|
| |
Ben Couzens - IT/IS
Project Manager
Download
Ben Couzens' IT/IS Project Manager CV in Microsoft Word.doc format
See Ben Couzens'
"Peer Reviewed" CV on LinkedIn.com
An IT Project
Manager with outstanding success in Europe, Eastern Europe, Asia, USA and Middle East in turnaround,
start-up, international business creation, professional services, technical
and IT innovation, offshoring, and building world-class teams. Industries
include Oil and Gas, ERP, IT, Software, Financial Services, Consultancy, Manufacturing, Engineering
and Telecom.
Combining
innovative Business Acumen with Technical Flair has driven my outstanding
success in Management, Professional Services, Project Management, Consultancy,
IT, ERP, SAP, Financial Services, Banking, Engineering, Manufacturing, Oil and
Energy working in Europe, Eastern Europe, Russia, Kazakhstan, USA, India,
Philippines and UAE. I particularly enjoy building and leading international
teams ranging from a few to a few hundred but am equally comfortable working
alone.
-
PRINCE2 Certified Advanced Project Manager
- Project Management -
design develop implement support - major IT projects, oil and gas IT consultancy, financial services
software, major ERP projects
- Program Management - complex
international systems implementations, including projects with global scale
- Professional Services & Consulting - Partner Deloitte,
recruited and trained 100 IT/IS consultants, Senior Manager Coopers & Lybrand,
freelance consultant
- IT - Information Technology
- 25
years experience ranging from "hands-on" IT, to IT team management, to directing an
IT/IS staff of 300+
- IS - Business Information
Systems - business systems developer, bespoke software, packaged software, ERP, SAP
- ERP - Enterprise Resource
Planning - SAP - implement, support, sell $70m consulting fees in 7 years, directing
team of 100 SAP implementers
- IS - Engineering Information
Systems - finite element software developer, leading-edge 3D graphics
developer, automated design engineering systems
- Team Management -
multiple successes in recruiting, building, training, mentoring, project
managing IT teams ranging from a few to a few hundred
- Engagement
Management - Communication - expert in communicating and
keeping all parties fully informed and engaged while containing any excess
expectations
- Budget Resource Management
- expert in the use of appropriate processes and tools to ensure on-time
on-budget project delivery
- Client Management - 25
years of successful client management, growing
relationships of trust at CxO and all levels, successfully generating follow-on business
- Contract Negotiation -
extensive experience in negotiating successful profitable contracts in all circumstances
ranging from friendly to adversarial
- Presentation -
exceptional written, public speaking and presentation skills
- Manufacturing - management,
machine design, design develop implement bespoke software automated manufacturing
- Structural Engineer - military,
transport, bridges, finite element analysis, theatres,48 storey
building, prisons, hospitals, housing, roof structures
- Civil Engineer - Petrochemical
plants, power generation, bridges, railway, motorways, aviation,
military. Chartered Civil Engineer
- Oil and Gas Facilities -
Petrochemical plants, oil fired power stations
- Oil and Gas Upstream -
subsurface integrated studies with large digital models, project management, consultancy sales, resourcing
- Nuclear Power - IT strategy
- Engineering Design Software -
design, develop, implement, support, sell - won and directed outsourced
software maintenance for Ministry of Transport
- Retail Banking Software -
design, develop, implement, support, sell banking enterprise software
systems in 400 banks worldwide
- Financial Consultant - certified
as Financial Consultant by SAP Berlin, Senior Manager Coopers & Lybrand,
Partner Deloitte
Work experience includes UK, USA, France,
Germany, Switzerland, Sweden, Norway, Denmark, Latvia, Lithuanian, Estonia, Poland,
Czech Republic, Hungary, Slovenia, Slovakia, Croatia, Macedonia, Serbia, Romania,
Russia, Kazakhstan, Qatar, Abu Dhabi, Dubai, Sharjah, India, Philippines
2008 March to 2010
July
Knowledge Reservoir Project Management Oil and Gas Digital Modelling Consultancy
Services and Sales Europe,
Africa, Middle East
-
Project Managed large digital model integrated
oil
field development studies including Geology, Geophysics, Reservoir
Engineering, Simulation, Modelling
-
Successfully rescued Project
Management of £multi-million field development computer modelling project which was in
trouble with unhappy client and uncontrolled expenditure
-
Took over accounts and territories
from several departing colleagues
-
Built relationships with global oil
companies including Afren,
Anadarko, Apache, BG, BHP, Centrica, Chariot, CNR, ENI, Enquest,
Fairfield, Falkland, Firstoil,
GDF, Hess, JKX, Maersk, Marathon, MND, Nippon, OMV, Petro-Canada, Petrom,
Pioneer, Premier, Serica, Shell, Silverstone, Sterling, Talisman,
Venture,
Xcite, Crescent Petroleum, Dubai Petroleum, ADNOC, ADCO, ADMA, ZADCO, ADOC, Total, Oxy, Qatar
Petroleum, RAK, KOC, Kuwait Energy
-
Achieved pre-qualification
registration with ADNOC Group.
-
Established UAE market presence
including Abu Dhabi, Dubai, Sharjah, Qatar
-
Sold and contracted €multi-million
global consultancy agreement with OMV
-
Formal
reference available on
request
2004 to
now
Independent Consultant
-
Consultancy in Prague, Paris and London included interim strategic
IT/IS consultancy to global leaders of world brand Tobacco Company
BAT
and strategic IT/IS consultancy to global leaders of
Areva world-leading Nuclear Energy
company, in English and French.
-
Benchmarking IT functions to global
financial best practice standards
2003 to 2004
Misys International Banking Financial Services Software T/o £1bn
Global Product Services Director
Selected
to Program Manage and direct 300 IT consultants worldwide developing and supporting financial software
and to
introduce and implement wide ranging change
- Program managed 300+ IT/IS consultants designing,
developing, implementing and supporting enterprise software suites in 400
banks worldwide
- Reversed collapsing
global blue-chip Customer Satisfaction rating from “very dissatisfied”
to “very satisfied” within first six months
- Introduced
ITIL IT Service Management
- Initiated, championed
and directed rationalisation of offshore software development in Philippines and
India increasing capacity, improving quality and reducing cost
- Instigated and directed
convergence of leading financial software packages building continued
market leadership into the next generation of products
1996 to 2003
Deloitte & Touche Global
Auditing and Consulting T/o $12bn
Partner in charge SAP ERP IT in 17 countries
Selected
to develop ERP IT Consultancy in Czech Republic and Program Manage a Portfolio
of International Projects
- Reviewed staff and
business unit, transforming strategic direction and driving revenue from
$100,000 p.a. to $3m p.a. within 12 months
- Achieved recognition of
global quality, enabling the business unit to join European consultant
sharing policy, generating additional $6m pa fees
- Established Board Level
relationships, personally selling ERP software implementation projects up to $23m
- As Engagement Partner directed Project Management
of complex international systems implementations with lead responsibility
for all client interactions
- Directed multiple concurrent Project Managers of
international projects
- Devised and implemented
international recruitment policy, recruiting, training and deploying 100
ERP IT consultants from 14 nationalities throughout the region
- Commissioned publicity
video in which clients generously praise the quality of the team and
project management and delivery
- Clients included Telecom, Mobile Telecom,
Automotive, Beverage
- Oil company clients included MOL
Budapest and INA Industrija Nafte Zagreb
- Appointed to devise and
lead strategy to develop and consolidate internal and vendor relationships
throughout Europe, Middle East and Africa
- Championed SAP global
business development strategy during holding company separation, whilst
integrating Andersen Business Consulting teams
- Successfully
implemented these combined strategies, achieving consultancy fee revenue of $11m pa within
15 months, totalling $70m in 7 years at 30% profitability
1995-1996
Coopers & Lybrand
Global Auditing and Consulting T/o $8bn
SAP Consultancy Service Leader
Invited
to establish SAP ERP IT Consultancy in Czech Republic
- Performed strategic
review, developed and won approval for business plan, achieving $1m
revenue sold, managed and delivered within 12 months
- Project Managed a Portfolio of IT and Management
Consultancy Projects
- Initiated Central
European cooperation enabling unified market approach
- Clients included Telecom, Electricity, Gas,
Retail, Automotive, Financial Services
1995
SAP R/3 Academy,
SAP Berlin Germany
Residential training in the SAP R/3 Academy in SAP Berlin Germany. SAP
certified by examinations as SAP Financial Consultant.
1993-1995
PE International
Consulting T/o $300m
Project Director - IT/IS
- Developed
and presented bid, winning and delivering $2m+ IT/IS project to create National
Market Information System in Romania
- Recruited and directed team of 20 IT/IS consultants, and
created local office and company presence in Bucharest
- Selected and contracted local software companies
and established post-project system longevity
- Collaborated with
telecom and data services to connect 200 markets
1992
– 1993 Warwick
University. MBA Master of Business
Administration
1986 – 1992 Bowater
Global Manufacturing T/o $3bn
European Development Director CTO/CIO
MiTek Inc T/o $150m
Approached to turnaround the company
- Unified disparate hostile competitive software development teams in
Birmingham, Paris, Frankfurt, Munich, Zurich and Orebro into single united European
team
- Reviewed strategic
position, proposed business transformation, piloting new technology and
winning board approval for fast track implementation
- Successfully returned
the company to premier international competitive position, initiating and
implementing fundamental changes in 300 customers
- Designed and commissioned hardware accelerators
used by 300 customers, providing them with a tenfold increase in
productivity
- Designed and commissioned innovative time license
hardware to lock proprietary software
- Designed and implemented automated machine tool
control systems
- Designed and implemented radical software
innovation providing significant competitive advantages
- Directed pan-European
teams of software and manufacturing technology developers, achieving sales
of $45m pa sales within 2 years
- Implemented
acquisitions in Europe and the USA, including integrating operations of
$150m pa global competitor
- Negotiated directly with Monopolies Commission and
managed resulting UK only divestment, while successfully concluding global
merger
1985 – 1986 Skanska
Engineering Company T/o $17bn
Technology Director CTO/CIO DATECH
Approached to create new IT software
company
- Built new business
achieving profit with £1m software sales within first 12 months, building
foundations for £10m sales in subsequent years
- Delivered training and consultancy in advanced technical software such as
Electronics, Chemical Engineering, Petrochemicals, Finite Element Analysis, CAD
1982 – 1985 M H Anderson Consultants
$500m Technical Consultancy
Head of IT & Software
Development
- Promoted to lead a team
of 20+ analyst programmers designing developing testing implementing
supporting engineering software and financial software.
- Project Managed design implementation and support
of multiple concurrent technical and business software suites
- Sold and managed software outsourcing contracts for the Department of
Transport, including a helpdesk and nationwide support.
- Designed, coded, implemented and supported
advanced finite element analysis software and 3D graphics, including
"bleeding edge" redesign of Severn Bridge and initial design of Channel
Tunnel
- Designed, coded, implemented and supported
innovative new engineering design software
- Managed the design, development, implementation
and management of business systems, timesheet systems, billing systems
1981 – 1982 Harris & Sutherland Consultants
$70m Engineering Consultancy
Senior Engineer
(also seconded ‘78–‘79)
- Project Managed small and large design teams for
military and civil projects,
bridges, finite element analysis, theatres,48 storey building, prisons,
hospitals, housing, roof structures
- Designed programmed and implemented
software for seismic building design
1975 – 1981 John Laing
($1bn Engineering
Company)
Project Engineer (UK and
Poland)
- Managed projects in petrochemical
plants, power generation and transportation, including Project
Manager/Project Engineer in charge
motorway bridges M63 and M25.
1975 British
Antarctic Survey
-
Selected and employed as geophysical
surveyor by British Antarctic Survey.
Polar expedition 18 months at South Pole cancelled by Government funding
cuts
1974 Geoscience
Consulting
-
Gravimetric field survey for hydrocarbon exploration
Qualifications
1971-1975 MA Engineering
Cambridge University
1992-1993 MBA Master of
Business Administration
Warwick University
1980 Chartered
European Engineer. Chartered Civil Engineer
Special Commendation for
Excellence from Institution of Civil Engineers
1990
Chartered IT Professional MBCS CITP Member of the
British Computer Society
1996 Certified
Financial Consultant
SAP Academy Berlin
2006 PRINCE2
Certified Advanced Project Manager
2007 Non-Executive
Director
Cranfield University
(Residential Training)
Languages
French
- business, Polish, Romanian, Czech - useful
Personal
British. Married,
3 children. Willing to relocate. Enjoy
travel.
Currently location provides
easy travel to Heathrow, London, Bracknell and Reading by train and motorway.
“Ben is the best boss I ever had.”
Attila Feher, Senior ABAP developer, reported to Ben at
Deloitte & Touche
“Ben
is a bright, energetic, client focused, "can do" professional. He recruited
then mentored and grew a body of professionals into a seasoned team of
professionals, who shared his vision and unwavering passion to quality and
client service. I had the pleasure of having him as my colleague and seeing,
"up close", his single-minded focus on client service and quality.”
Azam Sher. managed Ben indirectly at Deloitte & Touche
“Ben
was responsible for our implementation of SAP - the most comprehensive in
CEE - including a total BPR. He is a great guy to work with and very
professional. Due to his skills we managed to succeed. My best
recommendations!” Dennis
Thaagaard was Ben's client
“Ben
stood out as an exceptionally visionary and energetic leader, rapidly
growing his SAP consulting practice into the largest and most profitable
service line in our region. At the same time Ben demonstrated tremendous
"people skills", generating enthusiasm wherever he went and gaining the
support and respect of clients, colleagues and staff alike.” Steve Knabe worked directly with Ben at Deloitte & Touche
"I was impressed by Ben's
capability to build successful consulting business from zero to multi million
business. He had vision and made it into a reality.”
Egils Simanovskis, SAP Senior Consultant
reported to Ben at Deloitte & Touche
“Some
people understand technology, fewer understand technology and have the
skills to deliver, rare are the individuals who combine the two with a deep
understanding of business issues. Ben utilises this valuable combination of
skills to great effect. Together we developed a business plan for SAP
services, Ben made sure he delivered...” Mats Beem managed Ben at Coopers & Lybrand
"Ben Couzens is a brilliant man. He has
the ability to grasp incredibly complex systems-related
issues, and to connect powerfully with human beings in
meaningful ways -- a person who is a rare combination of
technically gifted and interpersonally skilled.”
Lenann McGookey Gardner, President, Lenann McGookey
Gardner Management Consulting, Inc.
“Ben was my boss for almost 6 years at
Deloitte&Touche. Ben was a exceptionally great manager and
excellent leader. He inspired us all to do our best and earned
our respect almost immediately with his depth of knowledge,
experience and patience. Always able to motivate people and
lead them to success.”
Frantisek Honsa, Manager for SAP, Deloitte & Touche
reported to Ben at Deloitte & Touche
“I worked under Ben at Deloitte in
Prague and found him an excellent manager with an enviable
understanding of the Central and Eastern European business
environment.”
Dan Taylor, Senior Management Consultant, Deloitte Central
Europe, Prague, Deloitte & Touche reported to Ben at Deloitte
& Touche
“I was impressed by Ben's capability to
build successful consulting business from zero to multi
million business. He had vision and made it into a reality.”
Egils Simanovskis, SAP Senior Consultant, Deloitte
reported to Ben at Deloitte & Touche
“I fully subscribe to my Deloitte former
colleagues comments on the Internet, with Mr. Couzens I had
the best and happiest time in my entire professional life. We
regretted very much his departure from DTCE because without
him good projects became scarce.”
Cristina Chiriac, SAP Senior Consultant, Deloitte reported
to Ben at Deloitte & Touche
Click
here for 
I enjoy
my family, socialising, sailing,
cycling, rambling, opera, travelling and experiencing new national cultures.
I am a violinist in Reading Symphony
Orchestra, I am the
Cambridge
University and Daily Telegraph expat
mentor for Prague
|
Wokingham Bracknell
Reading England
Ben@Couzens.org
|
Cerny
Vul Prague
Czech Republic
+44 784 135 3860
|
I
am looking for a new opportunity to fully utilise the skills I have developed
over many years of successfully creating profitable new international
businesses, utilising a wide range of technologies, IT and knowledge and
experience of many industries.
I
believe that I am particularly effective in roles that combine several of the
following:
-
building teams in offshore locations such as Eastern Europe,
Philippines, India, Middle East
- designing
and implementing offshore development strategies
- a
business role with a high level of technical content, such as IT, IS, telecom,
engineering, Oil and Gas or manufacturing
- directing
software implementation or bespoke development
- driving
business strategy by the enhanced use of technology
- an
international dimension in either a global or regional role
- creating
business growth or geographic expansion
The
next opportunity could be either strategic or operational, in either industry
or consulting. A key strength is
my ability to combine profit focused business growth with technology and
international operations.
I
thrive in challenging environments and derive great satisfaction from the
excellent relationships of trust and friendship I build both with my clients
and staff. I particularly enjoy
identifying strategic business opportunities, designing and championing a
business plan, and then driving change to achieve rapid business success.
Yours
faithfully,
B C Couzens
Ben
Couzens
|
