1. JAMES
MINDEK
382 Hannah Lane, Coventry, CT 06238 | (C) (860) 617-4005 | James.Mindek@gmail.com
PROFESSIONAL SUMMARY
Executive level IT professional specializing in strategic planning, managing complex projects, and
leading high-performing teams across all disciplines of Information Technology. Expert
in managing multiple priorities and staffing resources in a fast-paced environment. Proficient
in analysis, forecasting, and tracking of budgets.
SKILLS
Six Sigma Black Belt Certified Systems Development Life Cycle (SDLC)
Strategic Planning Staff mentoring and skills assessment
Business process improvement Effective multi-tasker
Change management Results-oriented
Project cost planning Team player
Risk mitigation and management
MS Project
WORK HISTORY
JULY 2014-CURRENT
Chief Information Officer, Bureau Chief of Information Technology | Connecticut State
Department of Education | Hartford, CT
Plan, organize and manage all operations and activities related to Information Technology for
the Education Agency. The IT Bureau includes 55 staff, hundreds of applications, IT support
of 19 vocational technical schools, data processing support for over 200 school districts, and
platforms consisting of several different infrastructure technologies.
Manage information system activities such as: budget planning and tracking, development of
standards, staff hiring/firing, risk assessment/mitigation, life cycle management of hardware
and software.
Successfully implemented multiple multi-million dollar applications including but not limited
to the state longitudinal data system (SLDS) - a data warehouse; the Early Childhood
Information System (ECIS) - for the Office of Early Childhood.
Develop strategic technology plan as it relates and integrates into the State Department of
Education's strategic plan.
Planned and implemented virtualization strategy, reducing 30 physical servers down to 4.
Implemented IT Help Desk and ticket tracking system.
Created and staffed a Project Management Office and a structured project intake process
2. including project charters, project plans and formal resource tracking mechanisms.
Developed staff mentoring program including a comprehensive training plan for each
individual employee
Planned and implemented virtualization strategy to reduce hardware footprint, more
efficiently run lights out data center and for easier management with reduced staffing.
Implemented modified agile programming methodology including a blended model of
waterfall and agile methodologies depending on business requirements. Brought in scrum
masters to train application development staff.
Lead communications with internal and external stakeholders regarding business goals and
priorities and project progress.
Wrote a $10 million grant proposal for the Governor's Office of Policy and Management's
review (Pending approval). This funding will be used for implementing the Governor's LEAN
program throughout the State Department of Education's IT systems.
FEBRUARY 2012-JULY 2014
Director of IT Services and Member Relations | University of Connecticut, Connecticut Education
Network (CEN) | Hartford, CT
Responsible for updating State CIO and Legislature on CEN project statuses.
Provide direction, organization, oversight, outreach and strategic planning for CEN services
and member relations.
Created first annual CEN member conference in 2013. The conference continues today and
draws over 500 people.
Responsible for creating staffing and resource allocation plans for CEN Executive Director.
Provide input & recommendations for CEN budget and staffing to state CIO.
JULY 2010-FEBRUARY 2012
Manager of Server Support Services | University of Connecticut, Information Technology Services
| Storrs, CT
Provided direction, organization, oversight and strategic planning, in the infrastructure group
(50 staff members). This group consists of seven teams: Linux & Virtualization, Mainframe
Technologies, Windows, Unix, Storage & Capacity Planning, Operations, and Production
Scheduling.
Established procedures and collected metrics of detailed information for all seven teams
including: production support requirements; current and future projects; technology
changes/considerations; staffing resource allocations; capital expenditures; training
requirements/plans; university services, etc.
Worked with Virtualization team to expand blade center footprint and virtualized
environment. This included a "Private cloud" service offered for University-wide use.
Created plan for disaster recovery and business continuity.
Migrated critical University systems (Payroll, Finance, & ID system) to new mainframe
hardware and storage.
APRIL 2009-JULY 2010
Interim Director Enterprise Application Services | University of Connecticut, Information
Technology Services | Storrs, CT
Provided oversight and executive level planning for the Enterprise Application Services (EAS)
team. That included staff hiring/firing; budget planning, tracking, and forecasting; setting
standards and strategic direction; 24 * 7 production support services; etc. The EAS
3. group was a staff of 70 people.
Developed Enterprise Application Services strategic plan. The plan included specific focus
areas for the nine teams that made up the EAS group. The teams were: PeopleSoft SA,
PeopleSoft HCM, Web Development & Integration Technologies, Mainframe Application
Systems, Database Administration, Data Warehousing, Reporting Services, Production
Control & Scheduling, Security & Change Management.
Successfully worked to resolve employee issues including: employee morale, problem
employees, employee conflicts, and employee terminations.
APRIL 2004-APRIL 2009
Manager of Customer Business Applications | University of Connecticut, Information Technology
Services | Storrs, CT
Management and developed group from 5 member team in '04 to 38 member team at time
of UITS re-organization (19 FTE's, 8 GAs, 11 students).
Provided to the Director: Personnel, training, hardware and other budget requirements.
IT Management lead for several major University projects including: WebCT Vista, Open
source workflow, FAMIS, Eportfolio, Epolicy, HIPAA, and SEVIS.
Made several presentations to executive leadership including: the IT Steering Committee,
Technology Planning Committee, BEST, and Technology Implementers group.
OCTOBER 2000-MARCH 2004
Manager of Database Development and Web Design | University of Connecticut, School of
Business | Storrs, CT
Provide technical support and analysis for purchasing, developing, and deployment of web
applications for all departments within the School of Business and remote branches in
Stamford, Hartford and Waterbury.
Manage project teams and assign tasks and timelines.
Develop disaster recovery procedures that include regular backups and testing of restores.
FEBRUARY 1999-OCTOBER 2000
Senior PeopleSoft Systems Analyst | Rogers Corporation | Rogers, CT
Technical administration of 2500 users globally and 10 Domino servers in Japan, Korea,
Taiwan, Belgium, and within the U.S.(AZ,CT,IL).
Implementation and administration of PeopleSoft software. (HCM, Financials, &
Manufacturing).
Lotus Notes/Domino installation and administration for email and document workflow.
Administrator and Security Officer for all Oracle databases on HP Unix system.
MAY 1988-FEBRUARY 1999
Systems Programmer/Analyst III | University of Connecticut Computer Center | Storrs, CT
Project manager for installation and customization of Integrated Online Architecture (IOA)
software.
System Administrator for the Motorola 8000 Unix system.
Created applications for optical scanner using C++, Scantools & DOSSIER languages.
4. EDUCATION
Bachelor of Science: Computer Information Science
Eastern Connecticut State University, Willimantic, CT
AFFILIATIONS
Appointed by Connecticut State Legislature to Connecticut Educational Technology Committee
(CET). Serving third year as voting board member. Also serving on three subcommittee
Advisory Councils - Digital Learning, Infrastructure and Legislative Changes.
Member of Leadership Greater Hartford (LGH) executive leadership group.
Member of Education Information Management Advisory Consortium (EIMAC) - the Council of
Chief State School Officers (CCSSO) network of state education agency officials tasked with
data collection and reporting.
Board of Education member for St. Mary / St. Joseph's School in Willimantic Connecticut.
CERTIFICATIONS
Six Sigma Black Belt certified (2008).
Graduate of Leadership greater Hartford's Quest Leadership Program (2013).
Completed certification for Educause Management Training program (2007)
Certificate in Business Analysis Training (2004).
Certified administrator for Windows and Unix operating systems (2001).
Completed PeopleSoft Administrator, PeopleTools and Security training (2000).
Certified in Lotus Notes Administration (2000).
EXTRA CURRICULAR
ACTIVITIES
Youth coaching (basketball, baseball).
Sports/outdoor enthusiast - Hiking, golf, softball, basketball, martial arts, weight lifting,
gardening.
Advocare nutrition advisor.
Volunteer work for homeless.