft (light), PRMS, QAD MFG/PRO, SAP

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