Paul W. Downing
2683 Wareing Dr, Lake Orion, MI 48360 (248) 393-1330 paul@pauldowning.com,
www.pauldowning.com
Business
Objectives:
My professional
goal is to manage large departments, teams or corporate IT departments. I excel
at taking a corporate vision and synthesizing that vision into IT realities. I
have extensive experience and training in IT and Network management, contract
negotiation, managing a large scale deployment and staff. A detailed résumé can
be found at www.pauldowning.com.
I enjoy
working for a company that is interested in getting things done, problems
solved, and chaos under control. I personally thrive in an intense multitasking
environment that allows me to apply my extensive experience in IT, Financial,
Business Development, Programming and Management positions..
Job
Qualifications:
People
Management - Up to 50 direct and 100's of indirect reports
Budget and Financial Management - Up to $50 Million Annual
Budgets
Network Management - 50 Locations in 15 Countries
Server Management - Enterprise Servers and 100's of file
and print servers
PC
& Workstation Management - Up to 10,000 seats
Enterprise Deployments - Two ERP, Lotus Notes and other
large scale deployments
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Apr 01 - Current |
VP Business Dev & NW Mgr |
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Dec 99 - Mar 01 |
IT Manager |
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Apr 99 - Dec 99 |
IT Manager |
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Mar 98 - Jun 99 |
IT & NW Manager |
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Jan 97 - Mar 98 |
IT & NW Manager |
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Jun 95 - Jan 97 |
IT & NW Manager |
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May 94 - Jun 95 |
Tech Lead |
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Sep 91 - May 94 |
Tech Lead |
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Nov 87 - Sep 91 |
Owner |
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Feb 87 - Jan 89 |
Programmer |
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Dec 84 - Jan 87 |
Programmer |
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1980 - 1985 |
Adult Ed. Instr. |
Paul W. Downing
2683 Wareing Dr, Lake Orion, MI 48360 (248) 393-1330 paul@pauldowning.com,
www.pauldowning.com
Education:
1984
Michigan State University, Lansing MI
Lyman Briggs Honors Science
Program and Computer Science Programs - While attending MSU, I was also
teaching 3 adult education classes. I was recruited by a firm that had seen
some of my programming work and articles I have had nationally published. I
left MSU to start a career in programming.
1985
Eastern Michigan University, Ypsilanti MI
Accounting and
Computer Science - I attended EMU while working full time at BITS
computers and teaching adult education classes. Since I was working
professionally, as a programmer I was already advanced beyond the instructors.
Other
Certifications and technical training
While at Ford
Motor Company, I obtained my Master Novell Certified Netware Engineer
certification in Netware 4.x with an infrastructure specialty. This was more
than a "paper" certification. At Ford, we were on the cutting edge of
this technology working side by side, with some of the best engineers that
worked at Novell. I also took several Unix Administration Classes.
While at EDS, I also attended several of the Microsoft NT Advanced Server Classes to learn the nuances of NT vs Novell for my role at technical lead, and IT deployment manager. EDS has an extensive in house training program, and I participated in several key programs including; Leadership Excellence, Financial Planning, Needs Requirements Determination and Analysis, Product Life Cycle Management, Employee Management, Manufacturing Enterprise Planning, and more.
High School - 1984 Brighton High School, Brighton MI
While at High School I was taking Advanced Placement course in Physics, Chemistry and Math. I was also teaching adult education programs in computer sciences, writing software on a consulting basis for several companies. I was published in two national publications for computer software.
Personal Information - Born in the Midwest in 1966, I've lived in Michigan for most of my life. I have two wonderful young boys, and have been married since 1989.
Hobbies
& Activities - We live on a lake, and enjoy all the activities associated with that.
I also work on computers and web sites in my spare time and do a little amateur
photography. We are active in the local church, and the cub scouts. I am the
treasurer and webmaster for our cub scout pack. www.pack128.org
Paul W. Downing
2683 Wareing Dr, Lake Orion, MI 48360 (248) 393-1330 paul@pauldowning.com,
www.pauldowning.com
DETAILED
EMPLOYMENT INFORMATION
3/2001 - PRESENT CURRENT COMPANY ROCHESTER
HILLS, MI
VP BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT / NW MANAGER - My
current position is Vice President of new Business Development. While here, I
have helped to introduce several new product lines that have contributed
significantly to the company's profitability. I have also mentored other
executives to assist them in bringing the company up to the next level of
professionalism and quality. Most recently I led the migration of our
accounting system from an outside company to a new in house system. This
migration will help the company save almost $200,000 / year. For my part in
leading this effort, I have received the
company's first annual Presidents Award for Excellence. Since taking on the
additional role of NW Manager, I have implemented cost savings of over $200,000
/ year. Out of respect for my company
and our customers, and due to my standing within the company, I am choosing not
to disclose the name of the company outside of an interview. This company
serves the Automotive & Aerospace supplier and OEM markets.
12/1999 - 3/2001 EDS / GM PONTIAC,
MI
CLIENT DELIVERY MANAGER (IT MANAGER) - As
Client Delivery Executive, I was the IT Manager, responsible for the entire
Intel Platform base at GM Truck. This included 100's of servers and 1000's of
clients with Lotus Notes, Desktop Field Support, and Hardware Maintenance. I
also managed the financials for this area of about $ 50M / Yr. and had about 50
direct reports. After helping to assure a successful Y2K, my main focus for
2000 was cleaning up operational stability issues, left over customer financial
issues from 1999, and the migration to an updated Client Server build and Lotus
Notes. This migration won the "Lotus Beacon Award" for EDS and GM. We
achieved an 85% improvement in outage reductions and a 20% increase in customer
satisfaction scores. My focus for 2001 was new business development and
internal financial clean up. Before leaving EDS and the GM account for an
outside opportunity, I was offered the position of GM-OnLine Client Delivery
Executive for all of GM Develop Product in North America. This would have meant
about 200 direct reports, and about a $ 200M budget. GM was a tough but fair
account, and I learned a great deal about managing large teams and customers.
4/1999 - 12/1999 EDS / SEAGATE BLOOMINGTON,
MN
CLIENT DELIVERY EXECUTIVE (IT MANAGER) - As
Client Delivery Executive, I was the IT Manager, responsible for the delivery
of Help Desk, Desktop Field Support, and Hardware Maintenance. We supported
about 3000 seats in Seagate's Bloomington, MN campus. I also managed the
financials and service levels from the leveraged internal EDS organizations of
about $ 2M / Yr. While there, I worked out the financial issues lingering from
the sales / implementation efforts, stabilized the accounting and implemented
web based reporting for Sr. Staff at Seagate. This was a very interesting
assignment as we were supporting the R&D areas of Seagate, and thus we
needed to provide system support inside of clean room environments. It also
provided deeper insights into different facets of clean room manufacturing.
This was a filler assignment while I transitioned from Boston back to Detroit.
Paul W. Downing
2683 Wareing Dr, Lake Orion, MI 48360 (248) 393-1330 paul@pauldowning.com,
www.pauldowning.com
3/1998 - 6/1999 EDS / BOSTON SCIENTIFIC NATICK
MA
CLIENT DELIVERY MANAGER (IT MANAGER) - As
Client Delivery Executive, I was the IT Manager and the Network Operations
Manager, responsible for startup ,implementation, and steady state of the account.
This included Help Desk, Desktop Field Support, and Hardware Maintenance, Unix
and NT Server administration and more. As Network Manager, I was responsible
for a team supporting 600 Network Hubs Devices, 80 Routers, and the LAN/WAN at
~ 50 Customer locations worldwide in ~ 15 countries. We also provided Data
Center Support for ~ 8000 seats. My financial responsibilities included
management of a $40 contract, and development of a $10M additional H/W
maintenance contract. My team also project managed the network merger of the
division of Pfizer that they purchased. My family and I decided not to take a
long delayed EDS relocation offer to Boston or an offer to be the overall
account manager. There were ~ 90 EDS team members on site at the BSC account, in
addition to leveraged resources in Plano TX. This fascinating assignment
involved managing the IT facilities at Boston Scientific, which had it's
R&D in clean room environments in Natick and other manufacturing facilities
around the globe. They make Micro-invasive surgical devices like stents, and
angioplasty devices. The other interesting item is that their headquarters were
the previous home to Carling Black Label Brewery, and you could still go into
the basement, and see where all the old facilities were largely still in tact.
It was a very employee friendly place to work. I acquired a new found
appreciation for just how high-tech the medical industry is, and how refreshing
it is to work at an employee centered company.
1/1997 - 6/1998 EDS / PEREGRINE INC SOUTHFIELD
MI
CLIENT DELIVERY MANAGER (IT MANAGER)
As the EDS TI Account Manager, I was the IT
Manager, responsible for startup, implementation, and steady state of the
account. This included Help Desk, Desktop Field Support, and Hardware
Maintenance, Network, Unix and NT Server administration and more. With an on
site team of about 60 people, we implemented a QAD ERP/MRP software package and
a complete re-wire of 6 old GM international plants in 6 months to meet a very,
very aggressive go live date set by the CEO. Peregrine and EDS received a
"QAD Rapid Achiever Award" as a result of this implementation. I was
also the technical lead and helped design and implement a brand new State of
the Art complete ATM network including the WAN and down to the desktop to lead
to the combination of Voice, Data, and Video to each of about 3000 desktops in
North America. I was a key contributor to the initial base Statement of Work,
as well as a $ 50M TCV contract Renewal, and $ 2M of add on business. Talk
about your trial by fires. I don't know if you've ever seen the EDS commercial
where they were building the plane at the same time it was flying, but that
image fit this account perfectly. Peregrine was a GM Delphi Spin Off (similar
to American Axle), and instead of a long protracted (and careful) migration
this CEO wanted it done yesterday. Not only that, he wanted to do it with
"beta" level hardware, software, and ATM technology. Somehow we
sprinted through this marathon, and got the job completed on time and under budget.
We started out with an empty building and about 5 customer employees working
literally, on empty computer boxes as our desks, to 3 floors, and 3000 or so
workstations in only a few months. We ended up having to create a temporary
data center in what used to be the buildings cafeteria, and then over a holiday
weekend re-terminating 1000's of connections once the "real" data
center was built out. We took turns "sleeping" in our cars for 4 days
straight. Unfortunately the company, in my opinion, tried to do too much too
fast and before long it was financially in trouble. I learned that when
properly motivated, a talented and dedicated group of people can accomplish
amazing results.
Paul W. Downing
2683 Wareing Dr, Lake Orion, MI 48360 (248) 393-1330 paul@pauldowning.com,
www.pauldowning.com
6/1995 - 6/1997 EDS / AMERICAN AXLE & MANUFACTURING DETROIT MI
TECH LEAD / IT MANAGER - Technical Lead /
Account Manager responsible for startup through implementation and steady state
of the technical Infrastructure. This was my first EDS account, where I
survived a trial by fire of a huge ERP/MRP implementation. We successfully
implemented a highly redundant LAN, WAN, NT and Unix environment for about 2000
seats, from scratch in this GM Spin Off. I got my first exposure to big systems
like T and V Class Multi-Processor Servers from HP, Multi Terabyte Systems from
EMC, and more. When my manager moved off site, I pretty much ran the technical
and financial end of things, and declined a formal promotion to TI Account Mgr.
After murders and drug raids, I jumped at the chance to manage EDS's IT service
offerings at a different account (Peregrine).This was a challenging
environment, where the old style way of doing things was in constant conflict
with the new management style of doing things. I learned that there were few
union procedures that could not be overcome with hot coffee and a few dozen
donuts.
5/1994 - 6/1995 NTT / FORD DEARBORN
MI
TECH LEAD - At Ford Systems Integration
Center, I was a key contributor in a large Global Roll out of NetWare 3.x and 4.x,
my responsibilities included Level III support, Version Control, Automated
Disaster Recovery, NetWare printing, and Global 3.x to 4.x migration planning.
I wrote a Disaster recover program with Palindrome, that would allow
"anyone" to rebuild a failed Netware server with only a floppy disk,
and a tape drive. We also adapted this same process to allow for the rapid
deployment of Netware servers in the field. I'm still occasionally asked if I
would be interested in hiring with both Ford and Novell from my contacts there.
I also attained my Novell Master CNE (Infrastructure Specialist) certification,
while working at Ford. This was a great learning environment, with the best and
brightest from both Novell and Microsoft were doing everything they could to make
certain that we had all the tools are resource necessary for a global office
automation program. We were beta testing code, and working side by side with
these engineers, debugging and modifying code. We had the worlds largest
Netware deployment (at the time) and as a result encountered many unique
issues.
9/1991 - 5/1994 NOHR AND ASSOCIATES (NOW CALLED ASTON) ANN ARBOR MI
TECH LEAD / NETWORK MANAGER - As the network
and technical specialist for Nohr & Associates, I was responsible for all
aspects of network installations and support. My skills also encompass EDI
systems, Bar Code readers, Program development, Voice Mail Systems, Accounting
systems installation and training, Classroom training and Course development.
Some of our customers included Cottage Inn, Ho-Lee Chow, A&W, and Unique
restaurants. I recently hired Aston Group to assist in our accounting system
deployment, where it was indicated that if I ever wished to go back into the
consulting business that I should look them up.
Paul W. Downing
2683 Wareing Dr, Lake Orion, MI 48360 (248) 393-1330 paul@pauldowning.com,
www.pauldowning.com
11/1987 - 9/1991 ONE SOURCE COMPUTERS BRIGHTON,
MI
OWNER - As an owner of One Source Computers
(a retail computer store), I was chief cook and bottle washer! I sold and
installed PC's, networks, and accounting systems. I also had first hand
experience in the daily management and running of a small business, and all of
the "fun" associated with that experience.I learned valuable lessons
on why you should not go into business with people you barely know, and that
getting everything in writing is very important. But, it was an important
experience where I learned the hard way about merchandising, advertising,
stocking levels, etc.
2/1987 - 1/1989 ACCURATE DATA SYSTEM SOUTHFIELD,
MI
PROGRAMMER - I was the manager supervising
all of the U.S. PC installations for Accurate Data Systems. Other
responsibilities included a programmer of accounting software, Midwestern U.S.
network installations and training, and Technical consulting. I left Accurate
Data to expand my growing business of selling computers from my home into a
full time operation. This was an interesting "Family Run" company
that created inventory and accounting systems used by petroleum distributors.
One tip I learned on the job is that at many Gas stations Mid Grade and Economy
are the exact same product coming from the exact same tank. They are just
labeled differently. Another interesting item (to me anyway) is that this is where
I met my wife, from a blind date with the office receptionist's daughter's best
friend.
12/1984 - 1/1987 BITS COMPUTERS MILFORD,
MI
PROGRAMMER - While at BITS Computers, I was
head programmer responsible for re-writing a complete accounting system and customer
support. I also worked with simple CPM / MPM LANs, and provided hardware repair
in the field and office as needed. This system is still in use today at several
lumber yards and hardware stores. It was interesting how I came to work for
BITS. When I was younger, I purchased a Commodore 64, however, because there
were no games for it I started to write my own video games. I showed a few of
them a local computer store, and years later one of the programmers remembered
me, and my software skills, and offered me a job.
1/1980 - 1/1985 VARIOUS SCHOOL DISTRICTS MI
ADULT ED INSTRUCTOR - Brighton, Hartland, South Lyon, Huron Valley. Although I was a high school student, I was also an Adult Education Instructor for the above school districts. I taught computer basics, Spread Sheets, Data Base Management, Word Processing, and Programming in BASIC, Pascal, and other languages. When there was a substitute teacher in high school computer class, they called me out of my classes for the day to instruct the computer classes.