CHRIS KOHL

2003 - 2018

Enterprise-wide Contribution. Executive Leadership. Successful Transformations across the Organization.

Transformed IT from back-office function to strategic contributor. Installed Oracle eBusiness Suite to consolidate financial and transactional activities, transforming business operations along the way. Added Salesforce to the mix to accelerate pre-sales activities. Streamlined delivery and support of systems to support commercial software development and testing. Integrated an acquisition for a greater IT whole. Established robust online hosting capability to speed time-to-value and optimize cost of ownership for Vertex customers. Through comprehensive Systems Strategy, staged systems investments for maximum return.

Led a five-year enterprise-wide process that envisioned and delivered a transformational and progressive new global headquarters to accelerate growth, attract and retain talent, and engage and support partners and customers. A combination of past headquarters design experience with new innovative visioning and planning approaches made this a dynamic and energizing project to support Vertex's future success.

Served as a lead architect and key communicator for Vertex’s organization redesign. This progressive design is transforming the way the company strategically plans, operationally executes, and meaningfully engages its rich pool of talent against the company’s Vision Values and Mission to deliver sustainable value to shareholders and customers.

2001 - 2003

Boutique consulting practice that guided and executed strategic and technical IT transformations in Healthcare, Technology, and Financial Services clients.   

1988 - 2001

IT came into the mainstream over these years.   At first it was still mainframes and some PCs, but soon Local Area Networks and Client Server dominated, followed by multiprotocol networks and interconnected everything.   Successfully transformed Reliance's field office network from aged mainframe leased lines to router-based multiprotocol network and per-office local area networks to support new commercial insurance rating system.  Over a two-year period, led the IT process to design, build, and finally activate and move 1000 people in to a new Head Office in Center City.   Integrated networks and systems across all Reliance companies.  As the company faced wind-down, led the transition of infrastructure management to an outsourcer.    Somewhere along the way, wrote a network analysis and packet diagnostic tool to expose the source of issues that were plaguing Reliance's network that no commercial offering could identify.  Open Source and some crafty coding made it happen.

1982 - 1988

It was the early days of IT (er, MIS).   End-User Computing was the rage.   PCs made their entre to corporations.  Mainframes dominated.  DEC was a mainstay in the labs.  Client-Server was news.   Mobile?   Oh, you must mean a 9.6 modem or the Compaq Luggable!  Contributions ranged from helping professionals apply computing power to their tasks, making the obscure fourth-generation languages usable, to installing the first LANs and foundational fiber optic network.  Tenure included four Co-op assignments and full-time employment following graduation.

Villanova, PA

A 21-month cohorted Executive MBA Program with a concentration in Systems Thinking and Entrepreneurship. Team-driven Capstone projects:

• "Crossing Death Valley: A Crowdfunded Approach to Drug Development": applied systems thinking principles to develop a solution that offered promising early-stage drugs a path to later-stage trials through shared academic and corporate sponsorship.

• UniVertitas: a start-up venture project to create a vibrant information marketplace to support students and parents through the college selection process.

Philadelphia, PA

Solid engineering and science foundation with business electives to round out the educational experience. Co-op assignments integrated into the 5-year program.