Robert Cole Email & Phone Number

Maidenhead, Gb

York, England, Gb

Architecture lead in a programme to transform the finance and HR functions by implementing Oracle Fusion. This includes transforming the landscape and consolidating into a core integrated platform. Providing advice to business leads and senior stakeholders, based on extensive prior experience, in order to ensure that the organisation is able to gain maximum value from the technology and ensure business alignment. This includes embedding a culture and vision for continuous improvement and driving business change as well as technology change.

London, England, Gb

I led a team of 4 solution architects transforming the architecture of ITV’s UK and global corporate systems (20 countries, 450 legal entities) and colleague solutions, as well the infrastructure (cloud and on-premise networks, servers, storage) that supports other technology departments. I led on the development of IT strategy, target architectures, architecture tooling and methods, governance, innovation and technology optimisation.Central to my role is using my skills as an enterprise architect to form a comprehensive understanding of both business and technology domains, collaborating closely with all teams to align technology solutions with business objectives in order to enhance operational efficiency and deliver new capabilities. My strength lies in translating extensive technology expertise into clear communication that resonates with business teams.Key Achievements:Constructed a model, in an enterprise architecture modelling tool, encompassing Business Capabilities, applications, data, integrations and teams.Created a Business Capability Model to advise the Technology Director on the creation of the new Group Technology department to improve service delivery.Led design assurance within Group Technology to ensure the solutions met design principles.Architecture lead for major transformation programmes, including £15m project to select between SAP, Workday & Oracle and then replace legacy Finance and HR systems with Oracle Fusion (ERP Cloud, HCM Cloud, and EPM).Drove innovation within a Cloud-First strategy, including:- Chatbots and GenAI, to improve service desks, reducing manual intervention by 15%.- Use of Data Mesh and ML to improve data insights.Promoted social responsibility:- Established a partnership with University of East London to grow the next generation of talent.- Integrated carbon-emission scoring into the design assurance process.Promoted the discipline of architecture and coached colleagues to develop into architects.

London, England, Gb

I led the architectural transformation of ITV’s corporate systems (HR, Finance, Legal, etc). Key to my success in this role was cultivating strong relationships with business teams to thoroughly understand their requirements. This led me to align the application and data landscape to business goals through a programme of transformation. As my reputation grew, the CTO tasked me with troubleshooting technology projects outside of my domain.Key Achievements:Applied enterprise architecture methodologies to understand and transform the application landscape in order to reduce cost, improve efficiency and improve service.Architecture lead for major projects, including:- Replacement of a mainframe-based talent payments application with a bespoke cloud-based application on AWS - £12.7m project covering 250k payees.- Migration of multiple Oracle-based finance and HR applications to an Oracle PCA platform, aimed at stabilising the legacy systems.- Development (Agile, AWS) of an application to manage freelancer contracting for ITV Studios.- Preparatory work on the HR and finance application landscape to ensure readiness for a future transformation project.Defined and led technical strategy, including:- Integration strategy to support the growing adoption of Cloud and SaaS.- Analytics and reporting strategy to optimise the utilisation of finance data and deliver new insights.Drove international architecture transformation:- Advised the US arm of ITV Studios in selecting a finance and payroll system- Initiated architectural changes within ITV to better support ITV Studios' global operations, transitioning from UK-centric technology solutions to a more globally aligned structure.

Canary Wharf, London, Gb

I successfully transformed the IT Architecture function, turning it from a hindrance into a proactive service that significantly contributed to the business goals. Leading the charge in delivering business solutions and driving change within the IT domain, I redefined the architecture to enable more agile ways of working for the business teams. At Tube Lines, we overhauled every application and upgraded all IT infrastructure, with the exception of just one application.Tube Lines was a TfL company tasked with modernising the world’s oldest and largest metro system, specifically targeting the Jubilee, Northern, and Piccadilly Lines of the London Underground to meet 21st-century standards and ways of working.Key Achievements:Defined, developed and implemented the technology architecture principles and strategy for Tube Lines.Solutions lead for multiple IT programmes to replace all legacy systems.Total value of the programmes exceeded £100M and enabled the IT function to reduce its costs by over 70%.As a result, the IT function was benchmarked by Microsoft in the top 5% of all Microsoft’s global customers with the lowest number of operational risks ever seen.Through a greater understanding of core business processes and by utilising business capability and data modelling I was able to lead the business through enterprise application upgrades based on the adoption of industry standard processes.Implemented robust application portfolio management driving the application estate to a core, and up to date, set of applications meeting business needs.Refined the IT services backbones (network, servers, storage, databases and integration technology) to align with industry best practice and use of cloud based services, and provided direction for IT security.Implemented an end-to-end IT assurance process and an improved change management process.Collaborated with Microsoft to deliver the first corporate implementation of Windows 2012 Hyper-V in Europe.

Worldwide, Oo

I progressed from Consultant to Manager, I gained extensive experience in designing, developing, and maintaining large-scale bespoke database systems using IBM, SAP, Oracle and Microsoft technologies for Deloitte's clients. My role also extended to implementing HR and finance systems with SAP and Oracle.Progressing further, I managed a team overseeing a data centre that served as a hub for research, consultancy, training, development and sales activities for Deloitte's European consultants. Alongside this, I continued to contribute as a consultant in Deloitte's technology consulting practice.Key Achievements:I provided expert advice and assistance on client projects, using my extensive knowledge and experience. This included analysing HR and finance landscapes to streamline and transform the architecture.My roles spanned technical authority, auditor, implementation of quality software practices, performance tuning, team leadership, requirements analysis, design, development, and testing across diverse projects.Operating in a fast-paced environment, I quickly acquired knowledge of new technologies to deliver solutions efficiently.I defined technical strategies, designed architectures, reviewed designs, and troubleshooted projects and client production systems on-site.My expertise encompassed a broad spectrum of technical solutions including networks, storage, servers, security, and integrations, alongside business solutions such as Documentum, Oracle eBusiness Suite, and SAP.These services were delivered to large corporations and government departments across various industries, notably public sector, pharmaceuticals, manufacturing, energy/utilities, retail, and finance.Notable projects included the development of a gas network emergency work management system and the CRAMM risk management tool for the UK government, as well as roles in designing and developing the first version of the UK National DNA Database.