Keith Brender Email & Phone Number

Dallas, Tx, Us

Leading teams who are helping students at client institutions persist through their degree programs and graduate. - Developing new processes to be able to communicate with more students every day- Reviewing all practices to determine how to make each student conversation (through any medium) valuable for the student- Measuring success in new ways, and working with others to enable measurement with the right tools

Consulting with small and mid-size businesses in operations, customer service, budgeting, partner selection and relationship, policy development, business analysis and strategy. Facilitating collaboration and communication to motivate teams, coordinate across constituencies, and contribute to the bottom line. Advising senior leadership on implementing forward-thinking solutions to increase revenue, achieve significant cost savings, enhance the brand and improve customer service. - A short-term engagement to develop a new client support model resulted in a three month project to implement the plan. - Support model implementation resulted in 57 percent improvement in service desk backlog and 68 percent improvement in call handling. Also on-boarded a new support leader and developed the long-term support plan.

Chicago, Il, Us

Led cross-departmental team developing and implementing innovative competency-based education programs. Worked with curriculum development, deans, IT, governance, legal, faculty, operations, financial aid, campuses, admissions, and marketing. Also directed Open College @Kaplan University (OC@KU). Oversaw marketing and enrollment services, technology, business processes, and support for OC@KU students. Led student support departments, including education advising, help desk, enrollment auditing, student relations, student life, and career services as well as registrar's office at various times during tenure.• Received blanket approval from Kaplan’s accreditor, the Higher Learning Commission, to deliver any existing program through the new and innovative Competency Based Education (CBE) delivery system. • Delivered first two programs on time, with all approvals complete and in place. • Completely revised OC@KU web presence and support practices, leading to largest number of enrollments in OC@KU products in three years.• Completed a cognitive task analysis of the entire online advising staff, determining the characteristics, habits, and tools used by the most effective advisors. Worked with internal training resources to develop and deliver training to replicate success. Measured a 16% improvement in student persistence.• Served as chairperson of Program and Policy Review Committee (PPRC), providing operational advice to Administrative Council, part of University governance structure. Also appointed as voting member of Administrative Council.• Developed and implemented completely revised Kaplan University Orientation (KUO) for online students. In first year, more than 28,000 students attended, with completion rates improving by 19%.• Named Interim Dean of Students for University 2013 - 2014.

Chicago, Il, Us

Merged operations of first-term support and academic advising functions and operated newly formed group along with Office of Student Management (OSM). Ensured student satisfaction and persistence. Accountable for quality of student enrollment processes. Oversaw the first team to go-live on an entirely new Student Relationship Management system, setting the stage for implementation across the institution.• Reengineered first-term support, academic advising, and student management departments, realizing $5,000,000 in annual cost savings and improving student satisfaction by more than 20%.• Improved unit costs through innovative process improvements during a significant downturn in the industry.

Chicago, Il, Us

Implemented new first-term support team from ground up, providing post-enrollment specialized support for incoming students through first term. Directed Office of Student Management and Student Faculty Help Desk. Established standard operating procedures, developed measurement and compensation strategies, and assembled new team from both internal and external sources. • Improved first-term student retention by 18% in first year of operation. • Improved Net Promoter Score by 39% within the first four months of operation.

Us

Led four contact centers (on and off-shore) for Advanta Bank Corporation, a leading provider of credit cards and working capital for small businesses. - Areas of accountability included customer service, customer CARE, the Executive Desk, credit application processing, account acquisition sales and disputes departments. - Successfully managed during a very challenging period in financial services, driving down costs by one-third while maintaining and improving compliance, quality and customer satisfaction. - Implemented an integrated approach to customer service through surveys, measurement, coaching, and incentives, leading to a 19% improvement in customer satisfaction. - Ramped-up two off-shore contact centers from the ground up. The unique coaching model and governance arrangement led to customer satisfaction measures similar to US-based agents, with better productivity.

St Louis, Missouri, Us

Directed all facets of operations for as many as five contact centers employing up to 2,000 front-line associates. Oversaw reservations, reservation help desks, customer service, roadside assistance, loyalty clubs, and all other inbound phone services.• Merged operations of Alamo and National contact centers into efficient cross-branded organization, maintaining distinct culture and history of both brands, improving employee and customer satisfaction, and driving down costs by more than $40,000,000 in five years. • Fueled a $50,000,000 increase in revenue in one year by orchestrating a complete overhaul of recruiting, training, measurement, and compensation programs. • Elected president of the International Association of Reservations Executives (two terms, 2002 – 2003)

Translated brand image for Alamo into all field locations and contact centers. Served as liaison between marketing, field operations, contact centers, and other departments. Developed management structure and incentive compensation plans for company’s North American operations. Reported directly to company president. • Collaborated with marketing department and outside firms to conduct comprehensive consumer research, resulting in complete redesign of five flagship locations to enhance customer-friendliness

Mba

Bs, Journalism And Communications