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Former Member

My colleague,  marcusm, asked me to join a "Blog it Forward" challenge.  I think it is a great way to learn the blogging process on the SAP Community Network (SCN). 

I am currently supporting two of the OneSAP Transformation Teams focused on positioning SAP as an innovation thought leader in areas such as the Real-Time Data Platform (RTDP), and reaching consumers and IT decision makers via new digital and social channels.  It has been exciting to have a role in shaping the future of the company as well as to better understand the value of using social media to promote both my own and SAP’s brand.  My regular position is Sr. Industry Principal for Mill Products (including Building Materials, Fabricated Metals, Primary Metals and Forestry/Paper/Packaging/Furniture) and Mining Industries. 

Here are the questions he asked me to answer:

What event(s) led to your career choice?

I was valedictorian of my high school class, excelling at Science and Math coursework, so I selected Engineering as my major for an undergraduate degree. I gravitated towards Industrial Engineering as it seemed to be the most people-oriented of the engineering professions.  Following graduation, I started work as a Production Engineer and progressed through growth roles and companies (in various industries) with titles such as Production Planning Manager, Engineering Manager, Quality Manager, Operations Director.  One of the common threads at these companies was implementing ERP systems, and I always took on a leadership role.  I transitioned into a career in software when I was recruited as an implementation consultant by one of the software companies I had been working with as a customer. Since then, I have been able to work in a variety of roles in Software, so there is always a new challenge.

Me at University of Missouri – couldn’t resist the opportunity to share a vintage photo (snapped outside my sorority house).

What is the most fun project you ever participated in and why?

During the Y2K era, I worked as a consultant on a large multi-site software implementation.  We had a close-knit project team made up of IT and representatives of each Line of Business (LOB) from the customer, as well as consultants from the software company and partners.  Our project team was able to enable a major transformation for the customer and leverage software to support best practices.   In addition to having fun along the way, the role and project were personally fulfilling as I was able to:

  • Complete projects on time and on budget.
  • Develop a close relationship with a strategic customer.
  • Become a trusted advisor – was invited back to work on strategic sales deals and became Client Manager.

What are you passionate about Professionally and/or Personally?

I continue to be passionate about Reshoring manufacturing and bringing jobs back to America for products to be consumed in the United States.  Over the past few years we have made some progress - for a summary and insights on this trend, see linked Forbes article,  You can also learn more about Reshoring by visiting the website for the Reshoring Initiative, which was founded  by Harry Moser, pictured here at the White House Insourcing American Jobs Forum in January 2012. 

Source:  Reshoring Initiative.

In keeping the Blog it Forward (BIF) going, I am asking the following questions:

- What event(s) led to your career choice?

- What is the most fun project you have ever participated in and why?

- What you passionate about professionally and/or personally?

To the following Industry Principals who are in Social Media training:

perry.zalevsky, gerry.yeo, tommcallister, mike.wise, farah.jama, mark.carlson, jeffvanpelt, henry.bailey, paul.pretkomichael.wendell, jonathan.hall, sri.rajagopalan, patrick.maroney, gary.nelson, jim.gismondi, melissa.michalke, jason.palmer, ddunn, %40paul_larson, ted.combs, stephen.phelan, johnmcdonnell, andrea.france, randall.evans, colin.haig, liz.hall, dante.ricci, berry.gibson, torsten.hoffmann, michael.ramsey, ted.luchsinger, hugh.anderson, steve.hancock, chrischristy, joseph.miles, edward.kenney

To my collegues in the Mill Products and Mining IBU:

brian.dickinson, stefan.soeller, paul.barney, waimeng.leong, ruediger.schroedter

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