Derek Aten PMI ACP

I am a member of the Key Executive Group that offers a unique combination of resources for accelerating CEO and key executive business performance. Vistage membership includes monthly problem-solving peer group meetings; one-to-one executive coaching sessions; expert resource speaker workshops; an online best practices library; regional and international conferences; and access to a global online network of business leaders.

When it comes to starting and growing a business, I'm known as an expert. In particular, RND Power Solutions started as an idea, little to no money, and a team of four hardworking friends. The idea was, "how can we provide quality accessories for high-end mobile devices at a low price to the customer?". Today, RND Power Solutions is a well-known mobile accessories brand with products that are available on amazon.com, walmart.com, newegg.com, amazon.com, and jet.com. Customer feedback confirms that I listen to their ideas and follow thru with innovated products. For example, a customer wanted a cell phone docking station that would hold and charge their phone, power a second battery, as well as place their phone screen in dock mode. I worked with the product engineer and created designs and electronic concepts that was turned into a product offering all the above within 6 months. My partners agree that I am an expert at procurement and building long-term business relationships. In the start of the business, I went thru the vetting process and collaborated with a few strong factories that could bring our ideas to life. I negotiated with the factories for minimum order quantities, minimum product material costs, minimum payment terms, and shorter shipping requirements.

I am a passionate leader that fosters a company culture where employees are empowered, engaged, and challenged. As a Director of Information Technology and Software Engineering, I lead two teams using Agile methodologies. I have transformed the Software Engineering Team into an Agile/SCRUM Software Development environment and have implemented the System Administration team into utilizing Kanban. I empower my staff to experiment with new ideas, approaches, and techniques to continuously improve. Within the Technology Department, I work with the CTO on the Vision and Technology Strategic Plan. I manage the Technology budget for all software, hardware, and technical services for the company. I am responsible for hiring motivated individuals that are hungry to learn, while still being able to have fun. The Software Engineering Team, I am multifaceted and will be the Product Owner, Business Analyst, and Software Engineer, when necessary. I coach the development staff, remove roadblocks, and shield the team from distractions. As technology changes, it is crucial to apply the philosophy of Kaizen (Continuous Improvement) and adapt to the new landscape. For example, Microservice architecture has grown in popularity in the last couple of years, and Microsoft released .NET Core a cross-platform development framework. I learned both Microservice Architecture and .NET core. I trained the Software Engineering Team on the new technology and implemented multiple microservices using C# 7, .NET CORE 2.0, and SQL Server. I am an active participant in the Senior Leadership Team. As an Engineer and Agile Certified Practitioner, I am constantly bringing in new innovated ideas that are implemented across the company. I promote a company culture that focuses on developing employee’s careers, knowledge sharing across all departments, and creating high performing teams.

I lead, inspire, and mentor technical staff by implementing professional development goals for continuous learning. One of my top passions is developing team members to their full potential. I take pride on working with employees individually, and being a part of their evolution. I enjoy change management, and to successfully achieve this, I implemented a set of standards and best practices for software development. For example, I researched and developed a best of breed software development process that provides high application performance and is easy to implement with a minimal learning curve. By implementing a consistent standard coding practice, the development team became more productive and worked as a team effectively. During part of my tour of duty as a Development Manager, I implemented SCRUM with my software engineering team. SCRUM increased communication, decreased roadblocks, and increased productivity. I am a hands on manager, and will jump in the trenches to take on any role that is necessary to get the job done. I can and will be the business analyst, project manager, or developer, when needed.

When it comes to architecting software solutions that automate business processes, I'm known as an expert . For example, a project I architected was to create an order management middleware component that connects eCommerce partner orders to an ERP application. This was a critical mission project that could have impacted the business during the peak holiday season. I architected and develop the software package before the expected time frames which helped increase productivity, order throughput, and reliability. In addition to architecting software solutions, Vendors say that I am an expert at building and integrating to 3rd party applications. For example, I was the lead architect developing web service hook points with eBay to communicate with their eCommerce marketplace web services. The Enterprise Business Development Representative from eBay was amazed by how seamless and expedited the development process took. He mentioned that he was recently employed with a 3rd party ecommerce product aggregator whose team took 3 times as long and had many issues with the integration.

When it comes to developing and enhancing software applications, I'm known as an expert. For example, I created a battery finder application that was flexible and scalable to skin, theme, and brand for other companies to use on their website. This was a critical marketing component that brought major retail/ecommerce partners to Lenmar. The battery finder is currently available on bestbuy.com, radioshack.com, and many other top 500 eCommerce businesses. Vendors agree that I listen to their needs and act quickly. For example, When Radioshack required a unique product feed in XML to continue to do business with Lenmar. I quickly gathered the business requirements and provided a product feed within days of the request. This was a critical business need that could have cost hundreds of thousands of dollars in lost revenue. When it comes to integrating with enterprise resource planning applications, I'm known as an expert. For example, when we had customers that wanted to submit order feeds for order processing. I architected a middle-ware repository that connected to Microsoft Dynamics and imported orders. This streamlined and automated order processing that increased order throughput.

• Design, develop, implement and maintain web applications (ASP.NET) using C# and Sql Server 2005 as the back-end database. • Improve usability and accessibility by applying section 508 and WCAG standards. • Evaluating/Analyze current systems and system needs, documenting system programming and changes needed, and assisting users in obtaining and processing the data they require. • Integrate web applications with Crystal Reports for on demand reporting. • Design and construct creative graphics using Adobe Photoshop CS3.

• Primary responsibilities include design and development of server code. • Responsible for designing and developing data driven intranet, extranet, and internet websites. • Prepared custom reports using Crystal Reports and Create!Forms. • Analyze data using SQL, T-SQL, and Stored procedures

Develop custom applications for clients using VB6 and Sql Server.