Richard Hefferon
Chanhassen,Minnesota
Summary
Results-driven Business Technology Professional skilled in managing complex IT projects and exceeding performance targets. Expertise in identifying business requirements and conducting gap analyses to design process improvements that enhance productivity and reduce costs. Leads large-scale projects on time and within budget while translating IT deliverables into actionable business strategies.
Overview
26
26
years of professional experience
1
1
Certification
Work History
M&A Portfolio Mgr/Transformation Program Manager
Consultant
Minneapolis, Minnesota
05.2017 - Current
- Managed global IT programs for business integration and divestiture, ensuring alignment with organizational goals.
- Oversaw 28 acquisitions and divestitures as Program Manager, achieving successful outcomes.
- Led teams in application and infrastructure integration, emphasizing security and corporate requirements.
- Coordinated planning and migration of WAN, LAN, email, collaboration tools, servers, security, and laptops to ensure operational continuity.
- Executed migration of App Suite, including business intelligence, CRM, logistics, manufacturing, shipping, and financial systems.
- Managed budget and resource allocation to align tactical efforts with strategic program objectives.
- Directed daily activities of project managers and technical leads across application and infrastructure domains.
- Developed MAD playbook featuring templates and repeatable processes to enhance project efficiency.
Program Manager
General Electric/Element Corp
11.2016 - 04.2017
- Program Manager for the divestiture of the GE Financial Services business to Element Corp. Accountable to program sponsors for schedule, budget, and quality of all program elements; escalates decisions to program sponsors as necessary for the development and conversion effort primarily in Java applications. This includes anything between complex groups of back-end services and client-end (desktop and mobile) counterparts. Responsible that my team delivers constant work on different layers of the infrastructure and has a commitment to collaborative problem solving, sophisticated design, and product quality.
- Directed onshore/offshore development teams to deliver new GE features across technical, financial, and business areas in Element environment.
- Managed lifecycle of code development from ideation through sprints to deployment, ensuring alignment with project goals.
- Coordinate and manage code releases and shared APIs with other IT groups
- Empowered teams to self-organize and grow cross-functionality
- Protect team from over-commitment, manage backlog, prioritize resolution of defects/bugs
- Tracked and communicated team velocity and sprint/release progress to stakeholders, facilitating transparency and informed decision-making.
- Met goal of addressing issues within 24 hours
Program/Project Manager-MADJV
United Health Group
Minnetonka, USA
05.2011 - 11.2016
- Dedicated to lead MADJ Projects for UHG. Accountable to manage integrations/divestitures. This includes managing team of Project Managers responsible for Application Integration, architecture, security; managing corporate and acquired Business requirements; Responsible for establishing Program strategy, communication change management and executing project plan. Responsible for multiple Programs/Projects simultaneously. My current focus managing critical Client Integrations; Mergers and Acquisition initiatives into United Health Group. I am responsible to partner with key teams (20+) across the United Health Group enterprise to integrate client LAN/WAN, Telecommunications, AD, Messaging and Desktop acquired to the UHG environment. I am responsible for both Application and Infrastructure deliverables.
- Accomplishments: Program Manager Acquisition Integration-Application Development| Enterprise Implementations | Infrastructure Integrations
- Directed technology systems, personnel, and vendor management during mergers and acquisitions to facilitate seamless integration of acquired entities.
- Developed and maintained M&A PMO project artifacts, including project plan, communication plan, report outs, financial reporting, and risk mitigation to ensure alignment and readiness for integration.
- Provided issue tracking and management for entire project team ensuring business readiness at all levels.
- Managed vendors and SMEs, including designing and reviewing the SOW and RFP.
- Delivered continuous improvement processes and methods for integrating acquisitions, enhancing overall integration effectiveness.
- Accomplished reducing integration time by 45%.
- Infrastructure: Managed 12+ enterprise integrations of acquired businesses; Program managed large-scale initiatives involving the transition of programs to new platforms and the merger of disparate systems from acquired client companies.
IT Portfolio Manager/Project Manager (Sales, Corporate Development, Core Operations)
CH Robinson Worldwide Inc.
Eden Prairie, USA
05.2003 - 12.2010
- Assume full responsibility in collaborating with senior leadership across multiple business organizations to identify critical technology needs and align them with the business planning. Work closely with the internal business group to define strategic and tactical technology objectives, high level requirements, and business case as well as with IT teams to deliver the core projects.
- Engaged with business leaders to assess key issues and align technology solutions with strategic goals.
- Identified and evaluated innovative technology opportunities to support business objectives.
- Collaborated with Office of CIO managers to uncover cross-spending and awareness opportunities, enhancing resource utilization.
- Designed and maintained a 1-3 year forecasting model on technology investments.
- Managed capital costs related to external vendors and staff augmentation.
- Reported on portfolio spending to the CFO and executive team.
IT Portfolio Manager (Sales, Core Operations; Pricing; Risk, Six Sigma)
General Electric
Minneapolis, USA
01.2000 - 12.2003
- Aligned critical IT and business strategies for core business areas, initiated improvement opportunities utilizing Six Sigma Methodology to identify key drivers of technology and business opportunities, and managed 100mm+ IT budget as a member of North American IT Leadership Team for Commercial Fleet Services, delivering technology strategy, budget oversight, resource development, organizational model, and tactical planning.
- Spearheaded solution team in ERP and EDI tools review process, including Oracle 11 i, DRIVE, Web Applications, IBM Web Services, GXS, WebMethods, and TIBCO, culminating in selection of TIBCO.
- Executed programs using outsourced resources by conducting bid processes, managing budgets, overseeing execution, and providing executive-level reporting on program/projects.
- Projects ranged from 200k to 10mm. Outsourced teams members ranged from 5 to 50.
Education
Bachelor of Science - Finance/Economics
St Johns’s University
Queens, NY06-1992
Skills
- Azure and cloud migrations
- Infrastructure management
- Agile project methodologies
- Enterprise resource planning
- Mergers and acquisitions integration
- Organizational change management
- Risk and financial oversight
- Certifications in Six Sigma, Lean, ITIL, PMP, JIRA
- Strategic development
- Communication at executive level
Certification
- PMP
- ScrumMaster
- Six Sigma
- Risk Management
- IT Controllership
- New Product Introduction
- Change Management
Awards
- GE Presidential Award 2x
- Several awards for delivering key Sales projects
- Award for managing several IT Green Belts successfully through their certification projects.
Timeline
M&A Portfolio Mgr/Transformation Program Manager
Consultant
05.2017 - Current
Program Manager
General Electric/Element Corp
11.2016 - 04.2017
Program/Project Manager-MADJV
United Health Group
05.2011 - 11.2016
IT Portfolio Manager/Project Manager (Sales, Corporate Development, Core Operations)
CH Robinson Worldwide Inc.
05.2003 - 12.2010
IT Portfolio Manager (Sales, Core Operations; Pricing; Risk, Six Sigma)
General Electric
01.2000 - 12.2003
Bachelor of Science - Finance/Economics
St Johns’s University