Cheryl Kleister
Goshen,NY
Summary
IT Senior Manager / Director at KPMG with 20+ years of experience bringing strategic leadership and operational excellence to drive organizational success. Skilled in business analysis, project management, client relationship management, team collaboration, and process optimization with keen focus on achieving results. Adept at navigating complex challenges, fostering culture of accountability, and adapting to evolving business needs. Known for strong decision-making, effective communication, and building high-performing teams.
Delivering enterprise-grade technology initiatives and SaaS solutions across global organizations, grounded in business analysis with a hybrid business analysis and workstream lead role.
Proven ability to bridge business and technology, translating complex requirements into scalable solutions while leading cross-functional teams through full SDLC delivery. Brings a unique blend of strategic insight and hands-on execution, with deep expertise in stakeholder engagement, solution design, and enterprise implementation across Tax, HR, and Global Mobility functions. Recognized for collaborative leadership, strong analytical thinking, and the ability to drive alignment and results in complex, fast-paced environments.
Overview
25
25
years of professional experience
1
1
Certification
Work History
Senior Manager/Director IT Business Analyst
KPMG LLP | GMS Technology
Montvale, New Jersey
04.2005 - Current
- Collaborate with clients and stakeholders to capture and analyze complex business requirements transforming them into scalable work flow driven, API integrated web applications for multiple workstreams across KPMG’s LINK Platform.
- Direct full SDLC execution across cloud-native, hybrid, SaaS architectures, business analysis, DevSecOps, QA, post deployment production hypercare.
- Built and scaled an offshore Business Analyst team to 10 members; established onboarding protocols, hiring standards, and a training curriculum that accelerated team ramp-up.
- Developed a comprehensive offshore BA playbook, introducing standard templates for User Stories, BRDs, and UAT scenerios across teams in different time zones.
- Reduced UAT defects related to requirements by implementing rigorous offshore peer review process.
- Primary liaison between clients and technical team that operate onshore and offshore to ensure clear requirement translation to reduce ambiguity.
- Azure cloud migration project lead business analyst/project planning moving 65+ client instances from on prem to the Microsoft Azure cloud, which increased security and cost effectiveness. Managed client teams and stakeholders.
Business System Analyst II
Toy R Us | International IT
Wayne, New Jersey
02.2001 - 04.2005
- Full SDLC of a global supply chain system – Systems Analysis, Requirements, Use Cases, Change Requests, Testing, Training.
- Led stakeholder requirement and training sessions globally in EU and APAC regions.
- Orchestrated end to end in person training initiative at Infosys Chennai to onboard technical resources.
Education
B.S. - Information Systems
Pace University
Pleasantville, NY05-2000
Skills
- System Implementations, Migrations, Integrations
- Client Relationship and Expectation Management
- Stakeholder Management
- Cross Functional and Global Teaming
- Team Collaboration, Team Building
- Workstream Lead Management
- Agile, Scrum and Hybrid Models
- Strategic and Critical Thinking
- Eliciting Requirements, Requirements Analysis, Scope Definition
- Microsoft Azure
Certification
Project Management Professional (PMP)
AWARDS
GMS Inspiration Award 2024
Timeline
Senior Manager/Director IT Business Analyst
KPMG LLP | GMS Technology
04.2005 - Current
Business System Analyst II
Toy R Us | International IT
02.2001 - 04.2005
B.S. - Information Systems
Pace University