Summary
Overview
Work History
Education
Skills
Certification
Timeline
BusinessDevelopmentManager
Debra La Fleur

Debra La Fleur

Troy,MI

Summary

Dynamic Program Manager with extensive experience at General Motors, excelling in IT and vehicle cybersecurity. Proven track record in risk management and program delivery, leading complex projects to successful completion. Adept at building program dashboards and fostering stakeholder communication, ensuring project alignment with strategic goals. Achieved Six-Sigma Green Belt, enhancing operational efficiency.

Overview

19
19
years of professional experience
1
1
Certification

Work History

Connected Vehicle CyberSecurity Program Manager

General Motors
12.2015 - Current
  • Expertly managing multiple Cybersecurity developments within the Vehicle Infotainment Engineering environment by:
  • Working closely with the Design Release Engineers and the component/code Suppliers to analyze the Electronic Control Unit (ECU) design and assess design vulnerabilities relative to malicious intrusions, attacks or denial of service
  • Tailoring the Cybersecurity design criteria and implementation to remediate identified vulnerabilities and potential exposures
  • Working closely with the Cybersecurity Architects, Intrusion Detection and Validation Team Leads to ensure that the Cybersecurity elements are developed correctly and that the Electronic Control Unit is protected from malicious attacks
  • Effectively communicating Executive Dashboards to relate Electronic Control Unit development status and promptly communicating any challenges to the development deadlines
  • Monitoring the overall vehicle development timing to ensure that delivery date changes are known early and communicated to all interested parties
  • Staying abreast, through continuing education, of the rapidly changing Cybersecurity principles, technologies and intrusion techniques
  • Creating PMO standards, processes and documentation to increase the efficiency and efficacy for the Design Release Engineers and Suppliers
  • Creating and providing training to all new program managers.
  • Managing the Jira Backlog of work. Ensuring that all tickets are properly assigned and closed in a timely manner.
  • Proactively creating training and guidance on working with Jira.
  • Achieved Six-Sigma Green Belt. Working on Six-Sigma Black Belt.
  • Completed Stanford University's Advanced Security Certificate

Global Telecom Security and Remote Access Program Manager

General Motors
09.2014 - 12.2015
  • This program encompasses deployment of the Cyber Security tool suite NSM (Network Security Monitoring), IPS (Intrusion Prevention System), Visibility Fabric, Firewall, Lancope Stealthwatch, and DLP (Data Loss Protection) at every GM Internet Ingress and egress points globally to ensure that the business is insulated from malicious attacks and data mining.
  • Also incorporated into this program is insourcing of General Motor’s Remote Access Solution (externally managed AT&T solution to the internally managed Cisco VPN, AnyConnect).
  • Working with the key leads from Cyber Defense, Security, and Remote Access gathered requirements and developed the projects scope, staffing plans and budget for the Annual project portfolio (FY15 and FY16)
  • Created and managed the program dashboard, ensuring that all stakeholders had relevant and current project status.
  • Presented monthly to the Cyber Defense director and prepared monthly status for the Board of Directors.
  • Initiated the FY15 projects (NSM, Lancope, Remote Access-Internal, IPS, and Firewall rationalization. Working with the solution leads to assign the correct resources to the project plan.
  • On boarded all project resources, working closely with the project managers to ensure that the team fully understood the customer requirements and the project timeline.
  • Promptly and efficiently mitigated any significant risks encountered, and escalated all issues to senior management to ensure that the project’s timeline was not adversely impacted.
  • Established contact with every global site to engage the appropriate staff was to the project efforts and to understand any regional and/or cultural challenges that might be encountered in terms of procurement and deployment regionally.
  • Determined all global business units that may be impacted by the project’s implementation and ensured that the appropriate stakeholders were identified to perform UAT (User Acceptance Testing), thus ensuring that the business was not adversely impacted by the change.
  • Planned and Initiated the FY16 project portfolio (Web Application Firewall, Remote Access – Supplier, NSM and IPS for all GMNA manufacturing sites, SSL Decryption, Firewall Rationalization).

Infrastructure Senior Program Manager

General Motors
01.2013 - 09.2014
  • Project: GM Enterprise Data Center (Warren and Milford) Network Redesign
  • The project will effectively change the Data Center Network from a stretched environment (Shared environment) to a split environment (2 separate Data Centers). This will provide greater resiliency and disaster recover ability. It is critical for General Motors to have a stable technical environment.
  • This project started in May 2013 under another project manager, was in a red status, and was significantly behind schedule. I transitioned to the role of project manager in November of 2013 and have aggressively managed the project to a yellow status. The project should be green by April.
  • This project team is comprised of architects and high-level engineers across many technical General Motors groups and external companies. These resources are in high demand and exceptionally busy. I managed to provide relief to these resources by organizing the project into well-defined phases with clear delivery dates. This enabled them to successfully meet their deadlines and bring the project out of red status.

Project Manager

General Motors
02.2013 - 12.2013
  • Project: Mainframe Migration
  • This project stood-up the physical mainframe solution located at the General Motors Warren Enterprise Data Center and migrated the mainframe applications and data from the HP Data Centers in Plano and Russelsheim. This project had very aggressive deadlines and was very important to GM’s financial goals for 2013. I managed this project team, overcoming all issues and challenges that arose, successfully meeting the deadline.
  • I managed the network solution at the Enterprise data center and the data migration technical design.
  • Managed the network configuration, cabling and firewalls for the physical equipment installation.
  • Managed moving the network from the HP network to the GM network and the installation of the brocade switches to enable the data migration.
  • Researched existing firewalls and created the plan to change the rules and add new rules to support the new traffic.
  • Managed the design and installation of AT&T circuits in Plano and Russelsheim to migrate the data without causing any degradation in production.
  • Managed all change control to ensure successful outcomes.

Project Manager

AT&T: Assigned to IBM
12.2010 - 01.2013
  • Project: IBM Poughkeepsie Data Center Upgrade to Juniper
  • This project supports IBM’s strategic initiative to diversify their network between Cisco and Juniper. The Poughkeepsie data center is being converted from Cisco to Juniper. IBM will refresh their data center in Boulder, Co with Cisco.
  • Successfully led the AT&T network architects and the IBM floor planners to create a data center footprint, logical, and physical design.
  • Created and managed the Microsoft project schedule.
  • Ms. La Fleur managed the Procurement and prompt delivery, expediting all issues, of all infrastructure and network equipment.
  • Created requirements for the cabling, power and cabinets required to support the upgrade.
  • Managed the technical teams to install the cabling, power, and cabinets. Ensuring that any event that created an impact on critical milestones was mitigated successfully to keep the schedule on track.
  • Worked with the appropriate environment owners to create a server migration strategy and schedule.
  • Created weekly status reports in Excel and PICs for AT&T Management and IBM Senior Management.
  • Created and maintained a Risk and Issue log; ensuring that all risks were mitigated and communicated to AT&T and IBM management.
  • Created and maintained a Share Point site as the official documentation repository.
  • Managed the physical implementation and configuration of the equipment within the IBM data center.

Project Manager

Ford Motor Company
03.2010 - 12.2010
  • Project: Network LAN, WAN and Wireless Global Refresh Implementation
  • Responsible for Global leadership of the Ford ITII Global LAN, WAN and Wireless Refresh Program to eliminate all single points of failure. Delivering 100% availability for 13% of Ford's global sites for 2010.
  • Led the global teams (India, Australia, United Kingdom, Germany, Belgium, Denmark, Mexico, Brazil, and North America) to gather requirements, created the Charter and Scope statements for Stakeholder and Sponsor review and approval, facilitated the global technical teams and suppliers to determine the per site costs, to remain within a global implementation budget of eleven (11) million dollars, created the Cost/Benefit Analysis to obtain senior management approval on the annual budget.
  • Responsible for managing the Cisco and various cabling suppliers, to ensure efficient delivery of equipment.
  • Created Microsoft Project Schedules for regions, uploading and maintaining these schedules in Clarity for senior management insight into current project status, created and presented status reports for weekly program status meetings and monthly Steering Committee Reviews, led Regional weekly Status Meetings to track status, risks and issues, created detailed Issue reports for senior management, working closely with the key resources to resolve the issue promptly.
  • Tracked all resource time against the approved hours in the DORF time keeping system, prepared monthly financial forecasts, created and maintained the program checkbook to track actual spend against forecast, ensuring that all costs remained within budget.

Program Manager

HP (Formerly EDS)
11.2005 - 02.2010
  • Project: Nissan North American Server Migration
  • Successfully managed the implementation of the Infrastructure components to support migrating Nissan servers from an IBM data center to the EDS/HP Data Centers. The projects contained in this program were the Wintel Server Farm, UNIX Host, Monitoring, Backup and Restore (BUR), Data Migration Infrastructure, Symantec Virus Software, Network, Policy and Compliance Servers, Vulnerability Management Servers, Storage (SAN), Active Directory and Messaging. This program had a very tight timeline to avoid severe financial penalties.
  • Successfully led the team to meet the challenges and aggressive deadlines, thereby successfully avoiding the financial penalties.
  • Managed the EDS/HP Data Center readiness, including working with client and Engineers to determine the requirements and corresponding footprint for the data center, leading the data center resources to prepare the appropriate space (racks, power and network).
  • Charged with leading the design and implementation of the infrastructure, including the management of the technical documents (design and implementation).
  • Created the implementation plan and detailed project schedule.
  • Developed the Promote-to-Production process and knowledge transfer sessions.
  • Worked with the build resources to insure that all issues were resolved before they impacted the project timeline.
  • Created weekly status reports for senior management, documented issues and preformed risk management activities.

Education

MBA - In Progress

University of Michigan
04.2025

B.A. - Mathematics

Wayne State University

Skills

  • Program Manager
  • PMO leadership
  • Annual Project Portfolio Planning
  • Program dashboard building
  • Jira/Jira Align backlog
  • Monthly budget reporting
  • Project Quality Design
  • Program Delivery Schedule
  • Program Communication Plan
  • Monthly Executive Project Status Presentation
  • Risk Mitigation Plans
  • Issue Resolution
  • Continuous improvement in project management techniques
  • Project Manager
  • IT and Vehicle Cybersecurity
  • Infrastructure implementation
  • Change Management
  • Configuration Manager
  • Vendor Management
  • Operations Management
  • Quality and Assurance
  • Training
  • Test Manager
  • Deployment Manager
  • Software Development Manager
  • Project Planning and Development
  • Requirements Gathering
  • Scope development and management
  • Risk Management
  • Data Center Configurations
  • Communication Management
  • Infrastructure deployments and upgrades
  • Test Manager – Development
  • Integration
  • System
  • User Acceptance
  • Quality Assurance
  • Reporting and metrics
  • Monitoring and controlling
  • Release documentation and training
  • Project Closure
  • Network - LAN/WAN
  • Backup and restore
  • Monitoring
  • Data Center Footprint Design
  • Microsoft Exchange
  • Server builds
  • Microsoft Project
  • PMBOK
  • Microsoft Office
  • ITIL
  • Use cases
  • SDLC
  • Clarity
  • SharePoint
  • DOORS
  • RTC
  • Financial Services, Mortgage
  • Manufacturing
  • Government
  • Software
  • IT and vehicle cybersecurity

Certification

  • Stanford University’s Advanced Computer Security Program, Graduate Certificate
  • PMP Certification, Project Management Institute

Timeline

Connected Vehicle CyberSecurity Program Manager

General Motors
12.2015 - Current

Global Telecom Security and Remote Access Program Manager

General Motors
09.2014 - 12.2015

Project Manager

General Motors
02.2013 - 12.2013

Infrastructure Senior Program Manager

General Motors
01.2013 - 09.2014

Project Manager

AT&T: Assigned to IBM
12.2010 - 01.2013

Project Manager

Ford Motor Company
03.2010 - 12.2010

Program Manager

HP (Formerly EDS)
11.2005 - 02.2010

MBA - In Progress

University of Michigan

B.A. - Mathematics

Wayne State University

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