Rik Nelson
Dallas,USA
Summary
Results-oriented VP of Engineering with expertise in Data Strategy and Generative AI. Drives software delivery enhancements while prioritizing customer success through innovative solutions. Demonstrated success in strategic leadership and innovation, focusing on talent development and achieving key corporate objectives.
Overview
24
24
years of professional experience
1
1
Certification
Work History
VP of Engineering
CYPHER Learning
Dallas, USA
01.2022 - Current
- Collaborated with product management to identify solutions addressing customer needs.
- Cultivated a workplace culture focusing on diversity, inclusion, and ongoing education.
- Established business KPIs and success metrics.
- Support cross-functional collaboration for evolving enterprise architecture.
- Drove the revamp of operational processes, resulting in a 34% improvement in delivery speed, and fostering a culture of innovation and continuous improvement.
- Led the integration of cutting-edge technologies to advance product features.
- Aligned goals of platform architecture to support Sales, Partner Channel, and Marketing.
- Boosted customer engagement by 23% via machine learning and generative AI integration.
- Monitored engineering projects for adherence to timelines, budgets, and performance metrics.
- Developed relationships with external vendors and partners in order to acquire new technologies.
- Developed engineering strategies and objectives to ensure successful product launches.
VP of IT North America
Computershare
Chicago, USA
11.2015 - 01.2022
- Translated market needs into detailed product architectures.
- Aligned product development with market trends and customer expectations.
- Directed teams exceeding 100 members to deploy fintech business applications.
- Streamlined IT governance and operational workflows, boosting customer satisfaction by 14% and operational efficiency by 21%.
- Cultivated relationships with sales, engineering, and customer success teams.
- Centralized Robotic Process Automation (RPA) and bot projects, establishing a unified approach for prioritization and development.
- Defined comprehensive principles for engineering consistency.
- Gained support from stakeholders for innovative architecture technologies.
- Achieved a 25% increase in cross-functional collaboration by aligning business and IT strategies.
- Hired, trained, and coached staff members to maximize productivity.
Senior Director of IT
Drexel University
Philadelphia, PA
03.2014 - 10.2015
- Defined product roadmap, software engineering standards, predictive analytics strategy, cloud infrastructure framework, ERP selection, and Salesforce implementations.
- Managed IT operational processes, architecture, and staffing plan.
- Customer Engagement: Enhanced the student onboarding experience by implementing Salesforce technology, showcasing a deep understanding of leveraging technology to improve customer (student) engagement, and success.
- Promoted a culture of innovation and encouraged staff to contribute ideas.
- Managed annual budgeting process, including forecasting and financial planning.
- Negotiated high-value contracts with vendors and partners to optimize resource allocation.
Architecture Manager
Cisco Systems
San Jose, USA
03.2001 - 03.2014
- Orchestrated collaboration between architects, product managers, and consultants for innovative solutions.
- Directed initiatives to operationalize IT strategies, improving overall customer service quality.
- Planned and designed advanced systems architecture, resulting in a 63% increase in system reliability and efficiency
- Led teams to re-engineer processes, resulting in a 29% reduction in project delivery time, and increased customer satisfaction.
- Delivered strategic direction for technology integration during high-value acquisitions, including WebEx and Tandberg.
- Forged strong relationships with internal stakeholders to monitor and improve platform efficiency, facilitate strategic initiatives, and highlight top-priority projects.
- Collaborated with senior IT executives to address architecture challenges.
- Promoted comprehensive IT strategy and culture within the company and at external events.
- Delivered numerous presentations on industry trends and customer successes at forums and conferences.
- Organized data and modeled information for use in key decision-making.
- Streamlined and automated internal processes to improve overall workflows.
- Held regular meetings with project stakeholders to review progress against timeline milestones.
Education
Bachelor's - Computer Science
American Intercontinental University
Schaumburg, ILMaster's - Information Technology
American Intercontinental University
Schaumburg, ILSkills
- Agile & DevOps Methodologies
- Cross-functional Collaboration
- Customer Experience Transformation
- Customer Success & Engagement
- Data Strategy & Generative AI
- Strategic Leadership & Innovation
- Team Leadership & Talent Development
- Mentoring and coaching
- CI/CD
- Project management
- P&L and budget management
Certification
Certified In Proact Bost Frameworks, 2010
Timeline
VP of Engineering
CYPHER Learning
01.2022 - Current
VP of IT North America
Computershare
11.2015 - 01.2022
Senior Director of IT
Drexel University
03.2014 - 10.2015
Architecture Manager
Cisco Systems
03.2001 - 03.2014
Bachelor's - Computer Science
American Intercontinental University
Master's - Information Technology
American Intercontinental University
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