Mark Wooten

Objective

My ideal position would be a project management/business analyst scenario done from the virtual office.  I’ve done this type of work for over ten years now, and I’m efficient with it as well as confident in my abilities.  I’m also very comfortable reporting directly to an executive leadership-level and prefer a role where the work I provide is seen across a large portion of the company.  I thrive in a high-visibility position and take pride in being the guy with the answers.

High-Level Skills

Project Management	Conference Calls	Network Engineering
Executive-Level Reporting	Microsoft Excel w/VBA	GSM, UMTS, LTE, 3G, 4G
Executive Dashboarding	Pivots / Charts / Macros	Cell Site Installation
Milestone Tracking (Waterfall)	Access / Word / Outlook / PPT	Central Office Installation
Resource Allocation	Telcordia Granite / WebXng	Structured Cabling
Process Documentation	Circuit / Equipment Design	Fiber Optic Splicing/Testing
Process Streamlining	NSB / Carrier Adds	E911 Installation / Testing
Data Trending	Relational Databases	Tech Support

 

Employment History

07-2009 to 12-2014	Bus. Analyst/Special Proj. PM	ATT c/o Axcent Networks
12-2006 to Present	Life Time Fitness	Group Fitness Instructor
01-2009 to 07-2009	Granite Engineer	T-Mobile c/o Teksystems
08-2004 to 07-2008	Director of Customer Support	Fiber Tower Corporation
07-2005 to 12-2006	Granite Migration PM	ATT c/o Axcent Networks
10-2003 to 07-2005	Granite Engineer	ATT c/o Ray Nixon & Assoc.
06-2003 to 10-2003	Cellular Drive Tester	ATT c/o Ray Nixon & Assoc.
10-2002 to 06-2003	E911 Installation	True Position
09-2000 to 09-2002	Installation Manager	Centralnet Inc.
10-1998 to 09-2000	Tech Support Rep.	Philips Consumer Electronics

 

Other Experience

While it may seem irrelevant at face value, I am a 12-time Ironman, including a qualification to the World Championships.  I believe that this is a testament to my mental strength and ability to persevere against adversity.  It has also given me a great perspective on life and work.  When I get a late Friday afternoon call for a hot project (aka A Friday Fire Drill), I know that I’ve endured tougher tests in my life and can handle it. 

 

 

 

Mark Wooten (cont.)

Work Specific Summary

Project Manager/Business Analyst for AT&T – (via Axcent Networks as a consultant) - 07/2009 to 12/2014

I worked as a national project manager/business analyst for the Circuit Path Design Ordering (CPDO) organization, which was responsible for backhaul delivery to cell sites.  Even though our group’s responsibilities began after the cell site was constructed and completed just before integration, in a PM scenario, I still had to be knowledgeable of the initial aspects of new site build construction such as leasing and zoning through to the final step of going on air.  I also needed a strong fundamental knowledge of mobile networks, topology, and technology such as: Ericsson and ALU Node Bs and eNode Bs, UMTS, LTE, GSM, MLPPP, Small Cell, MSNs, DACS, DS1s, ENET, etc. 

Reporting represented a heavy portion of my daily workload, and I would build reports that went to VP-level to measure metrics and performance as well as reports to individual workgroups that were used to move day-to-day workload.  Excel is my strongpoint, and I absolutely use its advanced features such as VBA macros and complex formulas.  If a repetitive task can be automated, I’ll find a way.  I’ll invest the time upfront, so that reproduction of the report becomes a simple matter of updating the source data from a database dump out of Access or Business Objects, allowing the formulas to calculate, and refreshing pivots tables/charts.  I would create beautiful (yet functional) charts and dashboards that would often find themselves in slide decks at a leadership-level.

I would wear a project management hat anytime a critical project was on deck.  In 2013, I ran two of the most important projects at the company, which involved an urgent backhaul replacement after one of our vendors filed bankruptcy and another project with a time-sensitive need to deploy LTE service before critical FCC filings.  My project management style weighs heavily on reporting: using volume of work and trending to show success or problem areas.  Most of our workflow was configured in a waterfall method, so I would define appropriate SLAs for each milestone/task.  I’m quick to call out a group that’s dragging behind, and I’m quick to praise a group that’s taking care of business.  I like to create workable “buckets” of actionable tasks.  “Here are your items ready to work; go get it.”

Hosting and participating in meetings, of course, also represented a large percentage of my daily routine.  I am extremely comfortable in a conference call environment, sharing my desktop, and presenting to a large audience.  I can speak confidently to the leadership-level, but I’m also comfortable driving meetings at a workgroup level.  Because my career has spanned from getting my hands dirty on the installation side and continues today in the office, I can talk to a person in a suit as easily as a person in a hardhat.  I also recognize that poorly-organized conference calls can be a big waste of time, and sometimes, a personal phone call is more efficient.

 

 

 

Mark Wooten (cont.)

Work Specific Summary (cont.)

Group Fitness Instructor for Lifetime Fitness - 12/2006 to Present

I teach group fitness classes (strength building, cycling, Run Club) for one of the most elite health clubs in the country, and I’m currently also striving to add a triathlon coaching role to my skillset. 

Generally, this might be considered extraneous experience in terms of applying for a white collar position.  However, I’ve included it in order to highlight a few items that I feel are universal skills.  First of all, I feel completely at home when I get up on a stage in front of 50 or more people several times per week.  I know how to motivate.  I’ve learned how to observe an individual’s strengths and weaknesses and have learned that not all people are motivated by the same methods.  Lastly, I put a high-priority on being a role model and leading by example.

Granite Path and Equipment Designer for T-Mobile (via Teksystems as a consultant) – 01/2009 to 07/2009

I have SME-level ability the Telcordia Granite database, and I was hired to audit and document T-Mobile’s equipment and circuit paths.  The involved looking at MTSO schematics, circuit records, LEC billing records, and DACS cross-connects to properly catalog their inventory. 

Director of Customer Support for Fiber Tower Inc. – 08/2004 to 07/2008

Fiber Tower was a startup wireless backhaul provider, who would lease bandwidth to the major cellular providers.  Fiber Tower would build-out a microwave network in the major NFL cities, which would aggregate onto leased fiber to be carried back to providers’ central offices. 

As this was a startup, where the bureaucratic red tape wasn’t fully established, I had the opportunity to wear many hats and essentially define my own role where I felt there was a need.  The largest part of my role was customer-facing, where I would work directly with our customers (ATT, Cingular, Sprint, T-Mobile, Verizon, and MetroPCS) as a central point of contact, whether they needed to place an order, help with our tools, billing statements, or to report a cell site outage.  I was “The Answer Guy” to the customers and a transition to our other functional workgroups such as our provisioning, operations, sales, and construction teams.

In addition, due to my reporting and database querying capabilities, my other duties were closely tied to a business analyst role.  Fiber Tower was extremely focused on quarterly reporting to our investors, and my “numbers” were golden.  Bonuses were based on my reports!

Granite Migration PM for AT&T - (via Axcent Networks as a consultant). – 07/2005 to 12/2006

As previously mentioned, I have SME-level ability with the Granite database.  During this time, Cingular had just merged with ATT Mobility, and my role was to oversee the merger of Cingular’s database records into ATT’s.  This involved hands-on record building, auditing, quality control for data integrity, and training of the ATT/Cingular employees to transition the database into their hands. 

Mark Wooten (cont.)

Work Specific Summary (cont.)

Granite Engineer for AT&T – (via Ray Nixon & Assoc. as a consultant) - 06-2003 to 10-2003

In this role, I learned the Granite database and began modeling telecom equipment and provisioning circuit records.  I would perform site-level audits to capture data (shelves, cards, ports) of equipment such as the Lucent 5ESS and Ericsson AXE800.  I’d also audit cross-connects at both a DACS and a physical-level in order to map them into the database.

Cellular Drive Tester for AT&T – (via Ray Nixon & Assoc. as a consultant) - 06-2003 to 10-2003

In this role, I provided drive testing services for AT&T.  This would involve driving between cell sites and making 911 and other types of phone calls at each sector to either test E911 services or confirm that a rehome was successful.

E911 LMU Installer for True Position – 10/2002 to 06/2003

True Position manufactures a location measurement unit that is installed in cell sites to calculate location when a 911 phone call is received. 

In this position, I would travel between cell sites installing, configuring, and troubleshooting the LMU units.  This involved taking GPS coordinates, running power and coax cabling, installing antennas, and provisioning the unit via ProComm.

When a market was completed, I was left behind as quality control and troubleshooting SME.

Installation Manager for Centralnet Inc. - 09/2000 to 09/2002

Centralnet was a subcontracting firm that provided telecom installation services for Nortel, Alcatel, and municipal projects. 

As a subcontractor, I had the opportunity to get my hands on a little bit of everything without getting pigeonholed into a specific technology or piece of equipment.  I’ve spent time in manholes, crawled in central office subfloors to run power/structured cabling, used hammer drills to set anchors for equipment bays, spliced fiber, terminated cabling, tested with T-Berds and OTDRs.

For anyone who has ever worked in installation, it is a glorified construction job.  However, I quickly rose to management level and was running my own crews and submitting bids because I took the initiative to learn more than just drill a hole or run a cable.

Even though I have no intentions of getting back in a manhole, I still find this experience to be invaluable later in my career as I’ve actually had hands-on Layer 1 experience that most people in an office environment have only seen in pictures.