Radhika Rajagopal
Woodbridge,NJ
Summary
High-achieving multi-disciplinary professional with 25+ years of software delivery, supplier Management, product implementation, knowledge management, productivity improvement, process management, outsourcing and offshoring delivery expertise. Well versed in a range of Delivery management frameworks, with Agile and Lean portfolio management experience. Concise and decisive communicator with organizational, multitasking and project management talents.
Trusted by Leadership for goal-oriented planning, meeting tight deadlines, creating positive workplace culture and creating high-performing teams. Highly effective in delivering complex programs across multiple deliverables and multiple teams. Talented Senior Project Manager with excellent client oversight and issue resolution talents.
Strong leader and problem-solver dedicated to streamlining operations to decrease costs and promote organizational efficiency. Uses independent decision-making skills and sound judgment to positively impact company success.
Overview
28
28
years of professional experience
1
1
Certification
Work History
Principal Project Manager
BNY Mellon Pershing USA
08.2019 - Current
- Paper Free Initiatives - Achieved Catalyst goal of saving $8 Million through 25+ Go Digital initiatives that aimed increasing Online access and eDelivery setup of Clients, reducing printed paper and setting up subscription fee for clients who continued to want paper documents for Statements, Confirms etc. Introduce ability for first OTP as authentication method on Investor platform reducing reliance on methods like Mothers Maiden name resulting improved security. Also introduced ability to use Email as log in on Investor platform for first time. Several of these efforts where multi system, multi ARTs (Agile Release Trains) iteratively. All initiatives were scoped, designed and delivered in less than 14 months end to end.
- Regulatory Initiatives - Drove Actimize implementation for Australian entity of Pershing with stringent deadlines to meet regulatory timelines. Implemented first leg of AML Uplift program for Pershing that was launched at Bank as enterprise change management initiative that involved Business / Operation changes, technology changes and training requirements. Single point of contact for entire AML Uplift enterprise program team spanning across implementation of Gap assessments, Tool implementations like Universal Client master, Universal Product master, KYC Tool - EVARA, etc. Drove laws rules and regulation program that involved delivering Consolidated Audit Trail, CSDR, Data governance, Data Privacy, FINRA 4210, DTCC CTM, Audit Support etc. CAIS and CSDR met enterprise deadlines successfully during this time.
- $10 + Million program budgeting, planning, tracking & delivering through each of these programs.
- Led cross-functional teams for successful completion of high-stake projects within budget and timeline constraints.
- Introduced innovative problem-solving techniques within team that led to resolution of complex challenges in a timely manner.
- Streamlined project management processes by implementing agile methodologies, resulting in increased efficiency and reduced time-to-market.
- Mentored junior project managers, fostering a culture of continuous improvement and professional growth.
- Coordinated closely with technical teams during system integrations efforts, resolving issues promptly for seamless implementation experiences.
- Conducted thorough risk assessments to identify potential obstacles, devising contingency plans to minimize disruptions to project timelines.
- Championed change management initiatives within organization, ensuring seamless adaptation to new processes and technologies.
- Optimized resource allocation through strategic planning, maximizing team productivity and reducing overhead costs.
- Facilitated workshops to collect project requirements and user feedback.
Consulting & Senior Specialist Project Manager
BNY Mellon Pershing
11.2018 - 08.2019
- Benchmarking SME Skills across technology and domain skills across all 2000 + associates within Pershing technology
- Working with technology leadership to develop and implement Knowledge Management initiatives to develop SME skills.
Head of Program Management and Transformation
Virtusa
01.2016 - 03.2018
- Lead PMO for Banking and Financial services technology arm of firm for North America region.
- Lead team of strong PMO professionals that were embedded within client teams delivering large complex programs.
- Set up process for program / project Management, capacity management, delivery Management and implemented tools for compliance to the use of Project Management policies & framework.
- Set up both manual and automated metrics for tracking project performance.
- Set up complex program Management qualification matrix and risk assessment tools. Engaged with Clients in their agile transformation journey.
- Setup independent governance, oversight and Management reporting of complex projects and Red / amber projects under BFS portfolio.
- Set up 3D framework for stratifying PM community, preventing confinement and enabling growth.
- Ran strategic projects that involved cost optimization through productivity gains, quality improvement, pyramid optimization and T 1 hiring / grooming. Demonstrated saving of 10%+ across 150 million $ portfolio,
- Planned and implemented home grown productivity/quality improvement products for test automation, RPA, Gamification and likes.
Head of RAF Reporting to Global Delivery Head
Polaris Software Lab
01.2012 - 01.2015
- Set up Rapid Action Force (RAF) - a customer escalation management team, in response to largest customer’s demand for intervention within both their team as well as their vendor teams to reset a large and complex program. This framework was then used to address or deal with projects needed that intervention due to varying challenges both within firm but mostly with Clients.
- Setup framework built diagnostic tool and executed complex programs as part of RAF.
- This team has handled various types of programs and various life cycles, covering issues ranging from Code Quality, Requirements Management, Project Management, People management and portfolio management,
- Some programs covered under RAF are Large Banking evolution program for corporate cards, leading banks Commercial cards program (largest cards platform), leading banks production Support Program, leading retailers infrastructure Program, leading banks treasury and trade global testing program etc.,
- RAF was run in 3 models viz., take over, managed or consultative.
Global Head of Onsite Delivery Quality /Customer Satisfaction Reporting to COO
Polaris Software Lab
01.2005 - 01.2012
- Global accounts delivery and customer satisfaction Management –
- Consulting for World Bank for CMMi Level 3 Implementation
- Experience setting up Offshore Delivery Center (ODC) and ODC-compliance for several tier 1 banking and insurance customers.
- Complex Program Delivery Management, Vendor Management / SLA Management / Contracts Management / MSA management, Bid Quality Management/ Large Deals team & Customer satisfaction and loyalty Management.
Head of Business Unit Quality
Polaris Software Lab
01.2001 - 01.2005
- Implemented delivery / project Management process for all managed services programs and product implementations in Business Unit.
- Front end for Delivery Management and Process Implementation for large deals that involves offshoring services to Polaris as well as in setting up captive offshore centers for firms like Citi, AIG, NEC etc.
- Implemented project Management tools, set up integrated defect Management system to track rework effort, Integrated source control and defect tracking systems.
- Using SEI's Capability Maturity Model (CMMi) as a framework matured project Management practices from basic tracking to using statistical process control and prediction models,
- Lead organization for first company in India to be assessed at CMMi Level 5.
- Implemented ISO and ITIL frameworks.
SEPG / Quality Assurance
Polaris Software Lab
01.1999 - 01.2001
- Implement Process Improvements and Technology Improvements across organization as part of Software Engineering Process Group Function.
- Maintenance of Quality Management System, through sources including but not limited feedback from projects, audit observations, customer requirements etc.,
- Support Tools implementation by way of training, customization etc.
- Supported implementation of Information Security Processes, Responsible for classifying software assets in terms of confidentiality, availability and Integrity.
- Responsible for assessing information security related risks for projects and support groups.
- Set up metrics framework and created process prediction models, Used function points as sizing tool and developed estimation frameworks,
- Facilitate reviews of other Software Engineering work products, Perform regular software process audits.
- Perform Configuration audits and identify configuration issues.
- Participate in regular Project Management Reviews
- Ensure that project teams analyze and improve using metrics.
Quality Analyst
Intelligent Systems India Pvt. Ltd.
01.1998 - 01.1999
- Implementing and auditing company processes in project, Setting project gate reviews and report outcomes.
- As part of Software Development teams to implement Quality Assurance and Quality improvement systems.
Software development
Deltatec Solutions Pvt. Ltd.
01.1996 - 01.1998
- Fox Pro, Delphi, VB programmer
Education
Bachelor of Science - Nutrition And Dietetics
Madras University
Chennai India04.1994
Diplomat in Computer Science - Information Technology
National Insititute of Information Technology
Chennai India 04.1995
MBA - Professional MBA
Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey
New Brunswick, NJ05.2024
Skills
- Portfolio Management
- Software Delivery with Agile Scrum
- Training and mentoring
- Client Relationship Management
- KPI Tracking
- Creative Thinking & Conflict Resolution
- Budget Control
- Microsoft Visio, Jira, PPM
Accomplishments
Recently delivered to meet the enterprise CSR goals for becoming Paper free through the Go Digital Initiatives for 2023 and now for 2024
"Radhika has worked as the lead Project manager for our Go Digital initiative since we launched our Paper Free in '23 campaign in 2022. This is an extremely challenging effort requiring coordination across a large number of services and business groups and encompasses close to 30 individual technology efforts. The subject matter around these efforts is very nuanced and complex. Yet Radhika has done a tremendous job keeping us on track and focused on our goals to deliver digital solutions to clients and enable us to reduce dependencies on physical mail delivery and paper check processing. She has proven that she is not afraid to engage in difficult conversations with stakeholders to keep momentum moving forward and getting teams to deliver within committed timeframes. She takes complete accountability for her work, always makes herself available to teams, and really just puts forth a committed effort to everything she does. Her leadership throughout has been remarkable and we would not be where we are today without her complete dedication in driving us toward a successful outcome" - Quote from Paper initiatives business team
Driving Pershing to meet the AML Uplift program Goals for 2021-2022 as the firm went through a scaled enterprise change management effort in the AML / KYC CDD areas to meet and address Fed findings through tight deadlines to achieve enterprise integration of Client & Account systems for the purpose of enterprise level CDD and AML capabilities implementation.
Certification
Certified SAFe 5 Scrum Master
Upcoming - SAFe Release Train Engineer & Lean portfolio Management
Timeline
Principal Project Manager
BNY Mellon Pershing USA
08.2019 - Current
Consulting & Senior Specialist Project Manager
BNY Mellon Pershing
11.2018 - 08.2019
Head of Program Management and Transformation
Virtusa
01.2016 - 03.2018
Head of RAF Reporting to Global Delivery Head
Polaris Software Lab
01.2012 - 01.2015
Global Head of Onsite Delivery Quality /Customer Satisfaction Reporting to COO
Polaris Software Lab
01.2005 - 01.2012
Head of Business Unit Quality
Polaris Software Lab
01.2001 - 01.2005
SEPG / Quality Assurance
Polaris Software Lab
01.1999 - 01.2001
Quality Analyst
Intelligent Systems India Pvt. Ltd.
01.1998 - 01.1999
Software development
Deltatec Solutions Pvt. Ltd.
01.1996 - 01.1998
Bachelor of Science - Nutrition And Dietetics
Madras University
Diplomat in Computer Science - Information Technology
National Insititute of Information Technology
MBA - Professional MBA
Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey
Certified SAFe 5 Scrum Master
Upcoming - SAFe Release Train Engineer & Lean portfolio Management
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