David Wheeler
Valparaiso
Summary
Senior Payroll Director with 20 plus years of experience leading complex, multi-client payroll operations for a large outsourcing organization. Workday Payroll Certified with deep expertise in compliance system optimization, mergers, implementation, acquisitions, and scalable service delivery. Proven leader focused on accuracy, efficiency, people development, and client success. I lead with emotional intelligence by actively listening, showing understanding, and seeking win‑win outcomes.
United States Navy Veteran - (March 1991 - March 1995)
Overview
29
29
years of professional experience
Work History
Senior Director Payroll
Strada
The Woodlands, TX
08.2019 - Current
- I provide senior leadership over multi-client U.S. and Canada payroll operations, service delivery, and cloud-based HR/payroll platforms. I oversee end-to-end processing, operational governance, Workday Payroll optimization, client satisfaction, and continuous improvement for large-market enterprise accounts. I ensure accurate, compliant, and scalable payroll operations while serving as the executive escalation point and strategic relationship owner. My portfolio includes clients operating on Workday, PeopleSoft, and Oracle. I leverage Workday Payroll certification to optimize configurations, compliance rules, integrations, and automation across U.S. and Canadian environments to maximize accuracy and efficiency. I lead cross-functional teams across payroll operations, tax, accounting, banking and settlement, and implementation to ensure consistent, high-quality delivery. I drive large-scale transformation focused on operational scaling, workflow automation, and root-cause reduction using data-driven insights. I maintain strong compliance and risk management across federal, state, provincial, and local payroll regulations, including audits, tax requirements, wage laws, platform controls, and financial settlement processes. I am accountable for the tax and accounting organization responsible for U.S. and Canada year-end processing, GL accounting, tax filing, and bank reconciliations, ensuring accuracy, timeliness, and strong internal controls. I also lead client implementations and transitions into Workday, including design sessions, testing cycles, parallel runs, and hyper-care support. I develop senior leaders and high-performing teams, promoting accountability, client success, and continuous improvement.
- 25 years 3 months
Payroll Director
The Woodlands, TX
The Woodlands, TX
05.2014 - 08.2019
- 5 years 4 months
Payroll Manager
The Woodlands, TX
The Woodlands, TX
03.2004 - 05.2014
- 10 years 3 months
Payroll Coordinator
The Woodlands, TX
The Woodlands, TX
12.2000 - 03.2004
- 3 years 4 months
Payroll Coordinator
The Woodlands, TX Carquest Auto Parts
The Woodlands, TX
09.1996 - 11.2000
- 4 years 3 months
Education
Certificate - Computer Accounting, Accounting and Finance
Mile Hi Business School
09-1998
Skills
- Collaborative team leadership
- Emotional Intelligence
- Scalability enhancement skills
- Payroll Accounting, Banking & Settlement
- Mergers and acquisitions expertise
- Data Conversion, Parallel Testing & Integrations
- Annual financial reconciliation
- Global Sourcing & Vendor Management
- Payroll Transformation & Operating Model Design
- Payroll Implementation Leadership
- Compliance, Risk, SOX/SOC Controls
- Management of large teams
Timeline
Senior Director Payroll
Strada
08.2019 - Current
Payroll Director
The Woodlands, TX
05.2014 - 08.2019
Payroll Manager
The Woodlands, TX
03.2004 - 05.2014
Payroll Coordinator
The Woodlands, TX
12.2000 - 03.2004
Payroll Coordinator
The Woodlands, TX Carquest Auto Parts
09.1996 - 11.2000
Certificate - Computer Accounting, Accounting and Finance
Mile Hi Business School