kevin_shupenia@msn.com | 678-488-6995

INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY, PROJECT MANAGEMENT & OPERATIONS EXECUTIVE

Operations expertise, strategic analysis skills, and financial acumen distinguish this results-focused senior executive.  I have over 25 years leadership experience in Operations, Finance, Human Resources, and Information Technology. Initiated new revenue streams resulting in explosive growth and profitability and built recognized industry presence. Forged face-to-face relationships and negotiated multi-million-dollar contracts with enterprise customers, vendors, and labor including unions. Solid international experience.

KEY COMPETENCIES

• P&L Management (5-100 million)
• Continuous Improvement Methodologies
• Strategic Technology Planning and Growth
• Program & Project Management
• Product and Brand Development
• Competitive Analysis and Product Positioning
• Workflow, Productivity and Performance Optimization
• Staff Development
• Budgeting, Planning, Forecasting
• Vendor Relations

CAREER HISTORY

SAFARI Montage                                                                                                                   1/2016–current

Solutions Consultant/Sr. Project Manager

Onsite project manager for SAFARI Montage at one of the largest districts in the country

• Successful SaaS Cloud Migration (Azure) – completed migration of 100-unit physical server farm.
• Promoted usage from over 1 million plays a year to over 1 million plays a month during COVID
• Managed over 100 servers, 1.5M of hardware to serve a library of educational resources and videos to over 200,000 users (teachers and students)
• Maintained 99.9%+ uptime and managed the upgrade cycle to minimize downtown
• Worked with 3^rd party vendors on complex integrations to the SAFARI platform using 1Edtech standards and protocols.
• Managed client relations and was the onsite technical expert representing vendor
• Technical product trainer – orientating all newly hired staff to the technical side of the product and key client training.

Virtual Village Classrooms                                                                             2/2013–11/2015

Vice President / Executive Coach

Contracted to provide strategic and operational consulting services for educational publishing start-up firm.

• Expanded product offerings by leveraging existing publishing strengths.
• Coached new entrepreneur CEO & COO on HR, Legal, IT, and strategic issues.
• Designed and managed marketing and sales programs, tradeshows, web and print advertising.
• Initiated, recruited, and managed an outbound telemarketing program.
• Managed all IT, including technical aspects of website, web design, and mobile app design.

Educational Resources                                                                                                        6/2012–12/2012

Vice President / Executive Coach

Contracted as strategic services consultant for an educational tablet start-up firm (6-month contract).

• Built $12M sales pipe in under 6 months.
• Drove design of the product solution.
• Researched and identified solution partners, resulting in acquisition of UK-based company.
• Initiated first sales and presented to large customers at the Superintendent and C-level.
• Personally initiated international relationships, on-site negotiations in US, Mexico, South America.
• Designed infrastructure, drafted contracts. Recruited, hired, and trained primary staff members.

Logical Choice Technologies Inc                                                                                     4/2000 – 5/2012

Chief Operating Officer/Project Management                                                               

Managed operations, installation service, corporate strategy, bid team/RFP response, project management, information systems and legal: over 170 direct/indirect reports of 250 employees.

• Managed company expansion from 40 staff/ $14M revenue to over 250 staff/ $98M revenue.
• Managed projects and relationships on-site with largest key customers; many simultaneous projects ranging from $2M-30M. Managed project teams of up to 100 employees and contractors. Client liaison and ultimate project issue resolution decision maker.
• Identified and capitalized on new growth opportunities. Through market analysis, brand development expertise and business acumen, developed and implemented strategies that increased product awareness, market share and profitability. Expedited processes and developed patented technical solutions to facilitate government-approved installation of our product.
• Final signature authority. Negotiated responses with vendors and final contracts with end customers. Developed custom agreements and solutions, established and negotiated service level agreements (SLA) and pricing strategies for all large projects, RFPs, and contracts.
• Reviewed all legal contracts including business contracts, vendor contracts, and customer contracts.
• Recruited, trained, and established a highly productive and committed bids team. Grew responses from 20-30 per year to 120 per year in 2010 and over 200 responses in 2012.
• Managed fleet operations (110+ vehicles). Negotiations, selection, fleet purchases and managed fleet maintenance contracts. Initiated GPS tracking of all fleet vehicles for safety and accountability.
• Managed OEM product negotiations/design/manufacturing/production process of two major product lines.
• Initiated and implemented migration to new sales structure in preparation for automation efforts.
• Led process review of the accounting and sales order systems (SAP) which resulted in a redesign.
• Analyzed, reviewed, and revised Logistical Deployment department to capitalize on economies and improve workflow. Assisted in cost reduction analysis to maximize return on fixed-price process.
• Initiated, implemented, and managed purchasing web portal for online Business-to-Business, Business-to-Education and Business-to-Government engagement strategy.

KPMG Canada .                                                                                                           1990–1999

Director of Information Technology – West Region

Managed West Region technology requirements in an advanced technological environment. Reported directly to the KPMG Canada Chief Information Officer. Negotiated with senior executives and partners to recommend, design, and implement technical solutions to business needs.

• Managed an operational budget of $4.3 million per year.
• Hired, coached, evaluated, and supervised 19 employees in Research and Development, Implementation, Project Management and End User Support.
• Delivered business plans and budgets. Member of the Strategic and Operations Committee and the Emerging Technologies Committee.

KS Computers                                                                                                                                                                                                                         1985 – 1990

Founder

Successfully started and operated a computer sales and repair company as a full-time university student.   Grossed over $250K/year in 1985 ($750K in 2024 dollars) formulating and selling IT solutions from a home-based business while studying full time.

EDUCATION / AFFILIATIONS

Gazelles: For ten years, learned from the best in every industry by attending quarterly, 2-day small group seminars with speakers including Tom Peters, Jack Stack, Jim Collins, Geoff Smart and other Fortune 500 senior executives.

• KPMG Master of Business Dynamics
• KPMG Performance Management Program
• KPMG Manager Training
• Six Sigma Black Belt
• University of Alberta                coursework in Economics/Business  

VOLUNTEERING ACTIVITES

• English Foxhound Club of America – President                                           1/2020 – current
• Harrier Club of America – Board of Directors (East USA)                           1/2015 – current