ERIC E. BREESE
SENIOR INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY LEADER
Experienced and energetic information technology professional with knowledge of multiple industries, whose intense desire to acquire knowledge of each company's business operations, has resulted in a strong ability to translate business needs into technical solutions and revenue generation. A focus on systems architecture coupled with broad administrative, communication, and management skills, has ensured a record of outstanding performance.
CAREER OVERVIEW
Associate Chief Information Officer -- Illinois Institute of Technology, Chicago, IL (2013-Present)
Founded in 1890 as Armour Institute, Illinois Institute of Technology (IIT) is a private, Ph.D.-granting research university with programs in engineering, science, architecture, business, law, design, human sciences, and applied technology.
As a member of the Office of Technology Services (OTS) senior management team primary responsibilities include strategic planning and oversight of the customer facing areas of OTS, including: classroom and lab technologies, computer acquisition, imaging, distribution & repair, software licensing, identity & access management, public safety & transaction technologies, and technology support all areas of the university.
Work closely with decision makers from around the university to ensure that the Office of Technology Services is delivering high quality services to the university community. Use technology and business process design skills to improve services to the university.
Associate Director-Technology Support -- DePaul University, Chicago, IL (2007-2013)
One of the country's 10 largest private universities with 26,000 students in ten colleges that spans five campuses in the Chicago metropolitan area.
Primary responsibilities include strategic planning and daily operations management of the technicians, help desk, operators, ID card services and student computer support centers supporting all areas of the university. Work closely with decision makers from around the university to ensure that Information Services is delivering high quality services to the university community. Actively participate in the change management and architecture review processes. Use technology and business process design skills to improve services to the university.
Major accomplishments:
- Appointed to DePaul's Strategic Planning Task Force by the University President to develop DePaul's six year strategic plan. As a member of the Strategic Resource Allocation Committee established the university budget.
- Raised the first call closure rate of the help desk to 75-80% by using a variety of staff education sessions, establishing a structured knowledge base, and improved hiring practices. This resulted in an increased customer satisfaction rating.
- Merged the technicians, help desk, operators, student computer support centers & identification card services into a single support center. This resulted in an average response SLA of over 95% for the combined call center and improved technical and customer service skills for the walk-up areas.
- Performed an evaluation of the infrastructure group's operations for information services senior management. As a result of this experience was asked to manage a major PBX outage situation through to resolution, resulting in a significantly reduced customer impact.
- Assisted with the development of a new organizational structure for the Information Services division.
- Regularly met with key university departments, schools, colleges and organizations such as Faculty Council and Student Government to understand their needs and tailor support services to meet their expectations through established service level agreements and metrics.
- Acted as the product manager for ImageNow, the university's imaging system to understand customer's needs and assist them with their transition to the imaging system.
Director, Telecommunications -- Rush University Medical Center, Chicago, IL (2000-2007)
One of the country's oldest and largest academic medical centers with $1 billion annual operating revenue that encompasses over 1,200 beds in four hospitals and the four colleges of Rush University.
Responsibilities include strategic planning, crisis management, and daily operations for the telecommunications operations at each of Rush's 27 locations with an annual budget of $4 million and a staff of 30 FTE's that support 14,000 stations and 5,000 pagers. As part of the Information Services senior management team, spent time with physicians and staff learning the unique requirements for all healthcare, education, and research areas. Learned to manage managers for the first time and also learned to manage non-technical customer service staff in addition to technical staff.
Major accomplishments:
- Rebuilt, staffed, and trained a department from the ground up resulting in a department that is respected across the institution for its technical and customer service skills.
- Reduced operating costs approximately $7.2 million over the first five years while simultaneously increasing services.
- Selected, designed, and managed the complete replacement in the institution's 14,000 station PBX utilizing in-house staff resulting in the savings of $1 million. This also allowed the staff to better understand the institution's business needs.
- Designed and managed the upgrade of the institution's copper & fiber optic backbone serving over 250 communications closets to prepare for the implementation of a new integrated clinical information system.
- Negotiated contracts with all carriers resulting in improved services at reduced costs at each negotiation, including a one time credit of $950,000.
- Selected and managed the installation of several database systems including a new telemanagement system and a new operator services, corporate directory and paging system to provide enhanced services and regulatory compliance. The result of the implementation of these systems was an increase in the customer service level of the staff and reduced operating costs.
Manager, Telecommunications-Illinois -- WellPoint Health Networks, Chicago, IL (1995-2000)
The country's largest healthcare insurance company with $20.5 billion in annual revenues and 28 million medical members. Operates as Blue Cross in California, Blue Cross Blue Shield in other states and Unicare throughout the rest of the country.
Managed the telecommunications staff of both outsourced and retained employees. Responsible for all telecommunications projects, including several system installations, upgrades, and workflow reengineering projects. Spent time with each department learning the business of healthcare insurance. Provided internal consulting services to the various departments and medical offices. Acted as a resource to the staff helping them to better understand the clients needs and the system's capabilities. Significant focus on ACD capabilities due to the critical nature of call centers in the insurance business. Performed backup duties for system administration and technical work on an as needed basis.
Major accomplishments:
- Designed all of the call centers including the major ones of 100+ agents taking into account the unique requirements of the various product lines including HMO, PPO, POS & self-insured employer groups.
- Installation of remote equipment at medical offices throughout the Chicago metropolitan area without assistance of outside vendors. This resulted in improved customer service to the members, reduced operating costs and provided summary ACD statistics to management.
- Responsible for the upgrade and expansion of the data network from a flat 10 megabit network to a gigabit switched network to provide improved throughput and reliability.
- Selected and managed the implementation of a new call center quality monitoring system. This new system allowed call center management to better coach the agents on their performance and improve their skills.
- Part of the merger and acquisitions team handling the acquisition of Rush Prudential Health Plans.
Senior Consultant-National Information Technology Consulting Group -- McGladrey & Pullen, Schaumburg, IL (1992-1995)
The seventh largest public accounting and consulting firm in the country with Accounting and Tax practices focusing on the mid-sized client and Consulting practices focusing on the mid to large size client.
Management consultant in all aspects relating to telecommunications with an emphasis on voice communications systems and structured cabling. In addition, acted as the Telecommunications Manager for the Chicagoland offices which includes a five node Siemens/Rolm system in a private network.
Performed telecommunications consulting projects for clients all around the world. Duties covered all aspects of telecommunications management with primary focus on needs assessment, system selection, contract negotiation and implementation project management. Developed an extensive working knowledge of networked PBX systems and acted as a resource to other consultants in my group helping them design such systems for their clients. In addition, worked extensively with structured cable system design and project management. Some of the larger projects included:
- Iowa-Illinois Gas and Electric Company (now Mid-American Energy): A mid-sized utility company based in the Quad Cities. IIGE's current costs and operational issues were analyzed and a networked PBX arrangement was recommended with a networked ACD arrangement to handle Customer Service calls. After the system selection was completed I was the project manager for the two phases of the conversion from the Centrex systems to the new PBX systems. This resulted in improved disaster recovery and customer service.
- Mercy Medical Center -- Cedar Rapids, Iowa: I helped Mercy to determine their needs and select a new system. In addition, I designed a structured cabling system to replace the multiple, outdated cable plants that they currently had for their voice and data systems.
- Rush Prudential Health Plans: A large managed care organization based in Chicago, Illinois that was in the process of consolidating its administrative offices into one new location in the Sears Tower. As the consultant in charge of this project I assisted RPHP to determine their telecommunications requirements for the new facility, wrote a request for proposal, and selected the new system. In addition, I assisted with the design of a structured cable system to cover their new facility on five floors. After selecting the new system, I negotiated the contract with the selected vendors and managed the installation of the telecommunications and cabling systems.
- Bethpage Federal Credit Union: Located on Long Island in New York, BFCU is a large credit union that serves Grumman Aircraft and many other companies. I recommended a centralized call center approach to handle the members calls.
Senior Account Executive -- Teleconnect Systems Company, Cedar Rapids, IA (1991-1992)
Large provider of customer premise based telecommunications equipment serving customers in Iowa and western Illinois.
Handled new telephone system sales and supported an existing account base of several hundred customers. While at Teleconnect learned how to analyze customers needs, and improved the ability to build strong relationships with customers.
Technician -- Telecom*USA, Cedar Rapids, IA (1988-1990 -- Summers and part-time)
Large provider of customer premise based telecommunications equipment serving customers in Iowa and western Illinois, later becoming Teleconnect Systems Company. Spent summers installing and maintaining the company's base of PBX and key telephone systems. During my time at Telecom*USA improved technical skills, lead other technicians on projects, and was the first to install a new system Telecom*USA sold for many years.
NAPA Auto Parts/The Breese Co., Inc., Iowa City, IA (1984-1990 -- Summers and part-time)
A 60 year-old family business consisting of 13 NAPA automotive parts stores throughout Eastern Iowa and various real-estate ventures. As a family member was actively involved in the business serving in a variety of functions from financial analysis to various technical responsibilities. This resulted in a strong business focus from an early age and a firm understanding of the relationship of operations to profitability.
EDUCATION
| Degree |
Major |
Year |
School |
Location |
| Master of Science |
Network Engineering and Security, 4.0 GPA |
2015 |
DePaul University |
Chicago, IL |
| Bachelor of Business Administration |
Operations Management |
1990 |
Iowa State University |
Ames, IA |
| Graduate |
Leadership Learning Forum (Management Counsel) and Advanced Leadership Learning Network |
|
TDG, Inc. |
|
|
Introduction to the German Language |
Fall 1994 |
The Goethe Institute |
Chicago, IL |
TECHNICAL SUMMARY
PeopleSoft: CRM, Campus Solutions/HR; Microsoft SharePoint; Operating Systems: Windows, Linux/Unix, Mac OSX; Cisco: Call Manager; Asterisk; Avaya (& Nortel): S8700/Definity G3, Definity G2/System 85, Legend, Merlin, Octel 250/350, CentreVU CMS, IVR, Meridian-1, Norstar, Meridian Mail, MeridianMax; Siemens/Rolm: 9751, HiCom; Mitel: SX-200D, Centigram; NEC: Neax 2400 IMS; Networking: Cisco, Xyplex; Telemanagement: Compco, Pinnacle, IntegraTrak, ISI/Infortext; Other: Amcom SmartCenter, AIS Telemanager, Witness, Nice, Call Copy, Teleformix Echo; Misc. Software: Microsoft Suite, Visio, Microsoft Project, LogMeIn Rescue, Lotus Notes, Crystal Reports; Structured cabling system design
ACTIVITIES & AWARDS
Present:
- Alpha Kappa Lambda Fraternity -- National Executive Council Member
- Alpha Kappa Lambda Fraternity -- Psi Chapter (Iowa State University) Corporation Board Secretary
Recent Past:
- ACUTA Legislative & Regulatory Affairs Committee Chairman
- DePaul University Staff Council Elected Delegate, Steering Committee (Executive Board) Member & Fiscal Advisory Chairman
- DePaul University Staff Council Communications Chairman
- Chicago Dragons Rugby Football Club -- Vice-President, Finance
- The Tavern Club -- Secretary, Board of Governors (one of Chicago's premier private social clubs for business professionals)
- Alpha Kappa Lambda Fraternity -- National Executive Council Board Member/National Chaplain
- International Association of Avaya Users
- Iowa State University Club of Chicago -- Board of Directors -- President & Treasurer
- Iowa City Jaycees Community Development Vice-President
Awards:
- Team of the Quarter, Fall 2001, Rush University Medical Center
- Employee of the Quarter, Spring 1998, Rush Prudential Health Plans
- Jaycee of the Year 1991-1992, Iowa City Jaycees
- Eagle Scout, Boy Scouts of America
| Eric E. Breese |
Home: (773) 296-4474 |
Chicago, IL |
Email: mail@breesestolt.org |