Larry C. Eiss
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Page updated: 12-June-2006
Larry Eiss
187 Bender Lane¨ Glenmont, NY 12077
518/729-2438 (h) 917/597-9840 (m) ¨ larry@eiss.net
Information Technology Executive
Customer Relationships ¨ Strategic
Alliances ¨ Technical Marketing¨
Product Management
Proven record of establishing strong strategic relationships,
communicating technical concepts, and dramatically improving customer
satisfaction. Characterized as being insightful, resourceful, and a team
builder. Effective under pressure with excellent leadership and interpersonal
skills. Strong performance record covering all facets of the software product
life cycle from cradle to grave, including the development of highly effective
strategies for design, development, rollout, and maintenance of highly technical
and complex software solutions. Experienced at revitalizing existing products.
Skilled writer with broad experience developing competitive intelligence and
highly effective white papers and articles. Solid technical skills coupled with
polished professional style. Core competencies and experience include:
|
● Written and verbal
communication |
● Relationship building |
|
● Team development
|
● Strategic product
planning |
|
● Competitive
intelligence |
● Business Intelligence
market knowledge |
|
● Strategic alliances
and business development |
● Customer relationship
management |
PROFESSIONAL EXPERIENCE
Information Builders, Inc. (IBI – $300 million, private)
World Headquarters, Manhattan, NY 9/98 – present
Director, WebFOCUS Product Support
Leads the resources of Information Builders to resolve technical
issues and turn around strained relationships at large high profile
accounts in both pre- and post-sale stages.
 | Directs resources from all groups within the company to satisfy
customer and prospect requirements
 | Turned a Fortune® 25 energy company threatening to
discontinue WebFOCUS development into a reference account who has
been profiled in industry publications for the ROI delivered by
WebFOCUS and which contracted for an additional $640,000 in
business. |
|
| Manages account relationships and provides executive sponsorship to
ensure the complete satisfaction of Information Builders customers
| Lead migration to current release levels of a complex WebFOCUS
deployment and regained lost credibility at a well known healthcare
organization resulting in closure of $2.3 million the year after a
strained relationship resulted in the loss of a similar opportunity.
|
|
| Serves as escalation point-person for hot, high-visibility,
high-value, time-critical problem escalations
| Significant involvement in over 70 accounts during 2005
contributed to achieving IBI’s best ever fourth quarter. |
|
| Drives creative resolutions, sets customer expectations, works in a
consultative capacity to suggest best practices that should be
implemented to ensure long term account stability
| Converted a difficult, complaining, and confrontational $50
billion retailer to a true partner, collaborator, and a source of
additional revenue. |
|
Directs a team of product managers and developers with responsibility
for integrating WebFOCUS with ERP systems and hosting the product suite
on specialized platforms such as Tandem.
Technical Director, Product Management Strategy
Responsible for the strategic direction of the WebFOCUS Suite of
products.
| Drove research into technologies to determine build vs. buy benefits |
| Directed team of product managers responsible for redesigning the
WebFOCUS user interface |
| Managed cross-product feature design, implementation, and
integration relying on resources from multiple teams |
Computer Associates International (CA $4.5 billion, NYSE)
World Headquarters, Islandia, NY 6/92–8/98
Director Competitive Intelligence
Charged with establishment of the Competitive Intelligence
organization at CA.
| Created and implemented the business plan |
| Designed and established department procedures |
| Conceptualized and authored the CA Competitive Intelligence
Handbook, which documents departmental functions and procedures |
| Managed book development project for "Working With Unicenter TNG" –
1998, Macmillan |
Director Strategic Business Alliances
Worked closely with CA executive management, established, negotiated,
coordinated, and managed the most strategic relationships and
partnerships the company maintained. Paved the way for strong and
profitable relationships by bringing disparate groups within partner
organizations together in support of Unicenter TNG as their standard for
enterprise management. Established and managed CA’s relationships with
Digital Equipment Corp., Tandem Computers, Inc., and Novell as well as
Internet and desktop alliances including Netscape Communications, Inc.,
Open Market, Inc., Spyglass, and SCO.
| Drove alliances to contribute over $40 million in first-year revenue
to CA |
| Grew revenue from these alliances to more than $150 million in the
second year |
| Negotiated partner bundling deals for Unicenter TNG Framework, which
when announced at CA-World, (CA’s annual worldwide user conference)
directly resulted in a sustained 8% increase in stock price (NYSE:CA
7/15/97) |
| Lead the creation of significant new relationships and technology
integration projects that helped to make Unicenter a $1.4 billion
product |
Client Base Owner
(Product Line
Director) – Xbase Products
Guided the $11 million Xbase product line including CA-dBFast,
CA-Clipper, and CA-Visual Objects (VO). Supervised a team of 30
developers, quality assurance staff, and support technicians on both
coasts. Conducted new-version beta testing, maintenance (bug fix), and
technical support. Directed and managed the Technicon conference
at CA-World and approved all materials submitted for sessions. Due to a
shift in focus, the company had slated these products for retirement and
begun to downsize the team to staff other projects.
| Reversed declining employee morale and customer relationships,
preventing the departure of key developers and slowing degradation of
sales |
| Heightened client interest ensuring the development and release of
version 2.0 of Visual Objects in December, 1996 (This increase in
interest was sustained and resulted in two subsequent versions) |
| Laid the groundwork for worldwide product rollout, and speedy
acceptance of the new version |
Director, Application Development Strategy
Defined and communicated the strategic direction and positioning for
application development products. Directed product launches, approved
the marketing message, and guided creation of collateral materials.
Authored marketing plans and reviewer's guides. Traveled extensively
keynoting conferences and lecturing about application development and
product strategy on six continents.
| Raised global product awareness to unprecedented levels making
CA-Visual Objects the best selling application development tool for
Windows in Eastern Europe |
| Increased international profile of CA's application development
products by keynoting various conferences, visiting clients, and
briefing trade press |
Product Champion
Coordinated all technical communication related to Xbase. Planned and
defined developer conference curriculum and its delivery. Edited annual
conference proceedings in excess of 1000 pages. Created technical
presentations and collateral material. Trained staff and clients on
Clipper and Visual Objects.
| Enhanced Computer Associates’ understanding and assimilation of the
technology acquired from Nantucket Corp. |
| Bolstered the existing customer base by addressing concerns about
the Nantucket acquisition at user group meetings and on CompuServe |
| Forged product interest in new market segments by leveraging CA's
leadership in the enterprise |
Nantucket Corporation, Los Angeles, CA (acquired by Computer
Associates 6/92)
Technical Marketing Engineer
9/91 – 6/92
Interfaced with product development to ensure latest knowledge of
current and future product features and direction. Authored white
papers, competitive analyses, educational materials, presentations, and
applications. Edited all outbound communication for technical accuracy
and served as the technical contact for the press and other sensitive
audiences.
| Authored white papers positioning Clipper in the enterprise |
| Authored competitive analysis positioning Clipper against FoxPro |
| Directed developer conferences and established their curricula |
| Educated technical support staff about Nantucket products and
object-oriented concepts |
J&L Consulting, Bouckville, NY
Owner/Sr. Consultant
4/85 – 9/91
Provided consulting services including strategic IT planning, systems
analysis and design, application development, and technical support.
Designed, developed and implemented numerous microcomputer-based
information systems and applications in Xbase and many other
environments. Clients included Carrier Division of United Technologies,
Inc., Crucible Steel, Nice-n-Easy Grocery Shops, Clestra Cleanroom
Technologies, and Chronicle Guidance Publications.
| Designed, developed, and implemented equipment repair tracking and
fleet management system |
| Coded and implemented LAN-based travel-expense reporting and cash
disbursement system for a Fortune® 500 manufacturing company |
| Created purchase order control and vendor analysis system for a
specialty steel company |
Various Positions
6/79 – 2/85
| Designed and managed first computer information center, training
program, and PC standards and procedures at $100 million Syracuse Supply
Company |
| Implemented the first computer center at Canastota, NY Central
Schools |
| Programmed a leasing system in COBOL as a subcontractor |
| Coded a database management system and program generator in MBASIC |
| Developed and conducted the first computer training in the Syracuse,
NY area |
PROFESSIONAL ORGANIZATIONS
X3J19 ANSI Xbase Standards Committee
- Assisted in the proposal to
ANSI for formation of this committee and served as the representative of
Computer Associates. Drafted and presented proposals for inclusion in
the standard and participated in debating proposals brought before the
committee.
Central NY PC User's Group
–
Founded the group in 1984 and
served in many capacities. CNYPCUG currently reports approximately 200
members.
Association of Professional Computer Consultants
– Co-founded the association in
1986, served two terms as President, and served on Board of Directors
until relocating to Los Angeles.
PUBLICATIONS
Author:
"From Where I Sit"
column in the WebFOCUS Newsletter
"Persistent Object" column in Visual Objects Advisor magazine
Project mgr/editor: "Working With Unicenter TNG" – Que Books
(1998)
Technical editor: "Clipper 5.3 A Developer’s Guide" – M&T
Books
"Visual Objects A Developer’s Guide" – M&T Books
Forward author: "Visual Objects A Developer’s Guide" – M&T
Books
"Network Programming in CA-Clipper 5.2" – Ziff-Davis Press
Cover quote: "Using Clipper Special Edition" – Que Books
OTHER
Author and instructor
-
Numerous computer courses including Object-Oriented Theory & Concepts,
introductory through advanced FOCUS and Xbase Application Development,
BASIC, various word processors and spreadsheets, and general computer
literacy.
Accomplished and polished public speaker - extensive
international speaking experience; superior communication and
interpersonal skills
PERSONAL
Very happily married to Joan, with two adult children
I enjoy my family, reading, woodworking, technology, and travel.
Personal and Professional references are available upon request.