R. Celeste Valenzuela
Product Owner
Hoffman Estates,IL
Summary
Highly talented professional with 20+ years of diverse professional experience in Financial Services, Insurance and Technology industries. Major strengths include outstanding relationship building and project management skills with an emphasis on creative problem resolution and process development. Highly analytical thinking, dedicated to identifying, improving and streamlining complex work processes and thrives in environments requiring ability to effectively prioritize and juggle multiple concurrent projects. Known as a flexible team player, an enthusiastic learner that can quickly assimilate new concepts and as a hard worker who is committed to achieving excellence. An excellent listener and communicator who effectively conveys information verbally and in writing.
Overview
10
10
years of professional experience
Work History
Product Owner
Allstate - Ivantage
Northbrook, IL
03.2020 - Current
- Managed MyCommercialExchange, the commercial quoting platform for Ivantage
- Acted as liaison between vendor, business stakeholders and enterprise technology teams to identify and develop platform improvements with a focus on operational efficiency and improvement of agency quoting experience.
- Oversaw entire product deployments from vision and creation to rollout and delivery.
- Brainstormed with peers and other key stakeholders to determine enhancements and product features that would improve user experience.
- Converted project specifications into drawings and other materials that would be used to create product.
- Managed multiple projects effectively in demanding environment with tight deadlines.
- Identified issues, analyzed information and provided solutions to problems.
- Used Microsoft Word and other software tools to create documents and other communications.
- Interacted with internal stakeholders as voice of customer.
- Investigated and corrected or escalated system issues with emphasis on root cause analysis to prevent future defects.
- Gathered and disseminated project materials at key points to stakeholders.
- Planned and arranged meetings with external organizations and individuals, enabling parties to meet and discuss project progress.
- Closely collaborated with project members to identify and quickly address problems.
Information Technology Operations Manager
Allstate - Ivantage
Northbrook, IL
04.2018 - 03.2020
- Established a production support process to ensure timely resolution of incidents and requests for critical organization applications using ITIL methodology - creation of product availability monitoring; ideation and development of production support ticketing system; development of production support reporting and metrics; management of production support team; implementation of root cause analysis protocols.
- Designed and implemented the Ivantage Production Support tool to ensure a uniform reporting system for production support issues for all Ivantage technology applications.
- Created, implemented and managed the Ivantage Disaster Recovery process.
- Provided and presented status reports to senior leadership in quarterly ATSV Operations Review meetings.
- Managed day-to-day maintenance of the Ivantage application systems in operation, including tasks related to identifying and troubleshooting application issues and issues resolution or escalation.
- Managed security findings in partnership with technology Product Managers to ensure that potential application risks are minimized and mitigated in accordance with enterprise protocols.
- Oversaw development and implementation of improvements to support and system operations.
- Point person for escalations and coordinated resolution of major service issues.
- Implemented program changes to identify and quickly resolve root cause issues bottlenecking production levels.
Agile Scrum Master
Allstate - Ivantage
Northbrook, IL
01.2016 - 03.2018
- Acted as SCRUM master for the Ivantage Website & the Ivantage Digital Enterprise (Salesforce) projects – responsible for backlog maintenance, task assignment and delivery and the facilitation of daily stand-up, retrospective, demos and planning meetings
- Developed the design of the Ivantage Website based on feedback from business partners and NAB members
- Provided additional development support by performing configuration changes in the Ivantage Digital Enterprise system, including System Integration & Testing (SIT) and User Acceptance Testing (UAT)
- Assessed each scrum team member's responsibilities and delegated tasks to balance each employee's workload.
- Assessed Scrum maturity of team and organized and coached team to higher levels of development.
- Removed obstacles by finding right personnel to advance tasks and projects.
- Assisted with internal and external communication resulting in improved transparency.
- Supported team using servant leadership style and leading by example.
- Managed product backlog and supported Scrum framework for monthly sprint releases.
Business Analyst
Allstate - Ivantage
Northbrook, IL
01.2014 - 12.2015
- Acted as a liaison between the Ivantage technology team and the Ivantage business team by facilitating requirement gathering meetings and documenting requested features and changes to ensure timely and effective development of technology solutions.
- Facilitated requirement gathering sessions with technology and business partners.
- Developed requirement documents for the July 2014 update to the Ivantage Quoting Platform.
- Developed and designed User Interface (UI) mockups to illustrate business needs to ensure that the final product reflects the business needs and requirements.
- Facilitated project intake meetings for both the Ivantage technology and business teams and was responsible for providing meeting minutes and weekly status reports.
- Developed use case presentations that were used for onboarding carriers that were being integrated into the Ivantage Quoting Platform.
- Derived conceptual designs from business objectives to deliver software and applications according to specifications for usability, performance and functionality.
- Conducted interviews with key business users to collect information on business processes and user requirements.
- Created workflow diagrams and Gantt charts to clearly demonstrate processes and timelines.
Channel Manager
Allstate Bank
Northbrook, IL
05.2009 - 02.2012
- Acted as liaison for Allstate Bank by managing relationships with Exclusive Agents, Exclusive Financial Specialists and Field Sales Leaders in the Capital, Florida, New Jersey, New York, Northeast and West Central regions.
- Supported Exclusive Agents and Exclusive Financial Specialists by providing product recommendations based upon customer case analyses and by quickly and effectively solving producer challenges.
- Educated producers about Allstate Bank products and offerings by participating in informative vendor-fairs during annual regional meetings and monthly new agent orientation classes and facilitating training classes educating new Financial Specialists.
- Conceptualized operations workflow process and helped engineer enhancements to existing system’s design for Allstate Bank Prepaid Card project by analyzing current operations processes, identifying possible system and department limitations and mediating with IT developers and business analysts involved to develop the foundation for the product launch.
Education
No Degree - Communications
DePaul University
Chicago, ILNo Degree -
William Rainey Harper College
Palatine, ILSkills
Stakeholder relationship management
Accomplishments
ATSV Reach for the Stars Recipient - 2015
ATSV Reach for the Stars Recipient - 2017
ATSV Reach for the Stars Recipient - 2019
Timeline
Product Owner
Allstate - Ivantage
03.2020 - Current
Information Technology Operations Manager
Allstate - Ivantage
04.2018 - 03.2020
Agile Scrum Master
Allstate - Ivantage
01.2016 - 03.2018
Business Analyst
Allstate - Ivantage
01.2014 - 12.2015
Channel Manager
Allstate Bank
05.2009 - 02.2012
No Degree -
William Rainey Harper College
No Degree - Communications
DePaul University
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