EDUCATION

B.S. COMPUTER SCIENCE, June 1987, Lehigh University, Bethlehem, PA

WORK EXPERIENCE

March '00 - Present

RC MERRELL CONSULTING, LLC

Independent Information Technology Project Consultant

Running a consulting company that conceives, designs, develops, and implements financial transaction software solutions and web sites. Projects include:

• Online securities trading site for self-directed 401k brokerage accounts
• Brokerage marketing site with financial planning tools and market data
• Functional requirements analysis for an Employee Stock Option Plan (ESOP) transaction web site
• Vendor analysis for developing a web site automating ESOP programs
• Brokerage customer compliance and marketing software application
• Customized software interface linking a brokerage transaction processing system with a tax lot accounting and tax reporting system
• Functional analysis and project management for an integrated online transactional brokerage and banking system allowing retail trading on the Brazil and Argentina stock exchanges (BOVESPA and MerVal)
• Software architecture design and project management for an integrated Stop-Loss insurance underwriting, policy issuance, premium collection, and claims processing system
• Product design and project management for an online employee benefits enrollment and human resources information system

September '96 - March '00

FISERV SECURITIES, INC. (A Fiserv Company), Philadelphia, PA

Vice President, Information Technology Project Office

Led a staff of 17 Business Analysts, Product Managers, Quality Assurance Analysts, and Programmers to oversee the development of the following products:

• Retail online brokerage web sites
• Registered Investment Advisor account management web sites
• Web-based online brokerage account opening software tool
• Financial information web site
• Internet portal web site for licensed securities brokers

Vice President, Systems Support Division

Led a technical staff of 22 people in six departments with a capital expenditure budget of $1.5 million for a leading brokerage clearing firm. Responsible for all hiring, training, and vendor contract negotiations. Department oversight included:

• Internet Host Center: Hosts server-side JAVA applications running on Netscape Enterprise Server providing 24x7 online trading web sites. Develops and implements corporate network security policies for all Checkpoint firewalls, Cisco routers, and MS RAS servers.
• Technical Support Center: Provides level I technical assistance to employees and brokerage customers. Develops trouble-ticket processing procedures.
• Client/Server Production Administration: Manages 24 IBM RS6000 servers running transaction-processing software on Unix-AIX 4.2 and Oracle 7.3. 24x7 monitoring provided by Platinum's ServerVision and DBVision.
• Local Area Networking: Provides a MS NT based LAN supporting 300 employees with file/print, email (MS Exchange), domain control, and DHCP services. Managed migration from Novell servers to MS NT servers.
• Wide Area Networking: Manages a frame relay data network consisting of five T-1s running the TCP/IP protocol and three T-1s running the SNA protocol. Administers a Meridian Option 61 PBX with two dedicated T-1s.
• Product Implementation: Responsible for all customer conversion project management. Develops corporate telecommunications disaster recovery plans.

March '88 - June '96

COMMISSIONED OFFICER, UNITED STATES AIR FORCE

Communications Squadron Flight Commander

• Managed 43 technicians and $8.3 million of mobile telecommunications equipment including satellite earth terminals, and data network systems.

Airborne Command Post Communications Crew Commander

• Managed the in-flight operations and maintenance of all telecommunications systems on-board airborne command post aircraft.

Communications and Computer Systems Staff Officer

• Performed computer performance analysis and capacity planning for Unisys 1100/2200 mainframe computers housed in 23 data centers.

September '87 - February '88

UNISYS INC., LARGE SYSTEMS GROUP, Tredyffrin-Easttown, PA

Software Test Engineer Intern

• Developed testing software and procedures for A-series mainframe diagnostic software. Analyzed results and recommended improvements to programmers.

PROFESSIONAL TRAINING

• U.S. Air Force Total Quality Management Training
• Squadron Officer's School Leadership and Management Training Program
• Fiserv, Inc. Customer Service Excellence Trainer Certification