Maria Palacios
Fort Lauderdale,Florida
Summary
Dynamic, customer-focused, profit-driven, and process-oriented executive with more than 20 years of experience. Transforms business challenges into effective programs, drives performance improvements and leads strategic initiatives. Background includes working for global, multinational, and start-up corporations. Effective organizational change executive who understands business needs and is known for partnering with people cross-functionally as well as for building high-performing teams. Inspirational leader who demonstrates effective verbal and written communication skills that enable consensus-building. Highly developed organizational skills and accustomed to maintaining a high productivity level with world-class performance.
Overview
19
19
years of professional experience
1
1
Certification
Work History
Chief Operating Officer
ALEXANDRA LOZANO IMMIGRATION LAW
05.2023 - Current
- Oversee Operations teams for seven legal lines, sales teams, client services, & support functions for humanitarian law firm specialized in immigration and personal injury
- Led an executive team with an organization of 500+ employees
- Drive profitable growth by implementing strategic programs and operational structure, designing, and executing business operating model, building high-performing teams, as well as promoting cross-department collaboration
- Streamlined operations by implementing efficient processes and systems, leading to increased productivity and cost savings. Improving performance, quality, and client satisfaction
- Spearheaded major organizational restructuring efforts, resulting in a more agile and responsive team structure.
- Established key performance indicators for each department to track progress towards organizational goals effectively.
- Implemented continuous improvement and innovation program to increase efficiency
- Ensured 100% participation in a newly created training program for all employees
- Successfully transitioned the operation to Salesforce
- Implemented rhythm of the business and business review planning, and standard performance of excellence, to drive accountability
- Reduced 3500 cases backlog to zero in 6 months
- Revamped sales department and drove YoY 75% volume increase in cases
- Drove revenue growth with the successful launch of new services to meet customer needs. Successfully launched a new legal line that accounts for 20% of revenue
- Ensured regulatory compliance by developing policies in line with industry best practices to mitigate risks associated with legal or ethical violations.
WW Operations Leader - Consumer Sales Organization
MICROSOFT
03.2022 - 06.2023
- Oversee Planning rhythms across the Consumer Sales Organization: WW LT planning, Fiscal Year Planning, Revenue and Opex Planning
- Project Manage strategic initiatives and drove organizational change management across Consumer Sales Organization
- Created a holistic Fiscal Year Planning process to successfully launch the next Fiscal Year, providing a forum for the LT to look across the organization and pave the path on strategic plans, programs, and initiatives
- Defined strategies and priorities for the next two Fiscal Years
- Responsible for the competitive landscape analysis for the FY24/25 CSO Strategy
- Responsible for partnering with Finance to land all Procurement related initiatives across the organization. Ensure implementation of cost reduction initiatives with Suppliers to generate 16% of costs savings
- Implemented B/AA initiative to increase supplier diversity in sourcing needs
- Implemented Sustainability initiatives by developing roadmap, awareness campaign, RFP implementation of emissions impact when making procurement decisions
- Drive Cross-Functional alignment of tactical activities that enable the strategy and priorities.
Managing Director of Managed Services
BLUEPRINT TECHNOLOGIES, LLC.
04.2017 - 03.2022
- Increased overall company performance by implementing strategic management initiatives and streamlining operations.
- Oversee company's managed services clients including contact centers, onboarding centers, data-as-a-service, and localization operations across the country
- Client development, contracts negotiation, and agreements process
- Manage an organization of 600+ employees including 4 Directors
- New client onboarding, operational readiness, and client data management
- Developed/implemented a new operating model after assessing people, processes, and tools that addressed: Improving SLA's, productivity, and quality
- Expert in the continuous development of our internal and client-facing tools and processes. Automating manual processes and eliminating inefficiencies
- Improving the employee experience and reducing attrition.
Director of Solutions Delivery
MIEBACH CONSULTING S.A. de C.V.
03.2014 - 04.2017
- Managed and led multiple strategic and supply chain projects simultaneously for clients in the brewery, retail, logistics as well as food and beverage industries
- Managed team of Senior and Junior PMs
- Designed, developed, and led new strategic business unit that accounted for 50% of total company annual revenue
- Project deliverables and methodologies including: Demand planning, inventory planning, sales and operations planning, reverse logistics planning, production planning, as well as mapping and optimization of logistics processes
- Defining and designing optimized processes, organizational structure adjustments, profiles, roles, and responsibilities, as well as KPI definitions
- Applied organizational change management techniques to ensure successful implementation of proposed solutions
- Significant engagements: Implemented reverse logistics process and technology infrastructure redesign for one of the largest brewing companies in the world. Decreased shortages by 38%, annual transportation savings: 5%, reduced supplies purchases by 10%
- Executed optimized demand planning process and technology infrastructure to increase manufacturing capacity & sales. Reduced forecast errors by 40%
Campaign Planning Manager
AVON COSMETICS S. de R.L. de C.V.
07.2007 - 06.2010
- Managed 8 planners as well as planned and executed beauty catalog sales campaigns
- Developed campaign marketing plans: defined offers & promotional strategies, created events to promote new products & build brand
- Assessed and merged Central America's processes with Mexico: developed North Cluster structure
- Optimized and standardized campaign planning's critical processes to improve data accuracy as well as achieve sales, units, and margin targets
- Redesigned data structure to align with data warehousing best practices and to allow data to be consumed and viewable from different perspectives
- Improved forecast accuracy: error reduction reduced by 35%, WAPE improved by reducing it from 50% to 44%.
Demand Planning and Sales & Operations Manager
PROCTER & GAMBLE
07.2005 - 06.2007
- Led demand planning and S&OP (Sales and Operations Planning) process and a team of planners
- Improved statistical methods and analysis resulting in the achievement of targets: fill rate (98%) and forecast accuracy (95%)
- Collaborated cross-functionally with plant operations, marketing, and sales
- Achieved 0 remnants for fiscal year 2006 through a partnership with marketing in the creation of targeted promotions
- Aligned strategy with execution working with Customer Service & Logistics through work with Customer-Driven Supply Network (CDSN)
- Built and implemented education and training programs for demand planning organization
- Designed and used skills matrix to assess gaps and develop appropriate training plans
- Improved plant productivity by 30% while mitigating risks through change management process
- Improved market planning results by 15% due to daily management system training.
Education
Industrial Engineer -
Universidad Argentina De La Empresa
Buenos Aires, ArgentinaSkills
- Strategic Planning
- Operational Excellence & Continuous Improvement
- Customer-centric
- Sales & Operations Planning
- Problem-Solving
- Process Improvement & Innovation
- Building and developing High- Performing Teams
- Organizational Development & Planning
Certification
- APIC: Classes in Implementing Successfully S&OP In The Organization and Improving Customer Service Through An Effective MRP
- Oliver Wright: Class in Sales and Operations Planning
- Det Norke Veritas: Classes in Norm ISO 9001:2000, Total Quality Management And Continuous Improvement, Quality Tools, Team Work Construction
- S&OP Institute: International Certification in Sales and Operations Planning (S&OP)
- Prosci: Certification in Change Management/ Integrating Agile and Change Management
- Disruptive Strategy Certification – Harvard Business School
Publications
- How Good Sales and Operations Planning Benefits Organizations; speaker at Innovation Day 2016, Mexico City, Mexico
- S&OP: How It Benefits Organizations?” and “Future of Last Mile Deliveries”: Enfasis Logistica Magazine
Timeline
Chief Operating Officer
ALEXANDRA LOZANO IMMIGRATION LAW
05.2023 - Current
WW Operations Leader - Consumer Sales Organization
MICROSOFT
03.2022 - 06.2023
Managing Director of Managed Services
BLUEPRINT TECHNOLOGIES, LLC.
04.2017 - 03.2022
Director of Solutions Delivery
MIEBACH CONSULTING S.A. de C.V.
03.2014 - 04.2017
Campaign Planning Manager
AVON COSMETICS S. de R.L. de C.V.
07.2007 - 06.2010
Demand Planning and Sales & Operations Manager
PROCTER & GAMBLE
07.2005 - 06.2007
Industrial Engineer -
Universidad Argentina De La Empresa
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