SCOTT ZAGER
IT Leader
NYC Metro Area,NJ
Summary
IT leader with experience in the planning, design, development, and implementation of enterprise class systems. Experience in pharmaceutical and IT advisory / consulting industries. Strong leadership experience / skills in building global IT teams. Broad experience across all IT functions including application development, business intelligence, enterprise architecture, ERP, corporate systems, intranet/digital workplace, and IT Governance. Held IT roles in support of all common business functions (Sales, Product, R&D, Consulting, HR, Finance). Strong experience in organizational design and implementation of organizational models in complex / growth environments.
Overview
4
4
years of post-secondary education
30
30
years of professional experience
Work History
Group Vice President
Gartner
Stamford, CT
06.2016 - Current
- Currently leading global team of ~130 employees responsible for development, delivery, and support of company-wide Sales, Client Service, and Corporate Applications.
- These systems include CRM, Territory Planning / Management and other sales / service systems as well as corporate systems supporting HR, Finance, Legal, and Real Estate.
- Currently providing leadership for global Finance Transformation program focused on redesigning business processes and implementing new technology for Sales Opportunity to Order, Order to Cash, Territory Planning, Master Data Management, and Contract Lifecycle Management.
- Led global application development team that provides technology solutions and support to Gartner Research & Consulting organizations. Key systems include:.
- Content management solutions leveraged by Gartner research to plan, author, peer review, edit and publish Gartner research content.
- Scheduling systems in support of Gartner research analyst client interactions.
- Enterprise wide Digital Workplace / content management solutions.
- Gartner global Intranet – “Gartner At Work”.
- Consulting Benchmark systems.
- Led Enterprise Business Intelligence & Data Warehousing team.
- Implemented BI self service solutions in support of multiple business units.
- Led teams supporting client-facing Talent Management software products and supported acquisition and divestiture activities around these products.
- Led IT Communications function responsible for planning and execution of communications to other business units around IT activities globally.
Executive Director
Merck
Whitehouse Station, NJ
01.2014 - 06.2016
- Responsible for definition of Information Management strategy and development of products and services that unify and liberate data.
- Provide leadership of development of Business Performance Analytics practice that yields significant measurable shareholder value.
- Budget responsibility for ~$10-15M and management responsibility for ~20-50 person organization.
- Focus areas include:.
- Definition and execution of strategy to adopt Big Data technologies including SAP HANA, and Hortonworks Hadoop in support of key analytics initiatives such as pricing analytics and working capital improvement analytics.
- Development of set of reusable Business Performance Management dashboards in support of key business initiatives such as product launches, supply chain optimization and integrated enterprise operations.
- Co-led planning and execution of Technology Innovation Summit that was attended by over 3000 employees across 3 locations globally.
Director
Merck
Whitehouse Station , NJ
01.2010 - 01.2014
- Led center of excellence responsible for delivery of business insights that increased business performance through business intelligence, business performance management, and data warehousing solutions.
- Budget responsibility for ~$5-10M and management responsibility for ~20-40 person organization as well as a large outsourced provider contract.
- Focus areas included:.
- Solution delivery in support of a global SAP ERP implementation as well as support of a global Finance re-engineering initiative, including the implementation of business self-service business intelligence solutions.
- Delivery lead for SAP BW implementation.
- Technology evaluation, selection, and implementation of a Teradata data warehouse in support of the commercial organization.
- Technology evaluation, selection, and implementation of TIBCO Spotfire as a business self-service business intelligence solution.
- Technology rationalization / strategy in support of the Merck / Schering Plough merger integration.
Director
Merck
Whitehouse Station, NJ
01.2007 - 01.2010
- Led shared service delivery centers in areas of web application/portal development, data integration, business intelligence, data warehousing, ERP /SAP, and enterprise architecture.
- Budget responsibility for $10-30M and management responsibility for ~10 person organization and 100 person outsourced contract provider.
- Reduced overall cost to serve by ~25%
- Focus areas included:.
- Program delivery lead for implementation of Microsoft SharePoint based collaborative intranet portal in support of Merck’s business globally.
- Led implementation of large number of data integrations in support of global ERP implementation.
Director
Merck
Whitehouse Station, NJ
01.2005 - 01.2007
- Developed IT Governance processes.
- Developed IT / Pharma Benchmark study to drive measurable reduction in IT cost
- Developed strategies for various IT organizations leveraging Balanced Scorecard Methodology.
Manager
Merck
Whitehouse Station, NJ
01.1999 - 01.2005
- Managed team who provided web application architecture and web application development services.
- Focus areas included:.
- Program delivery lead for implementation of Java based collaborative intranet portal in support of Merck’s business globally.
- Developed custom Java based software solutions in support of Merck’s commercial, manufacturing and R&D divisions.
Systems Analyst / Consultant
Merck
Whitehouse Station, NJ
01.1991 - 01.1999
- Developed software applications for Human Resources, Payroll, and Employee Benefits.
Education
Bachelor of Arts - Computer Science
Lehigh University
Bethlehem, PA 09.1987 - 05.1991
Skills
Leadership of Complex, Cross Functional Change Initiatives
Timeline
Group Vice President
Gartner
06.2016 - Current
Executive Director
Merck
01.2014 - 06.2016
Director
Merck
01.2010 - 01.2014
Director
Merck
01.2007 - 01.2010
Director
Merck
01.2005 - 01.2007
Manager
Merck
01.1999 - 01.2005
Systems Analyst / Consultant
Merck
01.1991 - 01.1999
Bachelor of Arts - Computer Science
Lehigh University
09.1987 - 05.1991
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