STEVE OLSON

E-mail: sob7e4c4@westpost.net
SENIOR EXECUTIVE - TECHNOLOGY, OPERATIONS & FINANCE
Strong International Background and Global Orientation
Mr. Olson has held senior positions in large multi-national organizations for ov
er twenty years. His background includes information services, banking, transpor
tation and financial services for technology-based companies. He has served as C
IO to Circle Freight International, Director of Systems for Air Express Internat
ional and BAX Global and functioned as VP of Global Technical Strategy on the Gl
obal Systems Planning team for Barclays Bank in London. He also participated in
the development and launch of new global banking systems. Mr. Olson assisted man
y development stage companies over the last twelve years in planning, developmen
t, implementation and funding. Mr. Olson has experience in both large scale and
medium sized organizations including applications development, consulting, syste
ms programming, data base management, systems design, project management, depart
mental management, budget management, contract negotiations and strategic system
s planning. Managed individual project budgets of over $30 million and departmen
tal budgets of over $75 million through effective management techniques.
AREAS OF EXPERTISE
* Business Area Knowledge: Detailed business experience in banking, finance, tra
nsportation logistics and supply chain management, manufacturing and health insu
rance.
* Business Systems Strategy: Participated in corporate business strategy committ
ees representing the information systems departments in the production of corpor
ate strategic plans, and have developed and deployed the technical strategies to
support the implementation of the tactical and strategic business plans.
* Project Management: Directed numerous projects, ranging from small two person
projects, to large projects directing over one hundred people.
* Technology: Advanced expertise in technology utilization and deployment. Curre
nt detailed knowledge and experience in e-Business & wireless technologies, Busi
ness Intelligence, vendors and products. Concentration on application of technol
ogy to business problems to deliver cost effective and resilient solutions.
* Financial Administration: Significant experience in cost control and budget ma
nagement for large projects and departments. Discovered ways to leverage technol
ogy to produce additional revenue streams.
* Team Building: Extensive experience in recruitment and building information se
rvice departments, with ongoing retention training programs fostering a positive
work environment.
HIGHLIGHTS OF ACHIEVEMENTS
* As vice president of technical strategy, produced Barclays Bank's first Global
Systems Plan technical strategy for global international banking business initi
ating 48 systems projects for development inter-linking 500 processors and multi
ple public networks in 25 countries.
* Analyzed the functional business areas of Corporate Deposits, Corporate Lendin
g, Trade Finance, Foreign Exchange dealing, Funds Transfer and Management Inform
ation Systems.
* Directed STAR ATM implementation at a Barclays Bank. Participated in the STAR
System shared ATM network Technical Planning Committee that implemented the netw
ork.
* Directed the development of a message switching front-end for ATM and point-of
-sale processing. This system helped achieve 99% system availability to customer
s.
* Worked with several startup companies, including investors requiring due dilig
ence technical research. This involves detailed technical product analysis, mark
et competition studies and business operational assessment.
* Functioned in interim executive positions for clients, including President, CO
O, CIO and CFO.
* Designed and directed the development of new Internet and Intranet Web based a
pplications for shipment management, data warehousing and document/image managem
ent.
* Conceived and directed development of a Material Order Management system for t
ransportation logistics management of supplier material used for JIT manufacturi
ng, in support of General Motors, Dell computer and Apple computer.
* Directed the development of a package scanning system for tracking of freight,
from initial collection of the packages, through delivery. The system was insta
lled and over 1,000 scanners were implemented. This system is also supported by
a client/server system running on over 1,500 PCs. Symbol 3100 scanners were used
with both direct connect and RF communications.
* Implemented a migration plan to distributed processing on remote minicomputers
and PCs connected to an IBM mainframe processor utilizing both client/server, a
nd thin client architecture.
* Implemented EDI with numerous customers and vendors.
* Reduced communications expenses in both data and voice by 12% by implementing
a variety of inter-networking and EDI techniques and through contract negotiatio
n, while increasing data network access by over 200%.
* Maintained expense budgets over three years to only a 5% increase while corpor
ate revenues increased 90%.
* Consulted with senior management of overseas business units in the initiation
of formal strategic planning that merge business and systems planning processes.
* Authored a Barclays Bank's global systems policies.
PROFESSIONAL HISTORY
Strategic Growth Solutions, Consulting Services/ Partner 4/97 - present
Founded an information systems consulting practice, providing management, planni
ng, and development of information systems. Have conducted business and technolo
gy planning for 26 companies in the last 12 years. Specialized in Internet enabl
ing of on-line interactive applications for B2B and B2CE-Commerce. Clients and p
rojects include:
* Skinit.com - Assisted in founding the company. Developed business plans and as
sisted in fund raising.
* SNS Systems Electronic Commerce Division, now part of Bell Canada Emergis. Pro
vided consulting in strategic planning of the company's future information produ
cts. Produced systems designs, provided project management and resource staffing
of a team to develop a series of Internet product offerings, which include a su
pply chain management services provider database, shipment tracking and Web enab
led EDI for shipment and order processing.
* Parker Hannifin Aerospace Division. Provided Internet, Intranet and EDI consul
ting and development that included Corporate Web buying of aircraft parts, and I
ntranet applications for Customer Relationship Management. Microsoft platforms w
ere used for development and production.
* ARINC. Provided consulting services for the Electronic Commerce Division for W
eb and EDI initiatives for ARINC, an airline owned networking company that provi
des aircraft tracking and management services for airports and the FAA, as well
as a variety of services for GPS satellite tracking for trucks (including FedEx)
. Services included analysis of customer needs, communications consulting for th
eir customers converting to VPN, and production of RFPs for development initiati
ves.
* ACOM. Specialized in electronic payment systems. Provided technical designs, p
roject management and staffing of a major revision to their software for electro
nic checks using a client/server implementation. EDI can ACH (Automated Clearing
House) interface capabilities were added to their product.
* Encargo. A new company providing buying and transportation services into Latin
 American. Currently providing logistics consulting and project management of th
eir systems development efforts.
* Business Service Connection. A new company brokering general business services
and providing escrow services for buyers and sellers.
* Blue Cove Interactive - Served as President and worked to acquire venture fina
ncing.
* Heavy Water Vodka - Business planning and assisted in funding.
* Green Sandwich Inc. - A manufacturer of building panels, served as COO and led
fund raising activities.
* LMI Inc. - Payment Processor, led a technology infrastructure project replacin
g existing technology and conducted training in SQL server and Visual Studio. In
itiated a Business Intelligence project.
* Market Remedy - Assisted in business and technology planning.
Burlington Air Express (BAX Global) / Director, Applications Development 5/95 -
4/97
Burlington Air Express provides transportation logistics services utilizing air,
ocean, trucking, warehousing, distribution and customs clearance for medium to
large-scale multinational companies. Burlington operates its own fleet of aircr
aft within the US for domestic shipment, and utilizes common carriers for intern
ational air and ocean shipments. Burlington operated one primary data center wit
h a mainframe, an AS/400 and multiple UNIX systems, and 10 satellite centers out
side the US with AS/400 and UNIX based systems, connected globally. (100+ develo
pment staff, plus contractors).
Air Express International Director, Corporate Systems 9/93 - 5/95
Air Express International (AEI) provides transportation logistics services utili
zing air, ocean, trucking and customs clearance for medium to large-scale multin
ational companies. Additional services provided include warehousing and distribu
tion. Information management is key to selling and maintaining its product servi
ces to clients. AEI operated two primary data centers, one in Darien CT, and the
other in London. There are also 14 satellite centers which support accounting.
AEI uses mainframe, minicomputer and LAN technology to support its global busine
ss, and all are interconnected via a global network. (72 development staff, plus
contractors).
The Harper Group Inc. (Circle International), Acquired by CEVA) -
CIO Vice President, Information Services Division 9/88 - 8/93
Circle International offered international transportation and logistics services
for large and medium sized multinational organizations. Transportation and logi
stics functions include air, ocean, customs clearance, warehousing and JIT plann
ing. Logistics information services have become integral to the logistics servic
es provided. Responsible for all information service functions for the company g
lobally. This included a primary data processing center and ten distributed remo
te sites operating AS/400's throughout Europe and the Far East, supporting over
385 offices in 45 countries. (50+ Staff, 3,000+ on-line terminals).
Barclays Bank PLC - 7/80 - 6/88
Vice President, Technical Strategy, Global Systems Planning
Responsible for the overall technical strategy, both hardware and software, for
the Bank's global banking business of 5,000+ offices.
* Analyzed the functional business areas of Corporate Deposits, Corporate Lendin
g, Trade Finance, Foreign Exchange dealing, Funds Transfer and Management Inform
ation Systems.
* Consulted with senior management in multiple countries in the initiation of fo
rmal strategic planning that merge business and systems planning processes..
* Directed the development of a Tandem based message switching front-end for ATM
and point-of-sale processing. This system helped achieve 99% system availabilit
y to customers.
* Directed the development of a computer voice response system for customer inqu
iry of banking information.
* Developed the applications architecture for all subsequent on-line systems dev
elopment.