Michael Howard

Versatile business growth catalyst with a deep-rooted passion for customer and employee satisfaction and analytical problem solving. 25+ years of experience delivering revenue maximizing solutions and cost savings across wireless and wireline. Equally skilled in strategic planning, sales enablement, account and vendor relations, process improvement and performance optimization. Outstanding motivator and communicator with keen attention to detail and a natural ability to forge collaborative relationships with internal and external stakeholders. Six Sigma champion.

Knowledgeable Telecom Executive with proven history of leading high-performing teams and executing strategic initiatives that drive organizational growth. Successfully directed cross-functional projects that resulted in significant process improvements and operational efficiencies. Demonstrated leadership and communication skills in fostering collaborative environments and delivering impactful results.

• Six Sigma Champion
• Building Blocks
• Spin Selling, Business Relationship Management.
• PACS
• Real Estate
• Nortel, OKI, ALU, PBX

• SALES ACCOUNT MANAGEMENT & CUSTOMER SERVICE/DELIVERY
• Subpar customer relationships resulted in excessive account attrition. Interviewed regional support managers, pinpointed largest at-risk clients, developed salvage plan, revamped client relationships, architected retention incentives and oversaw deployment. Cut attrition from 10% to 0%; grew revenue $340M in 3 years.
• OPERATIONS LEADERSHIP & GENERAL MANAGEMENT
• Poor leadership deteriorated margins and employee morale. Interviewed staff, evaluated customer experience, identified communication gaps and cost over-runs, formalized strategic plan, established SOPs, facilitated weekly meetings and championed continuous improvement. Boosted morale by 25%; raised margins by 18% over 3 years.
• PROCESS IMPROVEMENT & PERFORMANCE OPTIMIZATION
• Operational inefficiencies led to excessive cost and wasted resources. Mapped existing infrastructure, pinpointed redundancies and network elements, outlined optimization growth model, deployed new technology, revamped processes and restructured management team. Decreased operating expenses by 15% ($600M) within 5 years.
• VENDOR/SUPPLIER RELATIONS/PARTNERSHIPS & CONTRACT NEGOTIATION
• Poor supplier relations and outdated contracts led to inflated costs. Organized monthly supplier reviews, interviewed key stakeholders, analyzed existing contracts, discovered cost savings opportunities, explored alternative vendors and oversaw contract negotiation. Built a Private Network as a Service business. Renegotiated/procured 55 total contracts; achieved $150M savings in 5 years.
• STRATEGIC PLANNING & PROGRAM/PROJECT MANAGEMENT
• Industry disrupting wireless acquisition necessitated integration of two global operations. Assembled team of analysts and engineers, analyzed infrastructure, identified network overlaps and redundancies, facilitated data sharing and choreographed market implementation. $500M cost savings in 18 months (surpassed goal by 100%).

• $500M cost savings from network consolidation project; beat forecast by 100%.
• $150M vendor savings via renegotiated contracts and vendor diversification (BPO/Private Networks).
• Grew Revenue $400M
• Cut attrition to 0% and increased revenue by $40M via customer salvage initiatives.
• Improved margins 18%, raised employee morale by 25%, increased service delivery KPIs by double digits.