Matt Gruson Email & Phone Number

Boston, MA, US

• Program management, Change managementPlan and drive capability maturation, organizational planning, SDLC, software architecture, launch and drive technology initiatives, manage complex technical projects.SAMPLE.
• J Jill (Retail, Quincy MA) Drove and managed chain-wide upgrade of store networks (SD-WAN migration) and wireless concierge sales upgrades - program included vendor management, supervision of project managers, DevOps.
• Yankee Candle (Retail, Deerfield MA) Managed enterprise integration program involving multiple (10+) technical projects (Oracle EBS, Aptos, Confluence, Webdecisions) increasing operational efficiency and customer.
• PixelMEDIA (Web development/marketing, Portsmouth NH) Built and staffed PMO, matured project intake and development practices, developed business process framework to support aggressive growth. Managed UX, Design.
• NextWorth Solutions (Retail, Billerica MA) multiple (8+) serial engagements including management of hosting migration to private cloud, SDLC development, compliance reporting, organizational planning, process.
• EMI Music Publishing (IP Rights management, New York NY): Oversaw design and development of reporting system allowing increased control over complex multinational IP rights management (Oracle, Cognos).

Portsmouth, NH, US

• PixelMEDIA Portsmouth NH. (Digital Agency: eCom, Web Content Management, Custom Applications)Managed User Experience, Information Architecture, Content Management, Visual Design, Front- and Back-End Engineering.
• Integrated Sales and Delivery processes to increase on-time performance from 25% to 90% by aligning Delivery capabilities with Sales commitments
• Created and staffed a PMO to improve predictability and team performance (budget, schedule)
• Developed scalable business processes to deliver on double-digit sales increases
• Increased bench strength in primary platforms (DemandWare, SiteCore, EPiServer, etc.) through aggressive hiring practices and comprehensive training programs
• Planned and drove operational maturity initiatives

Framingham, MA, US

• Managed practices focused on providing SDLC (development process), PMO (project management), QA, Technology assessment (due diligence), and IT Infrastructure management services to large retail clients.
• NextWorth (SaaS trade-in solution for retail, Best Buy, Staples, etc.) Developed and implemented custom SDLC and organizational growth plan, provided systems architecture and project planning for new B2C site, managed.
• Various projects for J Jill, Rodale’s, Barnes and Noble, including process development, due diligence technology evaluation, organizational planning, and driving change initiatives.

• Customized and drove adoption of new quasi-agile SDLC, to increase transparency and predictability in mixed on and off-shore environment for large process-oriented company
• Integrated multiple products with diverse architectures (Facets, QNXT, CareAdvance) to share information and provide clients with integrated solutions
• Streamlined design methodology achieving 100% on-time delivery of time-sensitive work product
• Introduced leadership development, accelerated professional development of multiple managers

• Co-founder of company; designed and managed development of in-house and custom systems for clients ranging from small shops to Fortune-50.
• Created software design/development/testing methodologies in a high-touch client environment allowing continuous client engagement in a predictable waterfall model while developing underlying technology in Agile
• Designed and deployed specialized IT infrastructure providing a multi-site development environment, back-end services, collaboration, source/document control, customer communications, and software distribution in a.
• Designed in-house production tools and development practices to reduce development and testing time, including sophisticated n-tier application framework, custom communications protocols, code-building tools (ORM), and.
• Conceptual and architectural development of guest-experience technology infrastructure (hardware, software) for 267-room five-star Wellness Center/Spa/Hotel for WellPoint / Four Seasons / Dole Foods joint venture.
• Development of digital image manipulation software (custom special effects) for entertainment effects company (Los Angeles, CA)

• Planned and drove transition from a direct-to-consumer marketing model to a turnkey e-Commerce solution provider. Directed IT and Software Development groups and led client engagements.
• Designed and oversaw development of large-scale eCommerce systems for clients in LAMP and Microsoft environments
• Managed IT group, increasing efficiency and internal customer satisfaction by introducing standardization of practices and improving hiring standards
• Reengineered web/software development group; increased productivity by streamlining production methodology and project management practices

• Developed company's technology strategy and managed development of new technology for all supported platforms (PC, multiple game consoles).
• Created new revenue streams by driving and managing International Production efforts and OEM bundling initiatives
• Planned and implemented company's Core Code Initiative to increase code reuse and reduce development costs
• Managed IT department to meet the unique needs of software developers as well as the requirements of operations, finance, legal, marketing, sales, etc.
• Helped position company for sale, and eventual acquisition by Infograms (Now Atari, €300MM revenues)

Burbank, CA, US

• Member of the turnaround management team that restructured and refocused Disney Interactive to hit extremely aggressive and never-before-achieved profitability goals. Directed significant improvements within technology.
• Managed Technology Group, providing technology management services to all production teams, increasing development predictability, increasing customer satisfaction, and reducing customer support costs
• Managed Domestic Production group, increasing efficiency, predictability, and staff retention
• Vetted software development vendors, structured and negotiated goal-aligned deals, drove average external development cost down 50% in first year while increasing product quality
• Managed Disney Interactive's Test Lab (QA group), growing staff from a dozen to over a hundred, significantly increasing customer satisfaction and reducing support costs
• Member of three-person team that created DI's Global Initiative and built a group to implement it – this group generated over 20% of Disney Interactive’s revenue during my last FY

• Reorganized struggling multimedia shop into a highly-capable computer game development studio. Drove complete overhaul of project management and production methods to increase software development productivity.
• Established Advanced Technology Group – planned and oversaw development of M4DS, the company's code base and development toolset ('engine') – developed in agile model without impeding predictable product releases by.
• Introduced and built capabilities/facilities for then-bleeding-edge technologies: CGI, rotoscoping, green-screen, Foley
• Performed technical due diligence on acquisition candidates
• Improved studio performance from entry-level to Fortune-50 acquisition

Paterson, NSW, AU

• Founded, built, and managed MicroProse's Animated Graphic Adventure group. Built the group from scratch (30+ staff), including organizational and business planning, recruiting, IT infrastructure, capital equipment.
• Designed and co-wrote MADS (MicroProse Adventure Development System), a cutting-edge game engine and development tool package that allowed the AGA group to develop higher-quality games with fewer resources and in less.
• Developed the practice of simultaneous agile-like development for core technology and traditional development of production code, resulting in critically-acclaimed technological developments in products delivered.
• Designed and produced multiple commercial computer game titles (Rex Nebular, Return of the Phantom).