Frank J. Skowron is an energetic business executive that brings a unique perspective to project/program management, performance excellence and improvements, business process reengineering, lean six sigma, technology and organizational change.  Through his hands-on experience and skills, he is a results-oriented individual who is constantly striving to create value-added business change through performance excellence. 

CAREER OBJECTIVE

To make a significant difference in an organization through achieving business performance excellence.

SUMMARY OF EXPERIENCE AND ACHIEVEMENTS

Ø  Holds BS and MBA degrees, as well is a CPA.

Ø  Certified Project Manager (CSC/PMI-Babson Executive College)

Ø  Certified Program Manager (CSC/PMI-Babson Executive College)

Ø  Selected to the prestige Board of Examiners for the Baldrige National Quality Awards Program.  This program is sponsored by the Department of Commerce, National Institute of Standards and Technology; and the President of the United States presents the award annually. 

1.       Selected as a Alumni Examiner and Team Leader, which there are only 10 Alumi Examiners (out of 500 examiners) selected by the US Department of Commerce across the country. 

2.      Selected as Performance Excellence State Judge for the Pennsylvania Baldrige Program, Keystone Alliance for Performance Excellence (KAPE). 

3.      Selected as Performance Excellence Senior State Examiner for the California Council of Excellence.

Ø  In 1999, founded Pittsburgh Solutions, a research and advisory management consultancy.  Prior to Pittsburgh Solutions, Mr. Skowron has held many executive management positions in consulting firms. 

1.       Executive Vice President of Claremont, Managing Vice President of CBSI (both divisions of CSC), whose achievements included:

§  Accountable for P&L responsibilities for over half of US territory and international division which generated over $50M (125% of goal) out of a total of $80M of revenue for the entire division

§  Successfully expanded office to over 500 consultants (125% of goal) out of a total 800 consultants â�“ accountable for utilization, recruitment, professional development, negotiate compensation & merit increases and delivery

§  Successfully exceeded all sales & marketing activities goals to insure strong sales pipeline (125% of goal) for all years

§  Received excellent customer satisfaction ratings as client engagement manager for almost a hundred projects to insure projects are providing the solution as intended, expand project presence in client environment and to provide add-on work for consultants

§  Successfully integrated entire supply chain of operations from strategy development & execution to  marketing to sales to consultant delivery to client management

2.       Director of Operations (Partner-in-Charge) at CSC, whose achievements included:

§  Accountable for P&L responsibilities for 5 regional offices, generating over $27M (110% of  goal) in revenue

§  Successfully expanded office to over 300 consultants (110% of goal) â�“ accountable for utilization, recruitment, professional development, negotiate compensation & merit increases and delivery

§  Successfully facilitate development of each officeâ�™s strategy and deployment of goals for all years

§  Successfully exceeded all sales & marketing activities goals to insure strong sales pipeline (110% of  goal) for all years

§  Received excellent customer satisfaction ratings as client engagement manager for over a hundred projects to insure projects are providing the solution as intended, expand project presence in client environment and to provide add-on work for consultants

§  Successfully integrated entire supply chain of operations from strategy development & execution to  marketing to sales to consultant delivery to client management

3.       Held senior management positions at two Big 4 Accounting firms, Deloitte Consulting, and PriceWaterhouseCoopers. 

4.       Acting CIO for Golden Books Family Entertainment, acting CFO & COO for SimMedical, subsidiary of UPMC (University of Pittsburgh Medical Center), & SureLogic, Java software testing startup.

§  Successfully transitioned 600 person IT staff from organization to outsourcing firm within 6 month period to exceed goal by 50%

§  Successfully managed operation funding for two organizations in start-up mode over multiple years

§  Successfully obtained clients, recruited personnel and implemented enterprise-wide management process systems for two start-up operations to exceed goal by 50%

Ø  Adjunct Professor for Duquesne University teaching Baldrige Criteria and Process Improvements in its Graduate MBA Leadership Program, University of Phoenix online program teaching in its Graduate Business Administration Management (MBA) program teaching Baldrige, Strategy Development & Execution, Lean Six Sigma, Project/Program Management and eCommerce; as well as an Adjunct Professor teaching Project Management and Lean Six Sigma at Pennsylvania State University.  Routinely provide guest lecturers to Carnegie Mellon University and Robert Morris University. 

1.       Adjunct professor for online and traditional modality for over 20 years

2.       Achieved highest ranking consistently for over 6 years

Ø  Mr. Skowron is on the Board of Directors for the Pittsburgh Business Development Alliance, CEO Forum of Pittsburgh and Center for Organizational Success. 

1.       Active participation in Pittsburgh Technology Council, Association of Corporate Growth, Small Manufacturers Council, National Association of Manufacturers, Northern Allegheny Chamber of Commerce, CMP Technology Advisory Panel, META Group Technology Research Forum, B2B Networking and the CEO Club of Pittsburgh.  In the CEO Club, Frank chairs the Programming and Events Committee and Membership Committee.  He has been selected as the CEO of the Month for April and May last year.  Frank has been elected to the Strathmoreâ�™s WHOâ�™S Who for demonstration of leadership and achievements. 

Ø  Certified Front-line Leadership (Zinger-Miller)

Ø  Certified Solutions Selling (CSC)

Ø  Certified Facilitator (CSC/PMI-Babson Executive College)

Ø  Certified Facilitator of the One Page Strategy Plan (Verne Harnish, the Growth Guru, founder of Gazelles and writer for Fortune magazine)

AREAS OF SPECIALIZATION

·         IT Project Management/Program Management

·         Performance Improvement â�“ Business Excellence

·         Baldrige

·         Lean Six Sigma

·         Workshop Facilitation

·         Change Management

·         Business Case Development

·         Business Process Design & Improvement

·         Business Process Reengineering

INDUSTRIES:

·         Health Care

·         Advanced Technology

·         Public Sector

·         Higher Education

·         Distribution

·         Manufacturing

·         Telecommunication

·         Professional Services

ACADEMIC BACKGROUND

M.B.A.                 Robert Morris University, 1982

B.S.                       Accounting & Electrical Engineering

                                Pennsylvania State University, 1974

CPA                       Pennsylvania, 1976

Publications

�Are Pittsburgh Businesses Backward, Stupid, Behind the Times or What?�, Pittsburgh Business Times

�Is Western Pennsylvania Conservative or Pragmatic�, Pittsburgh Business Times

�With All These Issues to Deal With, Where Do I Start?�, Pittsburgh Business Times

�Are you Ready for the Economic Upturn�, Information Week

�Are you Ready for HIPAA�, Information Week

�IT Leaning Tower of Piza�, Pittsburgh Solutions, PMO Practice

�HIPAA, SHIMIPAA- What�s the Big Deal�, Pittsburgh Solutions, Medical Practice

�Why develop a PMO (Project Management Office)?�, Pittsburgh Solutions, PMO Practice

�IT Integration is the Secret Sauce in Mergers & Acquistion�, Pittsburgh Solutions, Financial Services Practice

�Is Integrity for CEOs different today than in the past�?, Pittsburgh Solutions, CEO Practice

�The X�s and O�s of CRM�, Pittsburgh Solutions, CRM Practice, CrossRoads Development Conference

CAREER CHRONOLOGICAL DETAILS AND ACHIEVEMENTS

1999 - Present - Pittsburgh Solutions - Founder - CEO/President - Management Consulting specializing in Project/Program Management, Continuous Process Improvement (Baldrige), Business Process Reengineering, Facilitation and Change management.

• Successfully secured over 50 clients in the past 10 years
• Achieved a 99% repeat business success rate
• Achieved a continuous growth rate of 15% per year
• Successfully completed over 100 projects
• Achieved an excellent rating from annual Customer Satisfaction Survey over the last 10 years

                                                     

Project/Program Management,  Continuous Performance Improvement (Baldrige), Business Process Reengineering/Redesign, Business Process Facilitation and Lean Six Sigma

Developed a PMBOK compliant project plan delineating the resources, work effort, costs and related dependencies for UPMC, a 24 hospital health system. Develop the project charter and developed the methodology for developing the product and services using CMM-II for UPMC's subsidiary company, SimMedical.  Provided legal business leadership for all contracts.  Created and implemented a corporate governance infrastructure for the commercialization of the products and services of SimMedical.  Developed and initiated the use of standard checklists and storyboarding for simulation medicine scenarios and classroom configurations.  Assisted in the requirements definition, software architecture and upgrade of the Simulation Information Management System and the future state requirements for the simulation medicine Facility Management System.

Managed a strategic information systems plan that included process redesign for a mid-size regional bank.  This plan assessed the current business and technical environment.  Then crafted a vision and strategy and process maps so the technical architectural blueprint will support the future business processes.  It concluded by developing an implementation plan for the bank over a 5-year horizon.  This plan provided savings of over $1M through elimination of unnecessary and redundant hardware and software.

Managed Continuous Process Improvement and Baldrige Assessment projects for various healthcare organizations including Medrad (medical imaging organization � Baldrige winner), UPMC (24 hospital healthcare system), SimMedical (medical software and training provider), Respironics (medical device company), Cerner (record management software provider), Indiana Regional Medical Center (regional healthcare system), St Clair Hospital (hospital), Wheeling Hospital (hospital) and Agnesian Healthcare (large healthcare system).  Provided clients with feedback reports which included organizations' strengths and opportunities for improvements.  Segmented these strengths and opportunities for improvements into action plans along with identification of use of Lean Six Sigma toolkits.  Then managed portions of the continuous process improvement implementations. 

Managed a business reengineering and process redesign financial systems project for a large regional bank.  Facilitated workshops to redesign the sales process in the Wholesale Banking unit.  By using a time boxed approach in a solution demonstration lab environment, redesigned account planning, pipeline, and call reporting and scorecard sub processes.  The redesign workshops eliminated over half of the value added activities, 75% of non-value added activities and defined user requirements.  The labs also introduced leading edge technology to enable and facilitate most of the sales process activities.  Designed and implemented new systems to assist and support the bank's relationship managers with their sales efforts (i.e. from 20% to 40%).  Introduced new automated ways to track progress using key performance measures.

Provided workshop facilitation to conduct business process engineering  �as is� and �to be� process maps for a vessel identification system to be used throughout the U.S. Coast Guard operations.  The application is used to identify stolen boats and drug related activities.  By using advanced facilitation techniques, within three days the entire 250 requirements were defined, confirmed, approved and documented.

Provided facilitation and coaching in a workshop session to define business process reengineering maps for a boarding and tracking system for the U.S. Coast Guard which a part of a $500M investment by them to aggressive apply technology to improve effectiveness and efficiency in their operations.  The boarding and tracking system process maps were defined and approved in 4 business days.  

Managed and facilitated an enterprise-wide business reengineering project with the senior leadership team of Westinghouse, a major nuclear power plant provider.  This project consolidated three independent business units into one cohesive unit.  The project was initiated through the world wide renewed interest resulted in nuclear power supply and too save the company over $500M through consolidation and restructuring of the organization.       

Contracted by the Wiser Institute for Simulation, Education, and Research (medical simulation training organization) to commercialize the simulation-based medical education and interdisciplinary training center using a Lean Six Sigma business model.  Employed value stream mapping techniques and exercises to construct the current state process and reach consensus on the viability of the future state of the business model. 

Initiated and completed the SimMedical, a UPMC subsidiary, business plan outlining the strategic and tactical business goals, objectives, and financial projections, product offerings with pricing strategies, and target markets of opportunity for the SimMedical Corporation. Applied a combined Toyota Production System/DMAIC (Lean/Six Sigma) methodology to reduce lead times, eliminate redundant work effort, circumvent excessive cycle times and effectively streamline the financial reporting, operational, legal, sales, and administrative processes.  Lead and conducted multiple Kaizen events to improve product development, inventory management and software development.  Lean improvements were deployed by Rapid Improvement Teams using weekly Kaizen sessions.  Participated in 5S + 1 improvement campaigns to refine medical instrument inventories, facilitator tools, simulator scheduling, and classroom design and setup.  Created a Lean toolkit of standard practices and templates for the legal, sales and administrative functions. 

Led a Lean, Baldrige and Six Sigma process redesign project for a Pittsburgh-based Health Care billing company, Penn Data Services, office functions.  The project involves resigning the corporation�s billing and collection business processes for new mandated HIPAA federal regulations.   Lean tools in this project included Value Stream Maps, 5S, Kaizen and Rapid Improvement Teams. 

Developed and conducted training on a �Lean Manufacturing Program� which combines classroom instruction, workshop simulations, and case studies in order to provide participants with the concepts, tools, and methodologies used in enterprise-wide Lean transformation for a major state university.  This program was conducted to executives and managers of local businesses as part of an outreach program by the University.  The primary areas of instruction include the following, Principles of Lean Manufacturing, Principles of Six Sigma, Team-Based Problem-Solving, Value Stream Management, Kaizen Event and DMAIC Methodologies and Supply Chain Transformation. 

Conducted training using the Baldrige/Lean/Six Sigma (BLSSM) methodology for the management team of BHTP, an IT outsourcing firm.  Lean training course included problem-based learning techniques including class room instructions, client specific, hands-on simulation exercises, related case studies, best practice studies, supplemental online lectures, etc.  Value Stream Maps were developed for the office functions in this organization.   This included the recruiting and human functions.

Conducted training using the Baldrige/Lean/Six Sigma (BLSSM) methodology for the management team of SureLogic, a Java-based testing software product company.  Lean training course included problem-based learning techniques including class room instructions, client specific, hands-on simulation exercises, related case studies, best practice studies, supplemental online lectures, etc.  Value Stream Maps were developed for the software development functions in this organization.   Rapid improvement teams were employed using weekly Kaizen techniques to improve performance in the software development process. 

Conducted training using the Baldrige/Lean/Six Sigma (BLSSM) methodology for the management team of White Board Partners, a recruiting firm.  Lean training course included problem-based learning techniques including class room instructions, client specific, hands-on simulation exercises, related case studies, best practice studies, supplemental online lectures, etc.  Value Stream Maps were developed for the critical office processes in this organization, which included the recruiting and human resource functions.  Rapid improvement teams were employed using weekly Kaizen techniques to improve performance in the recruiting process. 

Conducted training using the Baldrige/Lean/Six Sigma (BLSSM) methodology for the members of the CEO Forum of Pittsburgh, a non-profit organization which consist of over 80 CEOs.  Lean training course included problem-based learning techniques including class room instructions, client specific, hands-on simulation exercises, related case studies, best practice studies, supplemental online lectures, etc. 

Led the Value Stream Mapping project for the PORT Authority of Pittsburgh.  Value Stream Maps were developed for the electronic document system, travel reimbursement and human resource areas of the organizations.  A balanced scorecard was developed in each area as well.  Lean improvements were deployed by Rapid Improvement Teams using weekly Kaizen sessions and supplemented by just in time training sessions. 

Managed and led a redesign automation engagement for Blumcraft, a world-wide glass door manufacturer, warehouse and distributor.  This project used the Lean (Toyota Production System) methodology to reduce waste and improve production and warehousing flow.  The processes were segmented into Value-Added and Non-Value-Added activities using Value Stream Maps.  Baldrige Performance Framework was used as the criteria for performance excellence. Six Sigma was used for its statistic tools.  The Balanced scorecard was used to measure and report results to management. 

Managed a project for a driving education school, Safe Drive Technology, which uses a machine to simulation various driving conditions for students.  The Lean project involved facilitating various Kaizen workshops to design and redesign the business processes of the corporation using Value Stream Mapping.  Many Lean Six Sigma concepts were used in this project in the redesign of business processes including 5S +1, Visualization, Kaizen, Kanban and Value Stream Mapping.  The Balanced Scorecard involved developing customer service, innovation, operational efficiency and financial performance metrics for executive management to run the company profitable.

Led a Lean Six sigma project for a die cast marking company, Mecco, using statistical analysis and root cause analysis.  The project involved leading the company from a traditional die cast marking system to a fully automated marking process.  The Lean project involved the redesign of various business processes of the corporation including in the production, warehouse and distribution facilities using Value Stream Mapping techniques.  Baldrige Quality Program was used as the framework to assess the current operations of the company.  Many Lean Six Sigma concepts were used in this project in the redesign of the production, warehouse, distribution and office processes.  The Balanced Scorecard developed for executive management is now used to run the company to provide continuous improvement.

1990 - 1999 - CSC (Computer Sciences Corporation) - Vice President - Claremont Technologies/CBSI Division - P&L responsibilities for 1/2 of US territory and international group with over $50M in revenue and 515 consultants.  Director of Operations (Partner-in-Charge) - Systems Integration Division - P&L responsibilities for 5 regional offices with over $27M in revenue and 300 consultants.  Practice Leader - responsibilities include Management Consulting specializing in Project/Program Management, Business Process Reengineering, Facilitation and Change management.

• Successfully secured over 50 clients (150% of goal)
• Achieved over $50M worth of new and repeat business (125% of goal)
• Successfully recruited and lead over 500 professional consultants (125% of goal)
• Achieved a 90% repeat business success rate (highest rating over 7 regional offices)
• Achieved a continuous growth rate of 25% per year
• Successfully completed over 25 enterprise-wide projects
• Achieved an excellent rating from annual Customer Satisfaction Survey over the a 10 year period
• Promoted to the next level of management an average of every 2 years

Project/Program Management,  Continuous Performance Improvement (Baldrige), Business Process Reengineering/Redesign, Business Process Facilitation and Lean Six Sigma

Developed, managed and implemented a strategic information system plan for one of the largest and successful public utilities in the country.  This plan formally organized and laid the framework for all future hardware/software purchases and application development. The plan solidified the systems strategic plan with the firm�s corporate business direction.  This plan incorporated over $22M in savings over the first five years.  The plan was used as the framework for an enterprise-wide business reengineering effort.

Lead business reengineering workshop to provide process maps of current and redesign future business processes for a newly elected mayor of a major northeastern city. This project resulted in redefining the current non-integrated, convoluted processes into 16 core processes.  Produced 400% savings in time, cost and quality by converting the 351 major activities of the core processes into 81 streamlined processes.  Compressed the budget process in half (from 10 months to five) thus saving the city $1.2M in the first year.

Managed multiple solution demonstration labs for evaluating and selecting a financial software package for a major northeastern city.  The labs compressed the training efforts and facilitated a faster implementation schedule by almost 6 months.  

Led a Lean project for Mead Paper - Distribution and Warehouse Centers, which involved Lean, Baldrige Criteria for Performance Excellence, Six Sigma and Balanced Scorecard.  Lean techniques was used to eliminate waste in the production, distribution and warehousing processes, Baldrige was used to assess administrative performance, Six Sigma was used as a statistic tool and the Balanced Scorecard was used to measure results.   It was a modification of the Kaplan/Norton method.  5S+1, Kaizen, Lean metrics, Lean reporting, Problem-solving, Value Stream Mapping and Storyboarding were used in the planning and requirements stages of the project.  Cycle time, pitch, PQ analysis, takt time and standard work were used in the flow stage of the project.  Visual controls such as heijunka, jidoka, kanban and mistake proofing were used.

Managed a Lean project, which included providing guidance, management and used Value Stream Mapping for identifying all value vs. non-valued added activities of the city in the administrative, financial (Accounts Payable, Accounts Receivable, Fixed Assets, Purchasing, Budgeting, General Ledger, and Inventory), HR (Personnel, Benefits and Position Control) and Payroll processes.  The project involved development of contract strategy as well as contract negotiations with the software vendor (PeopleSoft) in behalf of the city.  In addition, developed a strategic information systems plan. This project provided a redesign of the entire financial business process.  This project resulted in redefining the current non-integrated, convoluted processes into 16 core processes.  Produced 400% savings in time, cost and quality by converting the 351 major activities of the core processes into 81 streamlined processes.  Compressed the budget process in half (from 10 months to five) thus saving the city $1.2M in the first year.

Led a Lean Six Sigma, Balanced Scorecard project for BMW, one of the largest foreign automotive dealers in the country.  The Lean and Six Sigma concepts were used along with Balanced Scorecard for the leasing organization of BMW.  The metrics focused on their own and competitor�s credit terms, leasing terms, national interest rates, etc.  This Balanced Scorecard was the result of a data mart project using advanced data mining.  The Six Sigma statistical tools and reporting tools were used along with Lean techniques such as Value Stream Management and Standard Work. 

Led a Lean, six sigma, balanced scorecard project for Nationwide, one of the largest insurance firms in the country.  The balanced scorecard was developed for executive management to track and report on vital metrics for the corporation.  The metric categories included customer satisfaction, competition, employee product knowledge, sales cycle, answer response times and financial indicators.  Lean techniques, such as Value Stream Mapping, were used to assist in eliminating waste in the office function processes before the Balanced Scorecard was developed.  Metrics were defined using Six Sigma as a statistical tool. 

1982 - 1990 - Deloitte - Senior Manager - responsibilities include Management Consulting specializing in Project/Program Management, Business Analysis & Process Mapping, Methodology, KPI Measurements Systems, Group Leadership Facilitation and Best Practices for large, complex organizations.

• Successfully secured over 20 clients (125% of goal)
• Consistently achieved over $3M worth of new and repeat business per year (125% of goal)
• Successfully recruited and lead over 400 professional consultants on a state level project
• Achieved a 90% repeat business success rate (highest rating in local office)
• Achieved a continuous growth rate of 15% per year
• Successfully completed over 10 enterprise-wide projects
• Achieved an excellent rating from annual Customer Satisfaction Survey over the a 9 year period
• Promoted to the next level of management every year

Project/Program Management

Managed a $242 M systems integration project for the State of Pennsylvania to implement a new public welfare program.  This project included systems definition, requirements, analysis, development and deployment for the entire state along with implementation of new hardware and operating software systems.  This project included over 400 programmers, analysts, project managers and support staff.  Provided weekly status meetings to the Governor of Pennsylvania and senior leader staff. 

Managed a $160 M systems integration project for the State of New Hampshire to implement a new public child support  program.  This project included systems definition, requirements, analysis, development and deployment for the entire state.  Provided weekly status meetings to the Governor of New Hampshire and Executive Steering Committee. 

1980 - 1982 - Price Waterhouse - Manager - responsibilities include Management Consulting specializing in Project/Program Management for Fortune 500 clientele. 

• Successfully secured 3 clients (125% of goal)
• Consistently achieved over $1M worth of new business per year (135% of goal)
• Successfully recruited and lead over 50 professional consultants
• Successfully completed 3 complex projects
• Achieved an excellent/very good rating from annual Customer Satisfaction Survey over the a 2 year period
• Promoted to the next level of management every year

Project/Program Management

Designed, developed and project managed a bar coding identification system for steel tube manufacturer.  The effort involved a process redesign of the business processes and related activities of the manufacturer.  This improved operational efficiency in the raw material, work-in-process and finished goods areas of two plants.  The system assisted management in tracking and controlling the movement of material throughout the plant, eliminated unnecessary inventory levels, and reduced delays in the production scheduling of products.

Provided project management for a $6M project that consolidated and integrated 3 separate chemical companies.  The system provided the integration of accounting, finance, human resources, bill of materials, order entry and inventory.  This integration provided the chemical company to successfully integrated the three separate systems into one and to eliminate over a dozen disparate systems, thus saving over $3M in operational cost per year. 

Provided project management for a finance project for a major chemical company.  The system provided the analysis and tracking of corporate investments. 

Provided project management for a order entry project for a major stell manufacturer.  The order entry system was used at the various manufacturer locations throughout the country for distributors of steel coils.  This provided over $500,000 of savings in the first year of operation. 

1975 - 1980 - Dominion & Bayer - two Fortune 500 companies - multiple job positions and responsibilities which included accounting, auditing, programming, systems analysis and supervisory work for definition, development and implementation of enterprise-wide financial systems.

• Consistently exceed performance goals every year over a 5 year period
• Promoted to the next employee/supervisory level an average of every 18 months

Designed, developed and project managed the implementation of a integrated ERP system for a major chemical and pharmaceutical corporations.  This system consolidated and replaced over a dozen segmented systems for 3 merged corporations over a four year period.  This integrated system saved over $12M within the first year of operations through elimination of redundancies, streamline of operations and providing timely information for management decisions.  

Conducted analysis and lead teams for a customer information system for a major utility company.  This system provided a seamless view into the transmission, distribution, inventory and invoicing of natural gas to customers.  This system provided a ROI of less than 18 months for the organization.