Craig A. Schroeder
Monroe,NC
Summary
Dynamic business leader with a proven ability to develop innovative strategies that drive sustainable growth and enhance operational efficiency. Expertise in rallying teams to address complex challenges while fostering a collaborative environment that encourages creative thinking. Skilled in optimizing core processes to achieve significant cost savings and effectively managing large-scale projects and initiatives. Strong foundation in competition operations and construction project management, with a track record of ensuring compliance, maintaining timelines, and nurturing critical stakeholder relationships built on trust and confidentiality.
Overview
18
18
years of professional experience
Work History
General Contractor
Large Home \ Farm Development
01.2022 - Current
- Planned, purchased, designed, vetted subs, managed contracts, quality control, and project delivery
- Researched, Developed, and built a 2-home, 33-acre farm that now houses a large family estate with a guest house, pool, pastures, and numerous farm animals
Entrepreneur – Franchise Owner
Scooter’s Coffee
01.2018 - 01.2024
- Oversee all contracts and financial planning for two stores located in North Carolina.
- Expanded the franchise footprint to North Carolina, Built the first two locations from the ground up, and, with their success, has helped grow the brand to several locations in North Carolina and South Carolina.
- Enabled our stores to join Million Dollar Sales Club, this was accomplished for the last 3 years of ownership which is an achievement shared by only a small percentage of US stores.
IT Leader - Infrastructure Engineering
Nationwide Insurance
01.2015 - 01.2022
- Orchestrated performance engineering and strategic planning/delivery to facilitate operational excellence across Nationwide’s complex infrastructure. Identified and resolved critical bottlenecks by comprehensively testing and analyzing workflow issues, leveraging technical expertise to offer intuitive solutions. Steered 200+ full lifecycle projects with 60+ staff.
- Delivered $8M+ in mainframe cost savings by establishing automated process that monitored all mainframe transaction timings; solved issue where transactions consumed more than normal resource amounts.
- Saved company over $1M by leading initiative to replace legacy performance tool, BlazeMeter; oversaw design of open-source tool that expedited improvements and freed up crucial resources.
- Attained high Gallup Engagement scores in five consecutive years: 22 – 4.64, 21 - 4.75, 20 – 4.77, 19 – 4.66, 18 – 4.47.
- Assigned consultants to each business unit, fostering increased collaboration and utilization of performance engineering tool; efforts increased usage with single point of contact (SPOC) to achieve result.
- Cultivated employee-centric environment for disparately-located engineers by harnessing web-based visual management systems and video conferencing capabilities.
- Aligned business with emerging technologies and needs by creating Enterprise Systems Management strategy.
- Implemented first System Management Service Catalog, pivoting from team deliverables to organizational services.
- Supported application portfolio of 150+ with 300+ tests to bolster operations while holistically engaging stakeholders.
Manager - Technology Engineering
Nationwide Insurance
01.2013 - 01.2015
- Guided large, geographically-dispersed team of engineers aimed at completing site surveys, facilitating orders, and managing hardware/service request lifecycle.
- Integrated engineering team into business following acquisition, enabling seamless transition while welcoming unique viewpoints and skills to elevate group’s offerings.
- Sustained vendor relationships to ensure staff augmentation discipline and facilitate statements of work (SOW).
- Extensively supported conversion and deployment of over 30,000 PCs by continuously evolving core process/procedure documents.
- Inherited diverse team of 15 engineers, working meticulously to energize each associate, positioning individuals for career advancement.
Manager - Infrastructure Engineering
Nationwide Insurance
01.2010 - 01.2013
- Thoroughly supported I&O – Windows, VMware (ESX), and HP hardware Server Support functions.
- Spearheaded efforts to realign Windows Run Organization to nurture client relationships and boost process efficiency.
- Oversaw Windows Service Domain Stewardship team tasked with improving cross-domain communications, issue resolution, and overall domain direction.
- Selected as member of Enterprise Process Advisory and Operations teams.
Manager - Shared Environments
Nationwide Insurance
01.2008 - 01.2010
- Directed critical teams/resources to administer Windows shared Infrastructure environment hosting 130+ applications.
- Wielded $6M+ infrastructure and resource budget comprised of I&O products and a wide array of resources.
- Cultivated and nurtured strong partnerships with I&O stakeholders and Finance/BSA application teams.
- Authored and executed currency plans/schedules for software upgrades, patches, new builds, installs, and hardware refreshes within a Windows shared environment.
Consultant - Business Consulting & Analysis
Nationwide Insurance
01.2008 - 01.2008
- Presided over requirements scoping, use case/business case development, UI model design, and workflow diagramming for Client Management business. Designated project leader for Client Management’s Agent Gateway initiative.
- Instrumental in release scoping, defect prioritization, release testing, and deployment/implementation efforts for all Agent Gateway projects.
- Additional Experience: Manager - IT Applications, Manager – Business Consultant
- Nationwide Insurance (2001-2008)
Education
Business Administration And Management
The Ohio State University
Columbus, OHSkills
- Technology Leadership Business Acumen Cross-Functional Team Building Process Improvement
- Vendor Management Organizationally Proficient Executive Presence Risk Management Business Networking
Community Involvement
Union County Chamber of Commerce
Leadership Development & Credentials
- LinkedIn: Agile Foundations, Agile Coach, Coaching & Developing Employees, Creative Collaboration, Cloud Service APIs, Web APIs, AI Foundations: Machine Learning, IoT Foundations
- Executive Leadership Coach mentorship
- IT Delivery Model
- ITIL IT Service Management Essentials, ITIL Problem Management Practitioner
- Member of Nationwide Cooperate Diversity, Equity & Inclusion CIO Council
Timeline
General Contractor
Large Home \ Farm Development
01.2022 - Current
Entrepreneur – Franchise Owner
Scooter’s Coffee
01.2018 - 01.2024
IT Leader - Infrastructure Engineering
Nationwide Insurance
01.2015 - 01.2022
Manager - Technology Engineering
Nationwide Insurance
01.2013 - 01.2015
Manager - Infrastructure Engineering
Nationwide Insurance
01.2010 - 01.2013
Manager - Shared Environments
Nationwide Insurance
01.2008 - 01.2010
Consultant - Business Consulting & Analysis
Nationwide Insurance
01.2008 - 01.2008
Business Administration And Management
The Ohio State University
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