Chris J. Rhoads
Full Resume/Vita
as of May 2009
EDUCATION:
LEHIGH UNIVERSITY, Bethlehem, PA 1990
Ed.D. in Educational Technology Minor: Business Administration
GPA: 3.96 Dissertation Topic: An Expert System of Effective Schools
TEMPLE UNIVERSITY, Philadelphia, PA 1985
M.S. degree in Educational Psychology Field of Interest: Instructional Design
GPA: 4.0
KUTZTOWN UNIVERSITY, Kutztown, PA 1982
B. S. Elementary Education/Special Education Double Major
Graduated Magna Cum Laude
Academic Experience:
Kutztown University: 2004 – present. Currently Associate Professor in the department of Accounting and Finance in the College of Business.
Lehigh University. 1986-1990, and 2003-4. Taught in the Iococca Institute's Global Village Program on Technology Leadership: How to Make The Right Decisions At The Right Time. During work on my doctorate, (Expert Systems for Effective Schools) consulted for a variety of projects including, Artificial Intelligence and robotics, CD-I applications, Instructional Design, Expert Systems used in System Configuration, LISP, PROLOG, and SMALLTALK programming, Completed several projects on instructional design in CBT.
Albright College. 1987-1991, and 2001 -2002. Instructor for various Accelerated Degree courses including Hardware and Software, Advanced Database Concepts, Systems Analysis and Design. In prior years, taught Continuing Education courses on DOS, UNIX, Novell, Project, Windows, Word, Excel, WordPerfect, Lotus 123 (including advanced level Macros, @Finances, and other special topics), DisplayWrite, Harvard Graphics, Symphony, dBASE III+ & IV, R:Base, Nutshell, DacEasy and OneWrite Accounting.
Drexel University. 2000- 2002. Instrumental in development of Strategic Internet Management Certification program. Taught the following courses: Getting IT: Understanding Information Technology, Databases: Design and Applications, Essentials of Network Technology, Project Management for Information Technology.
Penn State University (1995) in partnership with T. Max Devlin in Enterprise Network Management.
Bay Networks (now Nortel Networks) Certification (1994-1995) to teach a variety of technical courses including Networking Basics, Token Ring, Ethernet, Optivity Network Management, and Managing Your Network with OpenView.
Lebanon Valley College. 1993-1994. Adjunct instructor for Entrepreneurship (MBA program), Microcomputers in Business (Management program) and various continuing education seminars on computer applications in business.
Alvernia College. 1991- 1992. Adjunct instructor for Microcomputers in Business.
Reading Area Community College. 1985-1990. Adjunct instructor for Artificial Intelligence and Robotics, a special program for gifted students. Also: instructor for various microcomputer courses.
EMPLOYMENT EXPERIENCE
ETM Associates, Inc. 7/01– Present
Founding Principal & CEO
ETM Associates, Inc. is a unique consulting company comprised of former and current CIOs, CEOs, and other senior level executives of major corporations serving clients in a variety of industries. ETM Associates principles concentrate on advising their clients, often on enterprise, technology, and management projects, but always on specific efforts that will significantly increase sales or decrease costs. Currently, ETM Associates, Inc. is focusing on a 2 year program designed to increase some measurement of value by "More Than A Million" for a qualified list of clients. Some of the previous accomplishments of the company are:
· Diagnosed business strategy issues for dozens of clients, increasing their profits by millions of dollars.
· Diagnosed leadership team issues for dozens of clients, increasing productivity and quality of work environment.
· Developed and implemented data security program to meet government regulatory requirements for over 70 applications and third-party service providers for the third largest financial institution in Northeastern US.
· Collaboration project uniting the CIOs of 40 subsidiary companies of the largest electrical and mechanical construction and facilities services provider in the world. Standards and procurement procedures agreed upon will save millions for the company in the coming years.
· A reorganization of all local IT departments for a major research firm. Project included standardizing and consolidating systems from 20 countries (including 50 sites, 12 mainframes, and 7000 desktops) into a globally led Data Services Group.
CommerceLinks.Net 8/00– 3/01
Chief Operations & Technology Officer
Recruited to serve as CTO to CommerceLinks.Net - a startup company that developed a new technology for Live Video Customer Service. In November I was promoted to COO as well. With the exception of sales and marketing, fully responsible for all aspects of the company. Under my direction, the company accomplished quite a bit:
· completed a competitive analysis
· developed and published a business plan
· developed business requirements Customer Collaboration Platform (CCP)
· led team in assessing technical requirements for CCP
· developed business requirements for Video Communication Network
· wrote patents on the Live Video Customer Service technologies
· established operational processes for proposing, closing, and billing customers
Millstar Corporation 2/00– 8/00
Chief Technology Officer
Millstar is a Business to Business E‑commerce software development company that specializes in medium to large manufacturers and distributors of equipment and supplies. Brought in to stabilize/build a technology team, establish controls, and implement a new direction for the company.
As part of the senior management team, introduced a new business model - publishing software. We developed an easy-to-implement-fully-featured e-commerce software with the ability to print personalized catalog of items in full color. The change improved gross margin and increased employee motivation. Among our successes:
· Established "startup" vision & culture to attract employees.
· Stabilized development team.
· Increased retention rate from 40% to 91%.
· Increased employee satisfaction. 95% employees identified "very satisfied with job" in a survey compared to less than 20% (prior to my joining).
· Identified missing skills and successfully hired to obtain key skills.
· Increased accountability in all areas, leading to increased productivity.
· Applied job costing analysis to customer accounts.
· Increased potential gross profit margins from 25% to 63%.
· Refocused sales and marketing on more profitable accounts.
The focus of the development team turned to re-usable components, repeatable processes, and an SEI level 5 (Optimizing) of the Capability Maturity Model.
First USA 5/98 – 2/00
Vice President-Information Technology
One of the world's largest credit card issuers ($63 billion in managed loans in 1999). Recruited to lead Project Management Initiatives. Responsible for all major infrastructure projects including Y2K, Data Warehouse, MVS Conversion, Oracle Conversion, Data Center Relocation, Firewall Architecture and Backup Architecture. On time/on budget projects jumped from one (out of 102) to 85 (out of 130) by September 1998.
In 11/98 promoted to lead the global strategic initiatives in Information Services Operations. Recognized issues immediately with work management & customer service, and implemented actions to improve. Compliancy rate went from 64% to 81%, and early fulfillment rate went from 59% to 83%.
In 3/99 promoted to lead initiatives in company-wide Program Office. Implemented many projects to increase efficiency and increase productivity. Spearheaded Root Cause Analysis program. Identified top recurring issues, including
· Internet Stability and Capacity
· Release Testing
· Network Proactivity
· Server Ownership, Maintenance & Build
· Problem Ticket Diagnosis
Defined success criteria, and empowered five multidisciplinary teams to resolve. Fully responsible for program implementation involving over 200 people. Also initiated Time Tracking project to enable managers to effectively guide resources.
MBNA 1/96– 5/98
Vice President-Finance
MBNA is also one of the world's largest credit card issuers ($71 billion in managed loans), and a pioneer in affinity marketing. Served as the internal consultant to executive management on all enterprise-wide technology projects such as Y2K, Enterprise Network & Systems Management, Call Center Workstation Implementation, & NT Enterprise Upgrade. Translated technical descriptions into more easily understood terms for financial & business executives. Coached teams seeking funding on doing financial projections and presentations.
Also recognized
issues with $600 million capital budget procedures. Streamlined approval and
forecasting process through teamwork and technology. Designed and implemented
new software for tracking capital and project budgets. Improvements included
elimination of reconciliation issues, time reduction for major
expenditures from 18 days to less than 2 days, and from 41 days
to 2 days for minor projects. Also increased accuracy (see chart).
Chosen by senior management to lead a team of eighty people to design & develop process and system to meet the drastically changing planning needs. Fully responsible for all aspects including developing the business requirements and choosing the software.
Hi-TECH Connections, Inc. 6/86 – 1/96
Managing Director/President Hi-TECH Educational Services
Hi-TECH Connections purchased the company I built in 1993. I became one of four key executives in parent company and grew from 30 employees and sales of $13 million to 62 employees and $50 million in sales. Responsibilities included:
· P & L accountability for consulting & training of Enterprise Network Management (ENM) services to Fortune 100 companies.
· Internal computer systems of Reading main office, two training rooms & three branch offices (Pittsburgh, Washington, New York).
· Purchasing (including vendor relationships, shipping, warehouse, and inventory control).
· CAD & networking documentation staff.
· Supporting services for field engineers.
Initiated major initiatives to improve internal processes. Spearheaded integration of the Internet into vendor processes. Oversaw major upgrade to finance and inventory control software. Streamlined warranty processing. Created a process for software shipments. Evaluated and installed a company-wide sales contact database system. Inaugurated a time and expense tracking system.
Special challenges: increase margin on consulting and training, navigate the transition from product distribution to a services focus, increase speed to customer, and decrease slow moving inventory.
Results:
· Net margins for consulting and training increased to 47%
· Services Income increased from 3% to 15% of revenues
· Fill rates increased to 86%
· "Dead" inventory cut by 73%
Computer Educational Services - Founder
Started CES after many attempts at finding high quality computer training as a teacher. Blossomed into successful full service computer training and consulting firm with five employees and two full-time training facilities. Expanded business each year with top two years showing 66% and 75% growth.
· Developed and conducted courses in more than 90 software programs.
· Authored manuals in over 75 computer-related topics.
· Developed and documented a research-based method for microcomputer applications training; the OPIRTSM Method,
· Empowered instructors to use OPIRTSM Method and provide high quality training.
· Using database and spreadsheet programs, built many sophisticated small business systems, including every conceivable aspect of accounting, cash flow, and profitability.
· Specialty: integrating Executive Information Systems with legacy technology.
Approached by Hi-TECH in 1991 for joint ventures. Enabled the CES team to quickly master physical, data link, & network layers (first 3 layers of OSI model) and come up to speed on Enterprise Network Management Consulting. Successfully managed the sale and merger into the parent company. Extremely smooth merger, with multiples of return on original investment for founders.
Business-related Presentations:
Speaker on July 05, 2009 on Taijiquan and Leadership at International Tai chi chuan Symposium in Nashville TN
Panelists on February 27, 2009 on Mobile Panel: The Future is in Mobility! at Wharton School of Business Technology Conference in Philadelphia, PA
Speaker on January 30, 2009 on Dr. CJ Rhoads Explains Training vs. Consulting at Web Conference in Online for Klee Associates, Inc.
Speaker on October 30, 2008 on Teaching Others to Build Businesses for Northeastern Association of Business, Economics, and Technology at State College, PA
Presenter on October 30, 2008 on Effectiveness Of Online Learning And Virtual Tools In Assisting Nascent Entrepreneurs with Business Planning for Northeastern Association of Business, Economics, and Technology at State College, PA
Speaker on October 13, 2008 on Leadership and Diversity: Creating a Top Decision Making Team, for 2008 annual conference “Focus on the Future.” Community Action Association of Pennsylvania in Harrisburg, PA
Guest Speaker on June 16, 2008 on Portability Grant for Director's Meeting of Pennsylvania Small Business Development Centers in Harrisburg, PA.
Speaker on March 12, 2008 on The Future of Teaching: What Can Technology NOT Do? for Hawaii Department of Education E-school Conference, Honolulu, Hawaii.
Speaker on March 09, 2008 Increasing Financial Wealth Workshop for Total Well Being Conference, Essentia Enterprises, Inc. Honolulu, Hawaii.
Speaker on October 25, 2007 on Knowledgeable Decision Making: Does Source of Knowledge Impact Effective Use of Information Technology? for Northeastern Association of Business, Economics, and Technology, State College, PA.
Speaker on Mar 29, 2007 Do Small Entrepreneurial Companies Use Technology More Effectively? for International Academy of Business Disciplines in DoubleTree Castle Hotel, Orlando, FL.
Speaker on Mar 5, 2007 on Factors of technology initiative success in business: Calculating the risk of failure of strategic IT projects for National Business and Economics Society in Westin Rio Mar Beach, Puerto Rico.
Speaker on Jan 30, 2007 Research on Leadership Decision Making for Manufacturer Resource Center in Bethlehem, PA.
Speaker on November 09, 2006 on Calculating the Risks of Project Failure: What Is Project Success? for the American Academy of Business Discipline in Diamondhead Hotel, Ft. Myers Beach, FL.
Speaker on October 05, 2006 for On Calculating
Technology Project
Risks for Association of Pennsylvania University Business and
Economics Faculties at State College, PA..
Speaker on April 4, 2006 Smashing the Glass Ceiling to Bits for the American Business Women's Association in Chef Alan's at Fairground Square Mall, Reading, PA
Presenter on March 8, 2006 Impact of the Decision Maker on Use and Perceived Value of Internet Technologies for the National Business and Economic Society in Los Cabos, Mexico
Panelists on February 24, 2006 Monetizing Amateur Content for the Wharton Tech Conference in Philadelphia, PA
Speaker on January 31, 2006 Deciding on Marketing Technology for the CEO Forum; Manufacturer Resource Center, Ben Franklin Technology Center, Bethlehem, PA
Mentored Students for the November 11, 2005 Business Women in Leadership for the Women's Leadership Institute in Alumni Auditorium, Kutztown University
Presenter on October 20, 2005 Impact of the Decision Maker on Use and Perceived Value of Internet Technologies for the Association of Pennsylvania Business and Economic Faculty in Penn State University in State College, PA
Presenter on June 20, 2005 Technology Decisionmaking for Educators & Administrators for the Kutztown University Continuing Education in Kutztown, PA
Featured Guest on June 17, 2005 for Technology Leaders Radio Show for the WWDB 860 AM Radio in Philadelphia, PA
Moderated a panel on Sox: What is Real? on May 5, 2005 at the CIO Forum & Executive IT Summit. The topic was how companies have been dealing with the operations effects of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act. The panelists were: Raymond Melcher, Former CEO, Leesport Financial Corp; Jeff Herb, Director of Information Technology, Arrow International, Inc.; John Kruglinski, Asst. Tax Director, Lucent Technologies. The conference was held at the Hilton Valley Forge Hotel & Conference Center, King of Prussia.
Organized a panel on Compliance and Good Governance: The Alphabet Soup of Technology in the Technology Leadership Breakfast Series hosted by the Technology Committee from the Berks County Chamber of Commerce. CEOs and CIOs discussed the challenges of dealing with the requirements of legislation like Sarbanes-Oxley (SOX) and the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA or HIPPA). The event was held on April 15, 2005 at the Penn State Berks Campus. The panelists were Edward Barrett, CFP of Leesport Financial Corp; Jay Raman, CIO of The Reading Hospital and Medical Center.
Keynote speaker on March 2, 2005 at the BizTECH Technology Forecast and Technology Recognition hosted by the Berks County Chamber of Commerce at the Sheraton in Reading. She presented Berks County Business Technology Survey Results to an audience of over 200 technology decisionmakers.
Spoke on February 23, 2005 at the Association for Information Technology Professionals (AITP) dinner on How To Keep Up With Technology.
Spoke on Dec 10, 2004 at the Institute of Management Accountants Conference on the Impact on Technology of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act in Philadelphia, PA.
Moderated the final panel in the Technology Leadership Breakfast Series hosted by the Technology Committee from the Berks County Chamber of Commerce on November 12, 2004 at Penn State Berks Campus. The topic was How to Make Sure Employees are Getting the Most from Technology in the Technology. The networking event included a Case Study authored by me.
Presented Overwelmed and Invaded: How to Deal with Spam, Viruses and Spyware at the Small Business Alliance breakfast on Oct. 13, 2004
Presented Portrait of Business Technology on October 1, 2004, at the Association of Pennsylvania Business and Economic Faculty conference in State College, PA.
Moderated a panel on Sept 24, 2004 and led a Case Study on What Technology Will be Like in Five Years at the second Technology Leadership Breakfast Series for the Technology Committee of the Berks County Chamber of Commerce at Penn State Berks Campus. Panelists were John Weidenhammer, CEO of Weidenhammer Systems; Edith Ritter, Executive Director of Manufacturers Resource Center; G. William Ruhl, CEO of D&E Communications; Don Gould, Director of IT, Godiva Chocolatier.
Panelist at LaSalle University Alumni Reception on Does IT Matter? October 2003
Panelist at CIO Forum in Valley Forge May 2003 on Educational Technology.
Presenter at several AITP meetings and Business Associations on Technology Decision Making and Optimizing Technology for Business
Presenter at the CFO Forum in September, 2000 on Increasing Shareholder Value through E-Business.
Presenter at the CIO Forum for Financial Services in May, 2000 on Getting Clarity from the Business Side … and CEOs who get “IT”.
Community and Outreach Presentations:
Organizer for July 14, 2008 Taijiquan Gathering on Taijiquan Enthusiasts Organization at course with His Holiness the Dalai Lama at Lehigh University in Bethlehem, PA.
Speaker on March 30, 2008 on Stewardship & Philanthropy at Unitarian Universalist Fellowship of Pottstown, Pottstown, PA.
Speaker on February 17, 2008 on Balancing Life and Wealth at Unitarian Universalist Fellowship of Pottstown,Pottstown, PA.
Speaker on January 06, 2008 on Power of Apology, Peace of Forgiveness at Unitarian Universalist Fellowship of Pottstown Pottstown, PA.
Speaker on December 02, 2007 on In The Beginning: The Nature of God at Unitarian Universalist Fellowship of Pottstown, Pottstown, PA.
Speaker on August 26, 2007 on Search for Meaning at Unitarian Universalist Fellowship of Pottstown, Pottstown, PA.
Speaker on May 20, 2007 on Pacem In Vita for Leaders for Pacem In Vita Institute in Wilmington, DE.
Speaker on May 6, 2007 Community as a Sacred Vessel for Unitarian Universalist Fellowship of Pottstown in Pottstown, PA.
Speaker on Apr 29, 2007 Pacem In Vita for Children for Unitarian Universalist Fellowship of Pottstown in Pottstown, PA.
Speaker on October 08, 2006 on Peacemakers Among Us for the Unitarian Universalist Fellowship of Pottstown in Pottstown, PA. The talk had been nominated for the Dana McLean Greeley Address Competition sponsored by the United Nations Office of the Unitarian Universalist Association.
Speaker on August 5, 2006 for Pacem In Vita: Assessment sponsored by Pacem In Terris in Wilmington, DE.
Speaker on July 15, 2006 on Pacem In Vita: Leadership Curriculum that Works at the International Taijiquan Forum: Academic Conference at Lakehead University & Confederation College, in Thunderbay, Canada.
Speaker on July 9, 2006 on The Power of Soft at the Unitarian Universalist Fellowship of Pottstown in Pottstown, PA.
Speaker on May 26, 2006 Taiji & Qigong: 18 Therapies for the UUFP in Pottstown, PA.
Organizer on March 23, 2006 Pacem In Vita for Pacem In Terris in Wilmington, DE.
Panelists on March 23, 2006 The Importance of Networking for the Kutztown University Alumni Association in Kutztown, PA.
Speaker on March 14, 2006 Opportunities at the College of Business, Kutztown University for Educational Talent Search College Bound Conference at the Jewish Community Center in Reading, PA.
Organizer for May 7, 2005 Taijiquan Club Festival for the Taijiquan Club in Philadelphia, PA.
PROFESSIONAL AFFILIATIONS:
Society for Information Management. An organization for senior Information Services professionals. Served on the Communications Committee and the Collaboration Task Force. Member since 1996.
Association of Computer Technology Professionals. Previously known as DPMA (Data Processing Management Association). Member of local chapter since 1987.
American Accounting Association. An academic and practitioner organization for accounting professionals. Member of the Information Technology division.
Academy of Management. An academic and practitioner organization for professionals in management. Member of three divisions: Entrepreneurship, Management Consultants, and Spirituality. Also active in Technology and Innovation division and Research division.
National Association of Corporate Directors. A professional organization for directors of both for-profit and non-profit boards of directors.
Association of Pennsylvania University Business and Economics Faculty. A professional organization that holds academic conferences and sponsors a peer-reviewed journal for state universities.
Decision Sciences Institute. An academic research and professional organization focusing on decision making in the business environment.
American Academy of Business Disciplines. An academic research and professional organization focusing on interrelated business disciplines in the Unites States.
International Academy of Business Disciplines. An academic research and professional organization focusing on interrelated business disciplines around the world.
National Business and Economics Society. An academic research and professional organization focusing on business and economic topics.
Berks County Chamber of Commerce: Have served on the technology committee, which is dedicated to providing support for the Berks County community regarding technology.
Women In Technology International. An organization of technology professionals. Profiled in June 1999 during Women in Science & Technology month. One of founders of Mid-Atlantic Chapter serving Pennsylvania, Delaware, Maryland, and New Jersey.
Chief Officer (an exclusive on-line community of CEOs, CIOs, and COOs). Serve on Advisory Board of Directors.
Executive Suite (an exclusive on-line community of CIOs) Served on Advisory Board of Directors from 2000 to 2002
Cambridge Information Network (an exclusive on-line community of CIOs). Served on the Advisory Board of Directors from 1998 - 2000.
HONORS AND AWARDS:
Named one of Pennsylvania's Best 50 Women in Business by Governor Ed Rendell and the Department of Community and Economic Development in April 2009, and honored at a reception and awards ceremony in Harrisburg on May 11, 2009.
Given the John P. Schellenberg Award for Excellence in Teaching and Learning on December 4, 2008 by the Center for Advancement of Teaching at Kuztown University.
Named the Consultant of the Month for January 2005 by the Society of Advancement of Consulting (SAC), an international community of consulting colleagues founded by Alan Weiss, PhD. Dr. Weiss explained the reasoning behind the choice: "CJ Rhoads was named January 2005's Consultant of the month by SAC due to the excellence of her work and the credentials she brings with her. It's a pleasure to have her among the ranks of some of the most elite consultants in the world."
At MBNA, in recognition of teamwork and leadership efforts, nominated by peers and subordinates and received the Financial Excellence Award for the First Quarter of 1998.
At Hi-TECH Connections, in recognition of leadership efforts, received the President's Mile High Award for Excellence for the First Quarter of 1994.
CURRENT COMMUNITY SUPPORT
Kutztown University Foundation. Served as a Business and Industry volunteer soliciting sponsorships and scholarships from local businesses for KU Foundation for five years.
Pacem In Vita Institute/Taijiquan Club (a non-profit organization of Taijiquan Enthusiasts). Board member and leader – co-sponsor of Pacem In Vita program and world wide directory of Taijiquan Enthusiasts. In June, received special recognition through a grant awarded by the Youth Advisory Council, a special committee of teens sponsored by the Berks County Community Foundation who evaluate proposals and choose how much, if any, to fund out of hundreds of proposals. Awarded the full amount requested in a grant in order to carry on her Pacem In Vita program for the Olivet Boys and Girls club.
Pacem In Terris (a non-profit organization dedicated to Peace on Earth). Former Board Member and Current Leader in Pacem In Vita, a conflict resolution program for junior and senior high school students based upon the principles of Taijiquan. Serving as advisor for 4 pilot programs in Delaware and Southeastern Pennsylvania.
PREVIOUS COMMUNITY SUPPORT
Special Olympics – served as volunteer both in Pennsylvania and Delaware for the past thirty years. In PA developed and managed database for several years in early 90’s as well as volunteering in track and field. In DE coached Swimming and Golfing.
Interfaith Group – served as liaison and leader among Berks County churches involved in a group dedicated to education about different faiths and coordinating efforts to help the needy in downtown Reading.
Olivet Boys and Girls Club/Police Athletic League of Greater Reading– serving underprivileged youth and families in downtown Reading. Contribute as a volunteer in various events and programs.
HOST mentor (Helping One Student To Succeed)– In Delaware involved for four years in a program to mentor a student at risk for dropping out.
PCs For Community Crew– a program to clean up and recycle older microcomputers donated by corporations and reused by non-profit organizations and schools.
Project REACH– on the board of a community organization that meets the needs of disabled college students.