DIANE J. JULIAN
Austin,TX
Summary
A dedicated and results-driven leader passionate about bringing innovative and scalable solutions to life. A strategic thinker and data-driven decision-maker skilled at identifying opportunities that address business requirements and overcome challenges. Known for leading mission-critical initiatives while cultivating a positive work environment that encourages employee dedication and motivation, resulting in successful change management. Skilled in directing multiple teams simultaneously to deliver enterprise-wide system implementations, enhancements, and business process optimizations on time and within budget. CPA with Big 4 accounting and audit experience across diverse industries.
Overview
24
24
years of professional experience
1
1
Certification
Work History
Lennar Corporation
Houston, Austin, Texas
01.2000 - 01.2024
Senior Manager of Product
01.2023 - 01.2024
- Stakeholder Management: Established a communication strategy with enhanced transparency and frequent two-way communications resulting in increased stakeholder satisfaction, commitment level, and engagement
- Issue Resolution Process
- Spearheaded and implemented an electronic issue resolution process to streamline internal and external issues, enhancing user satisfaction with real-time updates and faster turnaround times
- Trade Partner Management
- Led design and deployment of electronic process that reduced processing time, increased visibility into real-time requests and metrics; and optimized the prompt payment of vendor invoices.
Senior Manager of Construction Systems
01.2017 - 01.2023
- Project Management
- Managed the entire lifecycle of large-scale multi-year, enterprise-wide systems and upgrades
- Application Management
- Delivered and managed scalable, high-availability construction applications supporting Homebuilding and Land current and future needs
- Cross-Functional Team Leadership
- Recruited, built, and managed high-performing scrum teams consisting of 5 – 15 resources (onshore & offshore)
- Collaborated with cross-functional teams (UI/UX designers, engineers, quality assurance, data analysts, and trainers) to ensure successful product development and launch within the requested time frames
- 3rd Party Vendor Management
- Managed scope and cost of 3rd party deliveries, negotiated contracts, and collaborated closely with Vendors to establish more efficient ways to coordinate timely delivery of quality work
- Professional Development
- Developed direct reports through coaching, development plans, and mentoring.
Homebuilding Applications Manager
01.2007 - 01.2017
- Software Management and Solutions
- Optimized and supported enterprise software, including proprietary and Software-as-a-Service (SAAS) products such as Hyphen Solutions (BuildPro, SupplyPro), RebatePros, Promax (SWPPP & Safety), and Autodesk (Buzzsaw aka BIM 360, AutoCAD)
- Business Needs and Controls
- Collaborated with leadership to define business needs
- Executed software solutions to meet business needs on time and within budget
- Training
- Established a program of application-specific training for onboarding of new hires and upskilling of existing staff resulting in a 10% reduction in support tickets
- Customer Support – Optimized efficient resolution of issues by empowering end users with access to documentation and tools to solve common issues resulting in a 20% decrease volume of support requests submitted.
Senior Corporate Financial Analyst
01.2003 - 01.2007
- Land Acquisition Evaluation
- Evaluated prospective land acquisitions and proposed financing
- Presented acquisition summaries and recommendations to the Corporate Investment Committee
- Financial Forecasting
- Analyzed financials to produce forecasts for data-informed investment decisions
- Due Diligence and Compliance
- Ensured due diligence was conducted following corporate and accounting policies.
Senior Corporate Accountant/Controller
01.2001 - 01.2003
- Directed the financial statement preparation of the West Region (6 Homebuilding & 2 Land Divisions) totaling $1 billion in annual revenues for inclusion in internal and external (SEC) financial reporting
- Provided guidance on significant accounting transactions, including land sales, joint ventures, land and development allocations, and the $500M acquisition of U.S
- Home.
Senior Internal Auditor
01.2000 - 01.2001
- Led internal control, operational, and financial system audits across multiple divisions simultaneously
- Cultivated effective relationships with external auditors and improved quality of internal audit procedures resulting in increased audit efficiencies and a 5% reduction in external audit fees for the following year
- Prior Big 4 Accounting/Auditing experience at KMPG and Arthur Anderson across diverse industries
Education
Bachelor of Arts (BA) - Business Economics
UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA, SANTA
Skills
- Leadership & Motivation Data-driven Decisions Exceptional Communicator Innovative Problem-Solver
- Cross-functional Collaboration Process Optimization Adaptability Product Launches Strategic Planning Stakeholder Management
- Cost-Benefit Analysis User Experience Technical Product Manager
- DIGITAL EXPERTISE
- Construction: BuildPro & SupplyPro (Hyphen Solutions), Stormwater Pollution Prevention (SWPPP) & OSHA Safety Compliance (Promax), RebatePros, Autodesk Buzzsaw 360
- Customer Service:
- ServiceNow, Track-It, ZenDesk
- Project Management: JIRA, Confluence, MS Project, Smartsheet, Asana
- Collaboration: MS Office Suite, Miro, Visio, Teams, Sharepoint, Slack, Lucid, Figma, Camtasia, Box
- Other: JD Edwards A91, Integrations (FTP & ESB), Power BI, SailPoint, FIS, Quickbase
- Proprietary software: Vendor Bid Management, Quality Assurance (QA), Quality Control (QC), Land Forecasting
Affiliations
Austin Women in Technology (AWT) || Scrum Alliance || Scaled Agile, Inc. || American Institute of CPAs (AICPA)
Accomplishments
- Maintained, supported, upgraded, and optimized systems used for construction scheduling and material ordering of 60k homes across 40 divisions, enabling business growth of 200% over 7 years
- Level” Scheduling: Oversaw the design and delivery of a National Supply Chain initiative improving on-time completion of homes and reducing delays in material ordering and trade scheduling
- Automated Supplier Bid Processes: Reduced bid cycle time by 50% through automation.Merger/Acquisition: Led and completed the integration of construction systems for the $5.7B acquisition of CalAtlantic Homes within 8 months of the deal closing, minimizing disruption, and maximizing value creation
- Electronic Progress Payment Requests: Collaborated with a third-party vendor to design and implement an automated process resulting in faster processing times, elimination of errors, and driving business growth
- Automated Supplier Bid Processes: Reduced bid cycle time by 50% through automation
- Electronic Lien Waiver: Successfully led the deployment of a national electronic lien waiver process within 10 weeks
- Achieved a 25% reduction in administrative costs, faster payment delivery, and minimized risk
- Land Acquisition Workflo Implemented an automated approval process for Land Acquisition requests
- Reduced turn-around times and saved over $200,000 annually
- Online Home Plan Database: Designed an online searchable database for existing home plans
- Reduced architecture costs by avoiding unnecessary plan generation and increased nationwide visibility.
Certification
Certified Public Accountant (CPA), Licensed in TX (1993) ||
Certified Scrum Master (CSM)(2024) || ITIL 4 Foundations Agilist (2020) ||
ADDITIONAL PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT
Leading SAFe 6.0 (2024) || SAFe Product Owner/Manager 5.1 (2023) ||
Harvard Mentor: Exercising Leadership (2022) || JIRA Agile Project Management (2019) || Collaborating with Confluence (2019)
Timeline
Senior Manager of Product
01.2023 - 01.2024
Senior Manager of Construction Systems
01.2017 - 01.2023
Homebuilding Applications Manager
01.2007 - 01.2017
Senior Corporate Financial Analyst
01.2003 - 01.2007
Senior Corporate Accountant/Controller
01.2001 - 01.2003
Lennar Corporation
01.2000 - 01.2024
Senior Internal Auditor
01.2000 - 01.2001
Bachelor of Arts (BA) - Business Economics
UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA, SANTA