Dennis Milks

As the Chief Technology Officer at Trilogy Capital and Thunderbird Services, I lead the technology strategy and development for a small consulting business in North Kansas City.

• Implement innovative solutions to optimize consumer-focused financial services for Native American tribal businesses, driving revenue growth, and enhancing operational efficiency.
• Gather requirements for IT projects, perform gap analysis, evaluate vendor solutions, and recommend best-in-class technology solutions.
• Manage vendor relations for several technology and business service providers for tribal clients.
• Manage relationships with Tribal Council members, and frequently work onsite for training and support of Tribal business employees.

With a business partner, we formed a small technology and accounting firm that specializes in small consumer lending businesses.

• Product Owner for a lead acquisition software product, licensed to consumer financial service customers. Designed a business intelligence product in Power BI to improve the customer acquisition process in real time.
• Maintained adherence to relevant consumer lending and IT laws and guidelines.
• Developed data security and disaster recovery procedures for software customers.
• Negotiated the sale of the business to our largest customer.

I was hired as the Director of IT for a small, one-location, US-only company, and I helped grow it into a global enterprise with operations on three continents.

• Member of the original team that created a joint venture (Bistrodengi) in Russia, which grew into the largest consumer finance company in the country, and expanded into Ukraine.
• Managed the team of developers who created the Russian-language lending software platform from the United States, and scaled it to manage hundreds of thousands of loans a year from a data center in Western Europe.

VP, Information Technology, for a $50 million privately held manufacturing firm in Kansas City.

• I started as the Director of IT.
• Reorganized the IT department, stabilized systems, and earned organizational respect for the group.
• Promoted to VP and given additional (non-IT) responsibilities to manage enterprise-wide operational budget reviews.
• Managed the upgrade of the IBM midrange computer to handle the new distribution company, the new joint venture, and the upgrade of the existing ERP to the latest version, and led dozens of internal software development projects.
• Added radio frequency, point of sale, inventory management, web interface, and other modules to corporate ERP (Application Plus from Infor) to enhance business processes.
• Implemented a document management system, a purchase approval system, and HR tracking software to allow cross-departmental utilization of labor, and implemented many systems to measure labor productivity.
• Managed the migration of the network from NetWare to Windows.
• Planned and led the relocation of the enterprise across the city to a newly renovated facility.

• Provided professional IT management to small and medium-sized businesses in the Kansas City area.
• Installed Microsoft Small Business Server, including Exchange, installed Internet access, and similar project work for local businesses.

• Managed global 24/7 operations of all AS/400 and WAN systems, including multiple IBM AS/400 midrange computers and a global network.
• Managed a team of five permanent employees, including hiring, job assignments, performance goals and reviews, career progression, and training.
• Conducted operations audits for AS/400 and WAN for security and disaster recovery.
• Managed disaster recovery planning and testing for mission-critical data centers in Miami and Kansas City, utilizing Mimix for data replication.
• Managed a global Cisco network across 50+ sites with over 1,000 nodes covering three continents.
• Utilized frame relay, VSAT, dedicated access, VPN over multiple access types, ISDN dial-back, dedicated Internet access, network access equipment, and modems.
• Managed the transition of the domestic network from Seaboard-managed WAN to outsourced WAN operations from MCI.
• Developed and implemented a charge-back system for WAN to allocate costs to the appropriate business units
• Negotiated many contracts, including a midrange computer lease buy-out that saved over $250,000

• Directed global operations of all information systems, including multiple IBM AS/400 midrange computers, a 150+ node Windows NT network, a global network utilizing Cisco routers, utilizing ATM and frame relay links, networked Lucent Definity PBX telephone systems with networked Intuity voice mail, and dedicated Internet access.
• Hired as a Network Administrator, left as Director.
• Managed the growth of IT infrastructure as the business grew from a $70 million operation in a single facility to annual sales of $310 million in six facilities on two continents.
• Managed and administered global AS/400 operations, including multiple operating system and hardware conversions, extensive capacity planning, backups, and off-site data storage.
• Conducted operations audits for all major functions for security and disaster recovery.
• Implemented the company’s first local, wide, and global area networks.
• Implemented a WAN and telephone system with seamless access from any global location.
• Upgraded the telephone system to an ISDN system and negotiated a communication carrier contract that provides more reliable and versatile service, with a lowered monthly cost.
• Deployed a domestic ATM WAN to increase bandwidth and allow faster access between sites, as well as added a Cisco voice-over-IP application to allow free calls between locations.
• Deployed Global VPN to Italy to provide a high-speed, low-cost network connection.
• Managed enterprise-wide operational implementation of the BPCS ERP system.
• Provided first, second, and third level support for AS/400 and WAN operations.
• Developed and maintained monthly and quarterly status reports for IT management.
• Directly managed a team of four permanent specialists, including a Network Manager, a Help Desk Manager, and many outside consultants and contractors.
• Member of the Hay Group salary committee that evaluated positions and pay grades within the enterprise.

• Hired as a PC Coordinator to back up PCs by hand, promoted several times, and left in a dual role as Project Manager/Network Manager.
• Responsible for all phases of PC and network operations, including maintenance, network design, and planning for future growth.
• Sold senior management on creating the first corporate LAN.
• I created the project plan and installed the network.
• Completed the project on time, and significantly under budget.

• Weekend Warrior - Installed, maintained, and repaired digital electronic equipment, including electronic cryptographic equipment, PCs, networks, and telephone systems in a secure communication environment that met or exceeded government TEMPEST standards.
• Assisted in the installation of the first base-level network in the Air National Guard.
• I was involved in all phases of installation, from cabling to the administration of Banyan Vines servers.
• Maintained top secret security clearance and received an honorable discharge.