Michael Saunders

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Dynamic, results-oriented Executive with career-long, progressive experience in managing change and growth in organizations of various sizes. Excellent technological acumen with proven ability to scope, plan, implement, and deliver projects on time and under budget while maximizing revenue, leveraging relationships to enhance business development. Strong combination of common sense and analytical abilities; exhibit inclusive leadership style that encourages participation, personal accountability, and professional growth. Strong communicator with innate ability to subtly lead others to make sound organizational and business decisions.

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Core Competencies

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Professional Experience

INFORMATION ORGANIZERS, San Jose, California, 2004-present

PRESIDENT

Consultancy focused on projects that synthesize information in creative and novel ways promoting efforts to foster effective communications.Key Achievements:

• Maintain a network of Websites that aggregate and examine the role that governments, foundations and small businesses play in creating healthy and vibrant communities.
• Working with Community Foundation to understand cost structure of service Offerings to Determine Implications for Ongoing Product Mix and Delivery.
• Assisted Private Foundation perform competitive analysis of the philanthropic landscape and develop possible strategic scenarios for future direction.
• Worked with large Community Foundation to implement a community information module to more effectively engage donors and nonprofits.
• Conceptualized and developed Website for a healthcare advocacy organization to effectively address the information and advocacy needs of multiple constituencies.

HANDSNET, San Jose, California, 1997-2004

CEO

Define and implement vision across organization to ensure growth for nonprofit organization specializing in leveraging online communications to aid U.S. children, families and people in need.

Create strategic plans aligned with vision; determine and apply most effective functional structure; organize and adeptly assign and lead 15-member cross-functional team to accomplish objectives. Define, develop, and administer $2 million budget and report to Board. Identify and negotiate contracts/develop relationships with system integrators, software vendors, clients, and others. Source and cultivate funding-source and information content provider relationships and develop strategic project-based and ongoing partnerships as appropriate. Develop and deploy marketing initiatives, including execution of competitive analyses to determine best product positioning strategies. Develop staff to ensure proficiency, cross-functionality, and strong sense of teamwork and motivation.

Key Achievements

   *  Successfully led cultural transition to participative environment, enhancing staff growth and accountability opportunities.

   *  Instrumental in converting enterprise technology from proprietary closed architecture to fully Web-based implementation.

   *  Led staff to develop prototypes and functional and technical specifications for primary product.

   *  Secured more than $4 million in funding through adept relationship cultivation and management as well as excellent proposal creation.

   *  Conceptualized and implemented strategy and business plan for new Web-based information aggregation and dissemination service to more effectively meet customer needs.

   *  Identified and strategized move to self-service model that required less administration and reduced costs by 20%.

   *  Created and implemented new administrative procedures to improve system-user management, reallocating resources to customer related activities.

Price Waterhouse, San Francisco, California, 1995-1997

Principal Consultant

Provided top-level consulting services to select clientele, emphasizing effective change implementation and management within organizations.

Integrated rapidly into existing client teams to lead them and junior consultants to scope and define requirements for change projects. Assessed, analyzed, mapped, and identified improvements for business processes, procedures, and practices to improve clients? operations. Led clients to develop and implement effective organizational redesign. Trained, mentored, and coached junior consultants to develop skills and value.

Key Achievements

   *  Evinced exceptional listening skills, hearing beyond words to hidden concerns and addressing those to achieve goals.

   *  Instrumental in re-engineering financial functions in leading U.S. bank, resulting in an overall cost reduction of 25%.

Towers Perrin, San Francisco, California, 1994-1995

General Management Consultant

Served as broad-based management consultant for major corporations, focusing on human elements involved in comprehensive change projects.

Adeptly established leadership position to guide client teams through scope of project planning process, coordinating information collection (verbal and written), analysis, and interpretation to process redesign, achieving stronger alignment with enterprise objectives. Managed and defused difficult and conflict-laden situations during redesign phases. Coordinated inter-organizational communications between executive levels to assure open communications. Mentored and coached junior consultants and shepherded teams to deliver projects on time and under budget.

Key Achievements

   *  Assigned to major U.S. and Canadian utility clients to reengineer administrative and financial business processes, streamlining activities and enhancing profitability.

   *  Quickly established rapport with and gained trust of clients to enhance team effectiveness during projects? active phases.

   *  Recommended and implemented shared-services facilities for several clients, significantly reducing costs and improving operational efficiency.

Reuters America, New York, New York, 1993-1994

Served in multiple assignments for international information-based firm, focusing on growth and profitability.

Manager, Business Development, San Francisco, California, 1993-1994

Oversaw all business-development and expansion activities regarding potential relationships with technology firms in Silicon Valley area. Performed market assessments and analyses to determine targets for strategic and tactical alliances. Identified, established, and nurtured relationships with information and technology firms to leverage complementary strengths.

Key Achievements

   *  Identified three potential partners for the Reuters portfolio.

   *  Initiated initial due diligence for senior management and prepared recommendations on how best to proceed.

Project Manager, New York, New York, 1989-1993

Provided support for EVP managing all North and South American operations and managed projects coordinating Sales, Service, and Marketing. Effectively translated executive directives into pragmatic, actionable initiatives. Facilitated flow of communication enterprise wide. Developed and delivered corporate presentations on regional performance.

Key Achievements

   *  Employed Lotus Notes to develop sales-forecasting system, automating previously manual process and significantly reducing forecasting time while increasing accuracy.

   *  Supervised technical team, implementing LANs in all national sales offices.

   *  Developed engaging, motivational management style incorporating encouragement and sense of teamwork.

Competitive Analysis Manager, New York, NY, 1987-1989

Prior Experience

IBM Corporation, White Plains, New York - Advisory Product Forecaster

EF Hutton, New York, New York - Corporate Finance Associate

IBM Corporation, New York, New York - Systems Engineer / Marketing Representative

Education

MBA, Finance/Strategic Management

Stanford Graduate School of Business - Stanford, California

BA, Engineering/Applied Sciences

Harvard College - Cambridge, Massachusetts

Professional Associations

International Angel Investors Institute, Board Member

CompuMentor, Board Member