RONALD A. STERN
Irvine, CA 92602
ron.stern@cox.net
IT MANAGEMENT
Dynamic Business Development, Strategy and Technology Specialist with demonstrated ability to translate “Big
Picture” strategy into actionable plans and achieve bottom line results. Accomplished career successfully directing
IT operations, application development and organizational leadership. Proven expertise leading the design,
development, configuration, and implementation of robust infrastructures and enterprise-wide systems. Repeated
success in innovative IT solutions that directly promote business growth. Demonstrated success developing and
maintaining lasting relationships with key clients while fully communicating technical solutions to users and
executives at all levels of technical proficiency. Influential leadership and management abilities; able to coordinate
and oversee cross-functional teams throughout all stages of the development life cycle.
Technical and Management Strengths:
Full Life Cycle Project Management Enterprise Systems Architecture
Resource Management / Cost Containment Systems Implementation & Support
Team Development & Organizational Leadership Change / Configuration Management
Policies & Procedures Development Talent Management
Budgetary Oversight & Schedule Coordination Vendor & Contract Management
PROFESSIONAL EXPERIENCE
CITI RESIDENTIAL LENDING, Orange, CA January 2006 – August 2008
Vice President, Business Development/Technology
Overall responsibility for technology initiatives and vendor management for the Portfolio Retention division of Citi
Residential Lending which is part of Citigroup, today’s pre-eminent financial services company, with some 200
million customer accounts in more than 100 countries. Advocate and liaise between line of business and IT
services. Successfully managed third party vendors responsible for critical business services such as credit, flood,
appraisal and loan processing operations.
Managed the design, development and implementation of a workflow based CTI (computer telephony
integration) enabled CRM application used as the point of sale tool for the divisional sales teams,
enabling them to quickly and logically work with customers. Liaised with marketing and loan servicing
departments to ensure smooth flow of customer information in and out of the system in real-time.
Designed infrastructure for 3 remote call centers including large and small bandwidth sites. All sites
were interconnected and operated as one virtual call center enabling management to respond to call
volumes in real-time.
Designed and acted as Project Manager for the delivery of a 5 phase enhancement project across 4
business critical vendors, creating an integrated workflow based solution utilized by the sales team and
outsourced loan fulfillment vendor allowing all parties to work seamlessly together.
Implemented a fully automated reporting system utilizing Business Objects, enabling sales management
to accurately track sales and call center metrics.
AMERIQUEST MORTGAGE COMPANY, Orange, CA
Vice President, Business Strategies
Drove strategy, coordination and execution of mid and large-scale development and implementation projects for the
retail sales channel, providing full-lifecycle project management while overseeing cross-functional teams throughout
all project phases. Collaborated extensively with Sr. Management, retail sales managers and vendors to define
needs, determine requirements, develop specifications, analyze risks and coordinate project
schedules and budgets. Created a cohesive, focused group that analyzed, identified and established project
management/development methodologies (SDLC) ensuring standardization and cohesion among the project
management and development teams.
Ronald A. Stern Page 2
AMERIQUEST MORTGAGE COMPANY
Vice President, Business Strategies (continued)
Designed/developed/implemented an integrated telephony interface with Ameriquest’s proprietary point
of sale system, asap! AE, resulting in a 35% increase in productivity.
Increased average lead contacts and applications 125% for Ameriquest’s Portfolio Retention group
while managing the design and implementation of a new lead distribution process known as Lead off
the Top (LOTT).
Designed a lead scoring system that increased lead to application conversions 37%.
Vice President, Vendor Management and Business Controls
Redefined Vendor Management policies and procedures. Established goals, selected vendors, negotiated/re-
negotiated contracts and managed vendors to ensure that business goals were consistently achieved and service
level agreements (SLA’s) were met. Directly managed 25 member team responsible for multi-billion dollar annual
spend across 250+ vendors.
Created a preferred Title vendor relationship program that reduced vendor selection from 100+ to only 5
strategic title companies resulting in faster turn times and improved working relationships.
Reduced monthly spend for automated valuation models (AVM’s) $275,000 by revising guidelines for
AVM ordering and data retention/sharing.
Reduced credit transaction charges 53% while simultaneously increasing support levels from the
vendors.
Integrated the FNC Appraisal solution with Ameriquest’s asap! LC loan origination system. Delivered
project 2 months ahead of schedule.
INDYMAC BANK F.S.B., Irvine, CA March 2000 – November 2005
Vice President, Information Technology
Responsible for entire IT infrastructure, budget and development efforts for Business to Consumer (B2C) division.
Focused on infrastructure design and implementation, system analysis and software development to ensure
reliability, stability and competitive advantage. Collaborated closely with executive management to define and
implement SDLC methodologies across the enterprise.
Managed $2.5 Million system upgrade of a mission critical Loan Origination System (LOS). Project
was on time and $300,000 under budget.
Automated critical business processes enhancing the productivity of multiple departments across
multiple business units which reduced overhead costs by over $1 Million annually and increased
productivity 25%.
Managed infrastructure redevelopment of B2C/CDI Systems which eliminated 10 single points of failure
over a 90 day period.
Integrated Lead Aggregation systems with Interactive Intelligence Customer Interaction Center (CIC)
telephony system for real-time delivery of multi-lender and consumer inquires for immediate callback.
This integration increased pull through of transferred leads by over 75%.
Integrated FNC Appraisal Services into LOS. This provided automated ordering, status updates and
first level review. Reduced appraisal staffing needs and increased turn around time by 20%.
Integrated Indymac’s EMITS technology into Gallagher Millennium LOS and IndymacMortgage.com to
enable real-time risk based pricing for consumers.
PLAID BROTHERS SOFTWARE – Irvine, CA February 1990 – January 2000
Manager of Information Technology
Plaid Brothers Software was the preeminent leader in contact and portfolio management for investment
brokerages. Partnered with sales and development teams to attract Wall Street’s largest firms including: BT Alex.
Brown Inc., CIBC Oppenheimer Corp., Advest Inc., Legg Mason Wood Walker Inc. and J.C. Bradford & Co .
Ronald A. Stern Page 3
PLAID BROTHERS SOFTWARE
Manager of Information Technology (continued)
Made key contributions to the company’s growth to over 100 employees and $12 Million in revenues
contributing to the sale of the company to Sungard Data Systems in 1998.
Reduced telecommunication costs 50% by consolidating vendors and negotiating reduced rates.
Designed and built Data Center and Operations teams for 24/7 availability of over 125 Database and
Web Servers in a Microsoft centric environment.
Implemented SDLC methodologies without impacting entrepreneurial development style.
Designed and implemented Corporate Anti-Virus Solution and data recovery policy and procedures.
Created/implemented/maintained corporate Internet/Intranet and demonstration websites.
Reduced annual IT spending $2 Million by implementing virtual server technology.
Coordinated the relocation of corporate headquarters including building selection, lease negotiation,
space planning, vendor selection, and physical relocation.
Manager of Database Administration
Adapted and coordinated design, development and implementation of database schema’s for internal
and external applications
o Database Servers: Microsoft SQL 4.x – 7.x, Sybase SQL Server 4.x – 11.x, Oracle, Ingres DB,
HP Allbase, Watcom SQL, Dbase, Microsoft Access
o Operating Systems: OS/2, Windows 3.x/95/98/NT, AIX, Solaris, HP-UX
Additional positions and accomplishments at Plaid Brothers Software
Senior Systems Specialist
Database Administrator
Systems Specialist/Help Desk
Designed and implemented network topology and infrastructure.
Managed Internet Firewall and Microsoft Exchange Server (4.x, 5.x).
Liaison between Plaid Brothers Software and Spinnaker Software in joint-venture development of a
DOS based contact management application. Product was distributed on schedule under the name
PFS:Prospect.
Provided telephone support for 2500+ users of DOS based portfolio and contact management
software.
Repaired hardware and provided software support for corporate office.
EDUCATION
Psychology, California State University, Sacramento
Business, California State University, Fullerton
COMPANY SPONSORED PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT
Six Sigma – Green belt Account & Portfolio Management
PMI – Project Management Coaching for success
Leadership Development Institute