Summary
Overview
Work History
Education
Skills
Websites
Certification
Accomplishments
Certifications In Progress
References
Timeline
Generic

James Williams

Northlake,TX

Summary

Transformational leader with 16 years of experience in servant leadership, driving zero voluntary attrition across 250-300 team members. Proven ability to turn underperforming teams into engaged communities, achieving 96% engagement and optimizing performance significantly. Director-level expertise in leading hyper-growth initiatives and ERP transformations while fostering high-trust cultures. Currently pursuing advanced certifications in AWS Solutions Architect, AI Governance, Project Management, and FinOps. Dynamic Senior Manager with proven success in ERP transformation and cloud engineering. Expert in strategic planning and change management, delivering impactful results in multi-system integration and data analytics. Deadline-oriented critical thinker helps team members understand Agile scrum practices and principles. Certified Scrum Master with vast knowledge of web development technologies and automated testing. Comfortable leading large teams in process and product development.

Overview

10
10
years of professional experience
1
1
Certification

Work History

Senior Manager of Finance Technology & SAP ERP Transformation

Southwest Airlines
01.2024 - 06.2024
  • Led SAP S/4 HANA transformation program partnering with Accenture for Phase 0 strategic assessment defining target architecture, business processes, and implementation roadmap—authored comprehensive RFP establishing functional/technical scope across Record-to-Report, Invoice-to-Pay, Order-to-Cash, Revenue Accounting, and Planning/Forecasting while managing $3M+ budget and vendor ecosystem (Accenture, PwC, Capgemini, DXC, SAP, Ryan LLC).
  • Managed 69-person team (9 employees + 60 contractors) with zero voluntary attrition attributable to leadership—integrated 6 enterprise applications into SAP ECC environment: Coupa (Source-to-Pay), Ironclad (CLM), SAP BRIM (Billing/Revenue), Anaplan (Planning), Apptio (TBM), Vertex (Tax). Implemented Vertex Tax Engine with PwC achieving multi-jurisdiction tax calculation and real-time determination. Upgraded SAP ECC to ECC on HANA maintaining 99.95% uptime for $20B+ annual revenue operations.
  • Designed event-driven integration architecture using Kafka for real-time data orchestration between SAP, AWS, and enterprise applications—partnered with Solution Architects and Cloud Engineers to establish modern integration patterns replacing legacy point-to-point connections, enabling near real-time financial reporting and improved data governance across Finance, Treasury, and Accounting organizations.
  • Coordinated vendor relationships to align business processes and integration requirements for ERP transformation across multiple departments, enhancing collaboration and efficiency.
  • Established program governance with Change Management Office for Phase 0 workshops, stakeholder communication, and organizational readiness—managed MSAs, SOWs, amendments, and order forms for SAP and vendor contracts. Redesigned intake process, implemented flow metrics and incident dashboards, improving delivery predictability 40% and incident response time 35%.

Senior Manager of Learning Technology & Analytics Platforms (Manager-of-Managers)

Southwest Airlines
12.2022 - 12.2023
  • Led enterprise analytics platform serving 60,000+ users through manager-of-managers structure (4 managers + 1 team leader + 1 Sr Consultant + their teams)—transformed team engagement from 71% → 96% favorability in 6 months with zero voluntary attrition due to leadership. Additional improvements: Wellbeing 86% → 96%, Support 96%, Respect 96% (vs 83% company avg), Dependability 93% (vs 76% company).
  • Created SWAU vision and strategy aligned to VP objectives—established self-service analytics infrastructure and shared services model (Ground Ops, Tech Ops heavy demand) reducing manual data processing 35% while enabling data-driven decision-making. Implemented OKRs, flow metrics, and platform adoption framework measuring user engagement and business impact.
  • Built reusable data services and self-service BI platforms (Alteryx, Tableau) consumed by multiple enterprise teams—automated ETL pipelines improving delivery predictability 40% and accelerating insights delivery. Enabled analytics, reporting, and data exploration at scale with continuous optimization through monitoring and performance tuning.
  • Revamped onboarding process, reducing time from weeks to days for 10+ new hires, enhancing integration and productivity.
  • Developed future leaders who credit James with significant impact on their career trajectories—former direct reports seek mentorship years after transitioning to new roles, validated by LinkedIn recommendations from Fenway and Southwest, illustrating commitment to long-term people development.

Manager/Senior Manager of Crew Training Technology

Southwest Airlines
01.2020 - 12.2022
  • Engineered training optimization system reducing runtime from 45 MINUTES to 15 SECONDS (180x performance improvement)—eliminated all-or-nothing constraint enabling iterative solutions and saving business 100+ hours monthly in manual rework and re-runs. This legendary optimization demonstrates deep technical problem-solving and user-centric design thinking.
  • Transformed delivery cadence from monthly to daily deployments as first team at Southwest Airlines—achieved daily deployment velocity through cloud migration (AWS, Kubernetes, Terraform), CI/CD automation, and modern DevOps practices, resulting in $1.5M+ cost avoidance through training consolidation.
  • Drastically reduced technical debt through SRE principles: automated monitoring, incident management process redesign, proactive capacity planning, and continuous improvement culture—revamped value stream from intake through delivery after internal kaizen session. Implemented flow metrics improving delivery predictability and transparency across all stakeholders.
  • Completed FAA-mandated Pilot Record Database initiative on schedule demonstrating program management excellence and regulatory compliance expertise—partnered with Sr Director Steve Jones (who endorsed James as "rare leader") while managing both Product Manager and Delivery Manager responsibilities during COVID-driven consolidation.
  • Scaled team from 8 to 27+ people (5 employees + 3 contractors to 19 employees + contractors) with zero voluntary attrition—secured funding for expansion after presenting tech debt analysis and FAA Pilot Record Database mandate, showcasing stakeholder management and business case development.

Delivery Manager, Crew Scheduling & Recovery Technology

Southwest Airlines
09.2019 - 01.2020
  • Led 8-person team (5 employees + 3 contractors) as Product Manager and Delivery Manager—managed product roadmap, stakeholder relationships, and delivery execution while laying the foundation for future Crew Training Technology leadership role.
  • Partnered with Sr Director Steve Jones to build credibility and demonstrate servant leadership, resulting in Crew Training opportunity and LinkedIn endorsement as "rare leader who truly knows both innovation and accountability to everything he does."
  • Managed team communication to ensure operational efficiency.
  • Oversaw compliance with safety regulations and industry standards.

Scrum Master/Consultant (Contracted to USAA Security Team)

USAA
10.2018 - 09.2019
  • Transformed USAA Security Team from 35% to 85% on-time delivery in 6 months using Tuckman's team development stages. Secured indefinite assignment extension after USAA expressed intent to terminate contract without James, underscoring significant impact and client value retention.
  • Facilitated agile ceremonies to enhance team collaboration and productivity.
  • Coordinated cross-functional teams to ensure alignment on project goals.
  • Mentored junior team members in agile methodologies and best practices.

DIRECTOR (Consulting Practice Leadership)

Fenway Group
01.2015 - 12.2018
  • Led consulting practice through 715% GROWTH (35 → 250+ people) over 3 YEARS with zero voluntary attrition—started as Director of Southwest Airlines account leading 3 teams including DevOps, promoted to Director of Entire Site managing all client accounts, operations, and consultant development. Demonstrated hyper-growth scaling expertise rare in services industry.
  • Scaled firm from startup mentality to professional consulting enterprise—hired 3 additional managers, implemented firm's FIRST metrics and KPIs (previously only concepts), and created upward mobility framework enabling career progression (replacing stagnant compensation model). "Better at getting work through pipeline" than technical counterpart, demonstrating delivery management and operational excellence.
  • Professionalized operations by convincing CEO to split offices by client for data security, transforming workspace from open room to segregated, secure environments.
  • Led executive partnerships with Southwest Airlines (account growth and contract re-signing), CenturyLink (expanded engagement), Northwestern University, Louisiana Tech, and University of Idaho, demonstrating ability to build C-suite relationships and deliver complex technology consulting engagements.
  • Developed future engineering leaders including first-time managers—former direct report (Preston Danielson) credits James with "huge impact on career" and states "James continues to serve as an excellent mentor for me... Although we do not currently work directly together, James continues to be invested in my success."

Education

Bachelor of Science - Computer Science

Louisiana Tech University

Disruptive Strategy - Strategic innovation and market disruption frameworks

Harvard Business School Online
01.2024

Strategy Execution - Translating strategy into operational results

Harvard Business School Online
01.2023

Certified SAFe® 5 Agilist

Scaled Agile, Inc.

Certified SAFe® 5 Product Owner/Product Manager

Scaled Agile, Inc.

Certified Scrum Master

Scrum Alliance

Certified Scrum Product Owner

Scrum Alliance

Google AI Essentials

Google

Developing a Google SRE Culture

Google

Skills

  • ERP transformation leadership
  • SAP S/4 HANA
  • Multi-system integration
  • Cloud platform engineering
  • AWS
  • Kubernetes
  • Terraform
  • Kafka event-driven architecture
  • Data analytics
  • Business intelligence
  • Financial management
  • Budget oversight
  • Resource allocation
  • Operations management
  • Project management
  • Change management
  • Strategic planning
  • Execution
  • Operational excellence
  • Performance metrics
  • Process optimization
  • Team transformation
  • Cross-functional team leadership
  • Cross-functional communication
  • Stakeholder engagement
  • Client-facing executive partnerships
  • Partnership development
  • Adoption
  • Hyper-growth scaling
  • Innovation management
  • Organizational development
  • Organizational improvement
  • Talent development
  • Employee development
  • Talent acquisition
  • RFP authorship
  • Contract negotiation
  • Fiscal management
  • Attention to detail
  • Data-driven decision making
  • Complex Problem-solving
  • Effective communication
  • Team leadership
  • Employee coaching and mentoring
  • Servant leadership
  • Strategic vision
  • Fiscal management
  • Business intelligence
  • Financial management
  • Talent acquisition
  • Technical proficiency
  • Business analysis

Certification

  • Disruptive Strategy, Harvard Business School Online, 2024
  • Strategy Execution, Harvard Business School Online, 2023

Accomplishments

  • ZERO Voluntary Attrition Due to Leadership — 16 years, 250-300+ people across consulting, airline operations, and technology. People only leave for promotions (which James helps them earn) or company policy changes, never due to leadership dissatisfaction.
  • CEO & Executive Endorsements — Bob Jordan (Southwest Airlines CEO) endorses JTAP leadership program; Steve Jones (Sr Director) publicly recognizes as 'rare leader who truly knows both innovation and accountability.'
  • 715% Hyper-Growth Scaling — Grew Fenway Group consulting practice from 35 → 250+ people in 3 YEARS as Director of entire site.
  • 180x Performance Optimization — Reduced training optimizer from 45 minutes to 15 SECONDS, saving 100+ hours monthly.
  • 25-Point Engagement Transformation — Improved team engagement 71% → 96% in 6 months (top 1% improvement).
  • Daily Deployment Pioneer — First team at Southwest Airlines to achieve daily deployment cadence (from monthly).
  • Multiple 'Greatest Leader' Testimonials — Direct reports across companies describe as 'true servant leader,' 'greatest leader I've worked for,' and 'huge impact on my career.'
  • Enterprise Agile Coach Validation — Endorsed by SAFe Advanced SPC (Mike Hall) for leading SAP/STP technical efforts and building high-performing teams through lean flow and Agile principles.

Certifications In Progress

  • AWS Solutions Architect Associate (SAA-C03), 02/26
  • AI Governance Professional (AIGP), 03/26
  • Project Management Professional (PMP), 02/26
  • FinOps Certified Practitioner, 03/26

References

References available upon request.

Timeline

Senior Manager of Finance Technology & SAP ERP Transformation

Southwest Airlines
01.2024 - 06.2024

Senior Manager of Learning Technology & Analytics Platforms (Manager-of-Managers)

Southwest Airlines
12.2022 - 12.2023

Manager/Senior Manager of Crew Training Technology

Southwest Airlines
01.2020 - 12.2022

Delivery Manager, Crew Scheduling & Recovery Technology

Southwest Airlines
09.2019 - 01.2020

Scrum Master/Consultant (Contracted to USAA Security Team)

USAA
10.2018 - 09.2019

DIRECTOR (Consulting Practice Leadership)

Fenway Group
01.2015 - 12.2018

Bachelor of Science - Computer Science

Louisiana Tech University

Disruptive Strategy - Strategic innovation and market disruption frameworks

Harvard Business School Online

Strategy Execution - Translating strategy into operational results

Harvard Business School Online

Certified SAFe® 5 Agilist

Scaled Agile, Inc.

Certified SAFe® 5 Product Owner/Product Manager

Scaled Agile, Inc.

Certified Scrum Master

Scrum Alliance

Certified Scrum Product Owner

Scrum Alliance

Google AI Essentials

Google

Developing a Google SRE Culture

Google
James Williams