my story | mmeyerkopf

My introduction to computers was in high school. The president of IBM was a Boston Latin School graduate and he arranged for IBM to donate a small, cabinet sized computer that we used punch cards to program. In college, I used paper tape on an armoire sized DEC PDP 11 and an office desk sized DEC PDP 8, which did have two 8 inch floppy disks, a true pleasure.

In college I got a job at the Campus Center Computer Center, which ran a Control Data (CDC) Cyber 170 class, mainframe. I loaded students card decks into the card reader, then sorted and distributed printouts along with restocking the printer and answering general questions.

Yankee Atomic Electric Company

Working in the computer center in college got me my first job as a User Services Representative at Yankee Atomic Electric Company, they also operated on a CDC Cyber mainframe. Yankee Atomic owned and operated the first commercial nuclear power plant built in the US, operating from 1960 to 1992 in Rowe Massachusetts.

I was the interface between the nuclear engineers and the operators at the computer center

I developed a set of emergency response procedures and assembled the equipment needed to establish a remote data station to the computer center in Waltham Massachusetts, in case of an event at the plant

I participated in all emergency drills to prepare for an actual emergency

After the Three Mile Island (TMI) event, the NRC published a set of requirements for a Safety Parameter Display System (SPDS). This system would collect data from plant sensors and bring them together on a high resolution video monitor, addressing one of the key leanings from the TMI event.

I was chosen to be a member of the Human Factors Sub Committee of a consortium formed by a number of east coast power plants to select a vendor to design and build a common SPDS
We reviewed proposals ranging from $10 million to $100 million and produced a recommendation report
I was responsible for operator training, the system was developed on a MODCOMP mini computer

* My wife buys me my first computer, a Texas Instruments Ti-99/4A (still have it)

GenRad

My second job was as a Technical DBA for GenRad, a manufacturer of electronic test equipment.

I manage the installation and maintenance of GenRad's IDMS database

I consulted with application programmers, business analyst and application DBAs to assure performance KPIs could be met

I designed and built in Xedit, today it would be called via skunk works, a simple, easy to maintain company directory lookup that could be maintained by the administrators with no help from IT
I performed in a bathrobe on stage in front of the entire C Suite of GenRad, to advocate for remote access for those of us on call overnight. We acted out a use case that could be solved without driving into the office. They approved the expenditure.

* I started my first company, Instant Data Access, initially software for dental offices but ultimately for video cassette rental stores on the original IBM PC

* I bought an original Apple Macintosh 512K (Fat Mac) 6 months before in stores through Nibble Magazine : w/ printer, canvas bag, 2nd floppy (still have it)

Computer Corporation of America (CCA)

Next I joined Computer Corporation of America (CCA) as a Systems Engineer (SE). CCA developed and sold a set of mainframe and PC database products based on CCA's flagship database, Model204. The fastest database on the market for specific types of high transaction applications.

As an SE in the product support group I provided tier 2 level support for CCA's set of PC based applications and their corresponding set of mainframe interfaces, responding to daily issues using a Compaq Portable
Supported the roll out of new customers as well as the roll out of new releases and patches

* I continued with Instant Data Access to develop and market VideoAccess, a point of sale tracking system for video cassette rentals

DMR Group

I began a career in consulting with DMR Group (now Fujitsu Consulting), a mid sized international consulting firm based in Canada. DMR was just beginning to build a presence in the US and Australia.

As a Consultant I helped Putnam improve computer room operational procedures and managed the redesign and rebuild of a large credit card transaction processing system for a financial services provider

As a Senior Consultant I taught, trained and coached architects and project managers on Productivity Plus DMR's software development life cycle (SDLC) methodology @DEC, Boeing, J&J, Ciba-Giegy, Liberty, Sears

As a Principal Consultant I lead SDLC projects creating program and project plans; data, process and solution architectures @J&J, Ciba-Giegy, Marshall's, John Hancock, USAA, Liberty Mutual, BayBanks

As a Practice Lead I lead SDLC implementations on the east coast, helping to grow the coaching practice to several million dollars annually @DEC, Boeing, J&J, Ciba-Giegy, Sears

* I started my second company, MCS Consulting re-configuring the VideoAccess software for Avon to reliever their Export Order Tracking system, EOT

* I bought an early IBM ThinkPad, weighed a ton (still have it)

Michael Meyerkopf

/my professional story

Spectrum Technology Group

I then moved to a small consultancy, Spectrum Technology Group (acquired by CIBER) into a new position, Sales Support/Principal Consultant.

I was the subject matter expert on sales calls driving methodology, technology and estimate discussions followed up by written proposals; instrumental in sales growth of 85% in year 1, 130% of target

As Director of IT Management Consulting I lead an effort to standardize on presentation and proposal formats and to create reusable service offerings

I sold and participated in all major opportunities helping to grow sales by more than 155% in two years @AT&T, American Re, Independent NECA Services, Allegheny Power, Union Camp, Lucent, Scudder Kemper

* I started my third company, CDA Technologies to sell software to integrate intravenous prescriptions from 5 order systems and produce bar coded IV Labels

1970

1980

1990

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1990s

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Independent Consulting

I left Spectrum to form CDA Technologies and DFM Consulting , as well as work as in Independent Consultant with MCS Consulting.

CDA Technologies, LLC (partnership)

Architected and developed an IV prescription order integration system for hospital based institutional pharmacies, RxTrieve

DFM Consulting, LLC (partnership)

Led a six week IT infrastructure study for Carlisle Tire, driving an executive committee decision to re-engineer infrastructure and re-organize IT
Managed a technical staff augmentation service for a variety of customers

MCS Consulting, LLC (sole proprietorship)

Acting CIO/CTO for a one year IT re-engineering effort for Russell-Stanley: planning, budgeting, board presentations, process, hardware, software acquisition/imp and key staff recruiting and hiring
Designed and developed the Global Sales Forecasting tool for Movado, used by sales reps, sales managers and product planners
Acting CTO for Clarke & Associates (see next item)

* DFM Consulting LLC was my fourth company

* We bought an IBM Intellistation ZPro Server for CDA Technologies with dual Pentium Pro processors (still have it)

Clarke & Associates / People Business Network

I left independent consulting to join one of my clients, Clarke & Associates, as acting CTO and form PBN (People Business Network) as VP of Product Management and Partner. PBN developed and sold a set of workforce optimization software offerings delivered as Software as a Service.

CTO/Lead Architect (Clarke & Associates)

Architected, designed and drove development of the People Profile Manager, a portal, the genesis of PBN
Architected, designed and drove development of a multi-currency Global Compensation System for Avaya
Led the effort to convert from in-house infrastructure to cloud (virtualized managed services vendor)
Very early pioneer delivering Software as a Service on vitualized hardware and software infrastructure

VP Product Management/Lead Architect (PBN)

Established a formal Software Management function; processes, staffing and training
Designed and delivered PBN’s flagship Workforce Management tool set (listed as Inventor): Voluntary Retirement Manager,,Involuntary Separation Manager, Redeployment Manager, Workforce Analytics
Was instrumental as SME for all sales @Lucent, Avaya, Washington Mutual, Bell South, Cingular Wireless, American Airlines, Delta Airlines, J&J, Merck, Ford Motor Company
Created a detailed set of pricing, operational expense and sales forecasting models
Drove the product elements of the venture capital effort resulting in a series A funding of $6m
Drove the product elements of the acquisition resulting in a sale at 4 times revenue

* People Business Network was my fifth company

2000

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2000s

2010s

2010

Today

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AHM / Centeon Management Group

I was asked to join Centeon Management Group (aquired by AHM) as VP Product Management, to build a more product focused software development organization. AHM is the leading supplier of Medical Education Logistics and KOL Management Services to the pharma, biotech and medical device industries servicing very large pharma customers. As VP Product Management:

Integrated existing applications into a comprehensive product suite managing HCP interactions

Established product architecture and design standards
Managed software integration and development (including data migration modeling)
Drove product branding and sales support
Drove the design and development of two new products, Speaker Portal and Enterprise Analytics (EAX)

Established an implementation approach to support the rollout of software products

Defined organizational roles and responsibilities
Established policies and procedures to ensure repeatability and support the road map
Defined implementation approach, standards, methodologies and metrics
Developed a resource planning and forecasting tool based on the defined approaches and methods
Provided oversight for a portfolio of projects

Varsita Global Services

I assisted a colleague as Executive VP Sales and Marketing of a small startup, Varsita Global Services. Varsita is a provider of software and consulting services to the pharmaceutical industry. As a sales and marketing consultant I:

Participated in product and business strategy sessions
Developed an outline for the Go to Market strategy
Develop an initial set of pricing models
Lead sales calls

Dell EMC

I joined, Dell EMC, as a Solutions Partner and then a Solutions Principal. Dell EMC provides IT infrastructure and IT Transformation Professional Services helping clients to save money delivering IT as a Service.

Solutions Principal – IT Transformation - Infrastructure, Application Portfolio & Operating Model

Coordinate the definition and scoping of solutions that help customers transform organizations to better deliver IT as a Service (ITaaS).
Received Service Award for a winning proposal to build and a complete IT Transformation Program for a financial services firm forecasted to save 25% of the operating budget, driving billable hours to over $2M
Received a Service Award for delivering a successful, comprehensive, RFP response to a Canadian teleco securing more than $10m in sales
Led multiple other sales effort, resulting in more than $10m in services revenue and $50m in hardware revenue

Solutions Partner - Health and Life Sciences - Engagement Manager/Lead Architect

Developed a new big data product strategy for a leading provider of health insurance analytics and regulatory compliance reporting
Developed a Current/Future State/Gap Analysis/Roadmap in a Bus Process Optimization effort for a leading Pharmacy Benefits Manager
Developed an Enterprise Architecture (EA) Roadmap for a large, east coast, healthcare provider.
Selected a new portal platform for a regional healthcare plan
Developed a financial model & market study for the integration and potential commercial spinoff for a major national healthcare plan
Developed a Business Case for an effort to reduce infrastructure costs through application decommissioning for a top Pharmacy Benefits Manager

Synchronoss Technologies

I then returned to software with Synchronoss Technologies as a Solutions Principal. Synchronoss is a provider of mobile carrier white labeled cloud services as well as provider of secure mobility solutions, NIST Level 3 identity management and secure collaboration delivered as Software as a Service.

Solutions Principal - Industry Solutions (Life and Health Sciences, Financial, Legal, HR)

Coordinate the creation and management of sales enablement tools and for defining, scoping and proposing solutions for clients.

Developed an integrated platform view of all collaboration software components
Created a set of sales enablement tools for the Life Sciences and Medical Device industries
Define a set of Pharma R&D use cases; safety document distribution, investigator site file & trial startup ...
Drove sales calls, RFP responses and proposals

MCS Consulting

I left Synchronoss and returned to MCS Consulting as Principal to help an early stage startup develop a central data curation engine to support a variety of proprietary platforms upon which the end user apps will be built.

Developed a preliminary business model to share with investors
Designed preliminary architectures to deliver of a set of social media and big data applications
Integrated natural language semantic processing and AI into the technology stack
Developed the data models and distributed data architectures

Knowledgent

Currently I am at Knowledgent as an Informationist. Knowledgent is a data intelligence company that helps clients innovate through data to enable advanced and agile analytics, the digital enterprise, and robotics. An Informationist is an information management and analytics professional who helps clients maximize information value creating business advantage by combining data and analytics expertise with business specific domain knowledge.

Program Management Consulting - for a global data and analytics group of a top tier insurance company

Re-engineer program management reporting processes to assure consistency and enhance transparency

Evaluated existing personnel, processes, standards and tools
Developed approach integrating re-usable templates with client standards & semantics (for better adoption)
Created frameworks presenting status/risks/accomplishments for all projects on one page (w/ drill down)
Drove consensus on program reporting standards, tools and processes fostering consistency
Converted Excel & PowerPoint templates integrating client standards, semantics and frameworks
Led training and coaching effort for group's half a dozen or so program managers