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Josh Zapin
Verified Expert in Project Management
Project Manager
Josh is a versatile project and program management leader in SaaS, eCommerce, and other digital organizations. He has over 20 years of experience leading complex multi-million dollar B2C and B2B initiatives for marquee organizations, including Crocs, AspenDental, Ryder, American Express, and Volkswagen. A passionate problem-solver, Josh has led 20+ member teams and departments through organizational change, including agile transformations.
Project Highlights
Expertise
Work Experience
Founder, Digital Project Management Certificate Program
Boulder Digital Arts
- Founded a two-day course that provides aspiring digital project managers with real-world skills and knowledge to manage world-class digital projects such as websites and mobile applications.
- Functioned as a trainer and course developer in the class that covers the processes to build a digital application, with a heavy focus on the deliverables and disciplines needed to bring a digital vision into reality.
- Mentored would-be digital program managers on career options and ways to morph their current jobs.
Principal Consultant, Project Manager, Program Management, Digital Transformation, Agile Coach
Corvus3
- Functioned as a project manager, program manager, scrum master, Agile coach, operations consultant, or other flexible roles as needed by clients.
- Improved the operations of digital agencies and consultancies by implementing tools and processes such as resource management and statement of work writing.
- Designed a proprietary process improvement methodology based on Agile principles that enable teams and organizations to see operational improvements in three weeks or less.
- Provided recommendations for the eCommerce re-platform of Backcountryaccess.com to WooCommerce.
- Delivered the redesign and re-platform of Mwhglobal.com to WordPress.
- Oversaw the #justgotjingled campaign for JCPenny during the Christmas holiday, leveraging social media channels such as Twitter and Instagram.
- Configured and administered Jira and Confluence for several customers.
Engineering Program Manager for the Anthem.ai Developer Portal
Anthem Blue Cross and Blue Shield
- Established an 18-month vision for developer portal program which included the implementation of a content management system, integration of salesforce as a customer relationship management (CRM) and ticketing systems, and plans for eCommerce.
- Delivered regular presentations to the executive steering committee in order to gain buy-in and approval for the overall program, budget, and timeline.
- Established the software operation for the engineering team that included key meetings, workflows, and processes to normalize release delivery and expectation settings.
- Oversaw a period of time of massive growth where the engineering and stakeholder teams grew from four to 14 and four to nine team members, respectively, in order to meet the growing demand for the program.
Director of Professional Services and Customer Success
Zingfit, LLC.
- Spearheaded professional services and customer success at this boutique fitness studio and software platform company. Liable for all initial and continuing customer support.
- Managed three teams that included over a dozen direct reports, including developers, project managers, and onboarding coaches.
- Functioned as a project manager, program manager, scrum master, Agile coach, operations consultant, and other flexible roles needed by the company.
- Elevated the quality and throughput of the team by defining organization hierarchy, processes, metrics, and toolsets.
- Rolled out a successful white-label mobile app that helped generate additional bottom-line revenue and improved user experience.
- Increased onboarding velocity by 100%, reduced project overages by 200%, and saw the net promoter (NPS) score increase to above the industry average.
- Became an integral part of the management team that helped set company-wide objectives and goals.
- Took a leadership role in establishing a long-range operational vision for this high-growth software-as-a-service (SaaS) company. Helped establish, amongst other initiatives, the need for the rigor of product management.
- Configured and administered Jira and Confluence to improve workflows and software development efficiencies.
Director of Platform for Consulting Services, Program Manager, Project Manager
Crispin Porter & Bogusky
- Led the practice that supported customers’ large, mission-critical, revenue-generating digital properties for multi-billion dollar, multinational brands.
- Functioned as a project manager, program manager, scrum master, agile coach, operations consultant, and other flexible roles as needed by clients.
- Liaised and bridged the gap between customer brand marketing teams and their own internal IT by providing a full suite of digital services, including user experience, analytics, and development.
- Charged for a retainer of over $2 million for the digital program of AspenDental, the largest retail dentistry chain in the United States.
- Coordinated the agile transformation for AspenDental that enabled their flagship website to put in improvements that realized 25% year-over-year gains in conversion, yielding over $200 million in revenue.
- Managed the redesign of AspenDental.com as part of the migration to Sitecore.
- Led the nearly $1 million redesign of Rentals.ryder.com that overhauled the site's user experience built on top of Sitecore and interfaced with decades-old back-end legacy systems. Managed a 12-person development team.
Global Director of eCommerce Operations and Production, Program Manager, Project Manager
Crocs
- Oversaw operations and program management for Crocs' global eCommerce team that supports over $100 million in annual revenue across 21 sites around the globe.
- Established new processes including the project lifecycle, program management, resource allocation, and new product introduction to improve communication, increase task visibility, and reduce rework in an over 30 person geographically dispersed team.
- Spearheaded many new initiatives, including the global omnichannel strategy, global mobile commerce rollout, and PayPal integration.
- Led a corporate-wide initiative to improve project management processes and establish company operation standards and guidelines.
- Oversaw the redesign of crocs.com, a 12-month initiative that included a complete rethinking of the user experience and improved conversion through implementing tools such as a recommendation engine.
- Ran five direct reports, in addition to several contractors, provided coaching, mentorship, and direction.
- Configured and administered Jira and Confluence to improve software development workflows and efficiencies.
- Functioned as a project manager, scrum master, agile coach, operations change agent and other flexible roles as needed by the client.
Director of Project Management, Program Manager, Project Management
Texturemedia: Crispin Porter + Bogusky
- Functioned as a project manager, program manager, scrum master, operations consultant, mentor, and other flexible roles as needed by the client.
- Led over $2 million of digital projects for Volkswagen of America’s flagship website, including Nav Companion, a Google Maps city guide mash-up that integrated with VW’s navigation system.
- Managed a $1 million retainer for the American Express OPEN Forum small business social networking website with thousands of registered subscribers and 1.5 million visitors a month. Managed a 10+ person team.
- Oversaw the initial planning for the complete redesign of volkswagen.com; worked with customer brand marketing, IT teams, outside vendors to derive a product backlog, a roadmap, and updated design and user experience.
- Managed American Express’ OPEN Forum small business social networking website with thousands of registered subscribers and 1.5 million visitors a month.
- Oversaw the Agile transformation of the American Express OPEN Forum, which allowed for greater synergies between customer brand marketing, IT teams, and the project delivery teams.
- Spearheaded the planning of the redesign and re-platform of American Express’ OPEN Forum, including a budget, scope, and timeline.
- Led the redesign of steamboat.com v2.0, a ski resort website, with the first iteration to include a content management system.
- Implemented a comprehensive agency management system consolidating several business processes, including project management, resource management, billing, accounting, and sales.
Web Producer, PMO Task Force Leader, Project Manager, Program Manager
Maxtor, Inc.
- Functioned as a project manager, program manager, operations consultant, mentor, and other flexible roles as needed by the client.
- Managed all aspects of the public-facing website (Maxtor.com) for this $2 billion global hard-drive manufacturer.
- Oversaw transition to the latest version of Vignette StoryServer to enable end users more freedom to update content.
- Bridged gap between marketing, product, and IT through the rigor of project and program management.
- Led task force to instill a Project Management Organization (PMO) within the web group and the larger IT organization to improve project management methods and processes.
- Implemented Microsoft Office Project Server.
Director of Project Management
Creation Chamber
- Functioned as a project manager, program manager, Scrum Master, operations consultant, and mentor as needed by the client.
- Managed over 25 projects simultaneously, valued at nearly $1 million for an award-winning web development consultancy including the Denver Broncos, Einstein Brothers Bagels, MapQuest, and the Denver Public School System.
- Implemented a trafficking and time management system to enable expense tracking and predictable results.
Project Management Consultant
Federal Reserve Bank
- Functioned as a project management operations consultant and other flexible roles as needed by the client and organization.
- Consulted on a $250+ million Information technology (IT) initiative to improve the project management practices of a 90-person team that supported branches through a massive technology conversion.
- Provided analysis and reporting that assured that the project was running effectively and efficiently.
Senior Digital Project Manager
Agency.com
- Functioned as a project manager, program manager, and did other flexible roles as needed by the client.
- Provided strategy, branding, and technology services to corporate clients, including Incyte Genomics, the first-ever eCommerce site for genetic sequences.
- Helped to establish role/processes for this digital consultancy.
Digital Project Manager
Organic
- Functioned as a project manager, program manager, operations consultant, and other flexible roles as needed by the client.
- Managed the $2 million Awards.com project, one of the first eCommerce sites with customizable products. Managed a 15-person team of developers, designers, user experience, and quality assurance leads. Delivered a complete site within seven months.
- Led the construction of eCommerce sporting goods sites for two nationally recognized brands, The Athlete’s Foot and Dunham’s Sports. The project required managing two ten-person technology teams simultaneously.
- Liaised and bridged the gap between customer brand marketing, product teams, and their own internal IT.
- Established a new agile methodology that became the foundation for future projects; enabled development to start in less than six weeks from project kickoff. Recognized by the leadership team for this innovation.
Digital Project Manager, Program Manager
Bowne, Inc.
- Functioned as a project manager, program manager, operations consultant, and other flexible roles as needed by the client.
- Convinced the executive team of this billion-dollar publicly traded financial services organization to spend a $1 million+ technology investment for the re-launch of Bowne.com.
- Oversaw the implementation of bowne.com, a site that was translated into six languages (including Japanese). Bowne.com used one of the first web-based translation content management systems.
Digital Producer
Micro Interactive, Inc.
- Functioned as a project manager, program manager, operations consultant, and other flexible roles as needed by the client.
- Established the role of this multimedia pioneer by delivering projects faster, with less effort, and with greater quality as the company's first digital producer.
- Owned the delivery of over $3 million in project revenues.
- Built several generations of in-store/retail demos for IBM’s Aptiva brand of the high-end home computer, including translation into over a dozen languages.
- Worked closely with IBM’s marketing, IT, and product to deliver the product on its corporate build.
- Delivered, in four months, the first-ever DVD-quality video-based sales system for CBS Sports. Helped the CBS Sports sales team sell national television advertising space in record time.
- Established agile processes to enable building a proprietary multimedia development framework/platform while delivering client projects.
- Managed a team of interns who were embedded with our team for six months, who contributed directly to projects through coding, QA, and project management responsibilities.
Project History
AspenDental.com | Digital Transformation and Productization
http://www.aspendental.com/Led the $2+ million yearly digital program and Agile transformation that realized 25% and $200 million YOY conversion gains.
Consequently, AspenDental signed up for two years' worth of improvements (valued at nearly $4 million), culminating in the eventual redesign and re-platforming of AspenDental.com. The original site was built with a rudimentary, open-source content management system and a Java-based business logic layer to interface with legacy back-end systems. We leveraged a 20+ person development team, including developers, designers, UX leads, and quality assurance professionals, that interfaced directly with AspenDental's IT and product teams. Parts of the development and quality assurance teams were contracted and offshore.
Crocs.com Program and Project Management and Operational Transformation
Normalized project management of a four-region, 30+ person eCommerce team supporting over $100 million in annual revenue.
Zingfit Professional Services, Customer Onboarding, and Process Normalization
http://www.zingfit.comEstablished operational vision and improved customer satisfaction at a boot-strapped high-growth SaaS eCommerce platform.
American Express OPEN Forum Agile Transformation
Normalized the maintenance and enhancements of this 1.5 million monthly visit content juggernaut for American Express.
Education
Bachelor's Degree in Business Management and Marketing
Cornell University - Ithaca, New York
Certifications
Certified in Managing Jira Projects for Cloud
Atlassian
Certified Scrum Master
Scrum Alliance
Project Management Professional (PMP)
Project Management Institute (PMI)
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