Robert Charleston

Recruited by the Senior Director of Managed Care Operations to establish a technology roadmap and instill sound project management principles for this healthcare organization.  Responsibilities include creation of a strategic plan to address the technology needs of the organization.  Included in this plan are recommendations for the introduction of systems to replace antiquated manual processes in the areas of Workflow, Enrollment, Claims Processing and CRM/Customer Service.  Buy vs. build recommendations, staffing projections, and vendor negotiation are all part of core duties. 

Sandata, LLC2010-6/2013

Director, Application Development & Project Management

Reporting directly to CTO, chief responsibilities included technical development and maintenance of Sandata’s suite of products as well as overseeing Tier 3 Product Support.  Sandata is a software development company specializing in products for the Home Healthcare industry.  Daily activities included functioning as the primary liaison between the Systems Development group and Product Development group to ensure that the product roadmap was progressing on time and on budget, as well as participating as a senior member of the IT steering committee.

·   Managed group consisting of on/off-shore Developers, DBA’s, Business Analysts, and Project Managers to support Sandata’s SaaS based products.

·   Oversaw Architecture group, which was responsible for technical architecture of systems.

·   Initiated R & D group to investigate Open Source solutions.

·   Participated in RFP responses.

·   Project Managed simultaneous strategic projects adhering to strict SDLC standards.

·   Key member of IT Steering Group, which developed technical strategic plans for the company.

·   Developed and enforced sound Project Management processes for all initiatives.

·   Installed procedures (peer reviews, various metrics) to ensure developer coding was as bug free as possible before it was turned over to QA.

·   Managed a mix of internal and external staff to assure maximum efficiency.

·   Negotiated and administered all vendor/outsourcing contracts.

·   Maintained IT budget of over $10M, which kept track of both internal and external resources as well as hardware and software purchased

Technical Environment: SaaS based products, Mobile products, Windows, .Net, Java, SQL Server, Linux, Oracle, Web Services, HTML5, Open Source tools (Drools, Talend, Git, OpenAM, Open GPS)

ODYSSEYRE/HUDSON INSURANCE GROUP 2003-2010

Director, IT

Built a technology group consisting of internal and external resources for this specialty insurance underwriter of primary and excess property and casualty insurance.  Project management, business analysis, software development, quality assurance, infrastructure support and customer service were core duties of this group.  Gaining the respect, support, and confidence of other senior management throughout the company was a major responsibility of this position.  Other key aspects of this position included mentoring/training staff, developing working relationships with external vendors, and ensuring that the needs of the business were the top priority for all technology initiatives.

·   Managed group of 10-15 Developers, DBA’s and Business Analysts whose goal was the engineering of end-to-end web-based insurance system, which included modules for submissions, rating, quoting, policy management claims, accounting, and executive reporting.

·   Implemented a data mart and enterprise-wide reporting.

·   Acted as Project Manager for key initiatives.

·   Built and administered corporate helpdesk system to ensure all user issues were addressed.

·   Participated with other senior managers throughout the company in selecting a vendor solution for the company’s crop insurance division.

·   Created a corporate vision that would act as a roadmap for all technology initiatives.

·   Developed strategic plan for future development.

·   Authored and adhered to SDLC standards.

·   Ensured quality assurance procedures were followed for all delivered systems.

·   Implemented corporate Sarbanes Oxley standards.

·   Enforced sound project management processes.

Technical Environment: Windows .Net, SQL Server, Web Services, Data Warehousing

HEALTHMARKET (Start-up) 2000-2003

Director, Applications Development

Primary responsibility was analyzing the needs of the various business units throughout the company (Sales, Finance, Customer Service, Claims, Enrollment and Marketing) and through joint cooperation developed technological solutions to meet those needs.  Managed and mentored a staff of over 20 consisting of Project Managers, Architects, and Software Developers whose focus was the implementation of software development systems.  Additional responsibilities included working with external vendors and collaborating with the CTO on strategic planning and overall architecture of the IT infrastructure.  Reported of the Chief Technology Officer (CTO) for this $100 Million Health Insurance startup. 

·   Managed a group of over 20 Developers and DBA’s.  Group consisted of both internal and external resources.

·   Worked with a cross-functional team of business representatives to develop a state-of-the-art website accessed by both external and internal users.  This website allowed members to view their policy information and to search for doctors, hospitals, medical claims, and forms as well as other health care related information.

·   Implemented Oracle Financials by working with the Chief Financial Officer to assess and analyze the Financial Reporting needs of the company.

·   Created other web-based applications for individual business units such as an Enrollment System, a Quoting System, and a Renewals System, utilized by both internal and external users.

·   Built an enterprise-wide reporting infrastructure that ensured that all departments received critical reports in an accurate and timely manner.

Technical Environment: Windows, Linux, Java, Oracle, Web Services, WebLogic, JBoss, Struts

PARKE-DAVIS (A DIVISION OF WARNER LAMBERT)1998-2000

Manager of Financial Applications

·   Managed a software development group whose primary focus was the development of Internet-based Financial Applications.  Strategic Planning, reengineering of existing business processes, system design, technology selection, budgeting, and the task of keeping a staff well trained and motivated were some of the main responsibilities associated with this position.

·   Reengineered legacy Financial Systems to web-based, Y2K compliant applications. 

·   Helped set the strategic direction as to which web-based technologies would be utilized throughout the organization by investigating e-commerce (business-to-business, business-to-consumer) vendor solutions.

Technical Environment: Windows, .Net, SQL Server, Data Warehousing

PAINEWEBBER 1997-1998

Manager, Portfolio Management Systems

·   Led the technical team consisting of Project Managers, Project Leaders, and Programmer/Analysts whose main area of responsibility was the design, development, and deployment of mission-critical financial applications.

·   Managed the relationship with the Managed Accounts business division.  Worked closely with the business analysts to gather requirements, define functional specifications, and transform these requirements into technical solutions.

·   Developed and deployed a Mutual Fund Risk Tolerance/Asset Allocation system utilized by over 5000 brokers in over 300 locations. 

·   Managed a multi-million dollar Financial Planning outsourcing project.

·   Oversaw design and development process for all Managed Account systems.

·   Coordinated the rollout/distribution of developed systems to production.

Technical Environment: Windows, .Net, Oracle, Legacy (COBOL, RPG)

THOMSON HEALTHCARE