W. Vann Hall Email & Phone Number

San Francisco, Ca

Provide consultative, research, and development services to a variety of clients. Primary focus on business and market development, product management, and business process improvement, with a secondary concentration in content creation and distribution. Notable projects include:Project: Strategic market, technology, and product analysisClient: Leading OSS provider specializing in service activation, data reconciliation, and asset managementDetails:* preparation of comprehensive market and operations review, including blueprint for future development, mid- and long-term product positioning and marketing strategies, and recommended long-term strategic directions.* following delivery of this document, was asked to serve as 'shadow' CTO for a year to support transition to pre-IPO management team.Project: Business process lifecycle modeling, documentation, and automationClient: Rapidly growing manufacturer of optics and ballistics hardware and software, in support of newly rewarded 5-year, $49 million DoD contractDetails:* definition of processes and procedures governing entire product life cycle, from product definition and design through post-sales support.* creation of ISO 9000-compliant quality management system, including all mandatory and supporting process documentation.* specification and design of comprehensive backoffice data management system, including functionality providing customer visibility into order, warranty, and repair/return status and activity.Project: Redesign and automation of online newsmagazineClient: Bay Area newsweeklyDetails:* redesign of online edition to modernize design, reinforce brand, simplify upkeep, and leverage archived content to increase pageviews per visit.* design and implementation of custom content management system, integrated with print-edition workflow, to automate and streamline site maintenance.* reduction of weekly man-hours required from greater than 100 to fewer than 20.

Berkeley, Ca

On an as-needed basis, responsible for a variety of market analysis, product design, development, marketing, technical writing, and QA functions for a custom software developer. Particular emphases on the financial services industry (both B2B and B2C), social networking and ecommerce, mobile apps, and game platform development. Notable projects include:* documentation of API and libraries (C/C++/C#) of cross-platform development tools for Sony PS3, PSP, and Win32 game development systems.* analysis of current and anticipated requirements for a CMS-driven implementation of the company's Mobile Locator product, including detailed analysis of existing customer sites, specification of comprehensive data model, and creation of proposed roadmap for customer migration and ongoing enhancement.* research into rules-based detection of fraudulent bank checks and transactions, including specification of core logic and rules definition.* design of the social/business networking, access control, and messaging/blogging sections of an information and networking portal intended for employees of financial institutions.* research to support the next generation of Softek's SMS-based mobile banking product, including evaluation of potential partners.* research into a proposed voice portal-based telephone banking solution, including evaluation of potential partners and technologies.* update and revision of user manuals for Access Softek's Mobile Finance Manager online banking product, including creation of discrete version for each device type supported, along with customized, branded versions generated for a number of financial institutions.* production of web-based video tutorials for selected online banking products, including branded versions customized for certain financial institutions.* quality assurance for a number of products and clients, including creation of scenarios and test cases, execution of tests, and documentation and regression-testing of bugs identified.

Emeryville, Ca

Managed operations for weekly lifestyle and entertainment tabloid, with emphasis on market positioning, branding, strategic direction, and cost control. Increased print distribution by 20%, paid subscriptions by 10%, and online readership by 35%. Implemented custom CMS for online edition, doubling number of pages published per week while reducing man-hours required by 80%.Responsible for overall efforts to improve and streamline corporate systems, including such projects as * design and implementation of an omnibus business management system intended to provide a single interface to all display, classified, and web advertising; accounts receivable; subscription and promotional mailings; contact and leads management; distributor accounts; and editorial calendar.* refinement and expansion of the content management system driving the web site -- previously designed and implemented as a project of Pala Designs -- with an emphasis on providing better and more flexible support of sales through affiliate partners.Also responsible for day-to-day activities as required: Writing and editing, photography and graphic design, advertising sales and collections, update and management of web and administrative servers, general bookkeeping, relationship management, legal and regulatory affairs, and the like.[Bold Type had twelve full- or part-time employees, with annual revenue approaching $1 million.]

Toronto, On, Canada

In support of transition to pre-IPO management team, served as 'shadow CTO' for major OSS vendor. Responsible for analysis of emerging technologies, review of planned and ongoing development, evaluation of prospective partners, creation of product and strategic roadmaps, and other duties typical of the office of CTO. [Annual revenue was roughly $30 million during period of contract, growing to exceed $120 million in FY 2003.]

Folsom, Ca

Pioneered the market unit concept at OSI, in which individuals with real-world network management experience were given responsibility for product definition, development, marketing, and consultative sales for a specific industry or market; eventually managed ten individual market units. Tasked with creating new markets for the NetExpert management platform. Led OSI's IP/SNMP efforts; conceived, designed, and managed development of the virtualExec product suite, bringing carrier-grade, telephony-scale management to IP networks. Directly responsible for $25 to $30 million in new and add-on sales during time with company.Managed OSI's residential broadband (nee video-on-demand), cable/convergent telecommunications, optical transport, HFC, OSS integration, advanced solutions, ISP, and IP/data market units.Prepared bids and RFP responses, either on behalf of OSI alone or in conjunction with resellers, integrators, or strategic partners; presented proposed solutions to prospects. Wrote and delivered sales, conference, and user group presentations. Created white papers, collateral, and sales support and training. Wrote articles for trade press. Occasionally provided dedicated consultative support (from 3 to 30 days) to current and prospective customers regarding OSS and UI design, OSS integration, and process engineering. Evaluated prospective partners and acquisition targets.[OSI offered a wide range of element, network, and service management solutions based upon its NetExpert platform, with a typical initial system price of $250,000 to $1.5 million.]

Reston, Va

Promoted through a series of increasingly responsible positions in Sprint Data's network operations and engineering divisions, including:Senior Manager, Network Management Systems/Operational Support Systems Engineering. Managed a fourteen-person, cross-departmental team responsible for design, development, implementation, administration, and maintenance of network management and administrative systems to support Sprint's public and private X.25, frame relay, and transaction-processing networks. Provided long-range planning for systems development and integration. Managed the Packet Data Service Center (PDSC) Technical Training and Business Process Improvement workgroups.Manager, Quality and Process Improvement Identified inefficient or ineffective practices within the Packet Data Service Center (PDSC), designed and implemented procedural or cybernetic solutions to these problems, and evaluated the effectiveness of the implemented solutions. Served as chief operations liaison with development groups for the design of administrative and network-management systems. Oversaw the rebuild of the PDSC NOC, including the creation of a 170-station, mission-critical LAN. Managed the Technical Training and Measurements and Analysis groups. Project-managed implementation of the more than 300 Reston-oriented recommendations resulting from the Sprint Data Improvement Task Force.Manager, PDSC Customer Service and Technical Support Managed department providing technical support to all users of Sprint's packet-switching network (SprintNet) and to owners of Sprint International-provided domestic private networks. Department consisted of roughly ninety technicians, supervisors, and related support staff handling from 800 to 1,200 incoming calls and 200 to 400 trouble tickets daily.

Reston, Va

See above entry under 'Sprint.'

Washington, Dc

Graduate Study In English

Activities and Societies: Vice-President, Graduate School of Arts and Sciences Member, Honor CommitteeWork towards MA in English.

Telecommunications

Work towards MA in Telecommunications. [Program consisted of equal parts technical, economic, and historical/regulatory studies, including.

Ba, English

Activities and Societies: Echols Scholar. BA with Distinction.

Education record