Thomas Petrou

• · Provided strong leadership, motivation, recruitment, coaching to enhance team productivity and morale for internal (50+ people) and customer teams (600+ people) consisting of both IT and non-IT members
• · Developed proposals (100+) and presentations (1000+) for internal and external audiences.
• · Recommended and implemented successful technology strategies to maximize alignment with organisations, government, and Cyprus society/economy ultimate objectives (e.g., Digital Transformation Strategy of Cyprus, Central Bank IT strategy etc.)
• · Maintained frequent interaction with senior management to measure goal achievement and determine areas of improvement at senior level including boards, CEOs, COOs, CIOs. In addition to that, I was partnering with both and external technical resources to resolve any issues identified that were or were not escalated to management
• · Implemented and developed operational standards, policies, and procedures (e.g., Data governance strategy for Cyprus Security Commissions, IT Strategy of Central Bank etc)
• · Consolidated vendors and renegotiated contracts to optimize costs (E.g., by being program manager in multiple projects).
• · Worked closely with infrastructure/business applications staff and departmental decision makers to identify, recommend, develop, and implement cost-effective technology solutions and architectures (e.g., Central Bank IT strategy, KEDIPES data migration)
• · Led cross-functional teams with expertise in .NET, SQL server enterprise security and infrastructure domains (e.g., in portal for an insurance and a bank)
• · Conceptualized and deployed enhanced product features and optimized implementation for use in business (E.g., marketing) strategies in various initiatives (E.g., CRM Projects for one of the banks in Cyprus).
• · Gathered requirements, defined scopes, allocated resources and established schedules meeting or exceeding project demands in multiple projects as a product manager/business requirements analyst for various projects in the banking and public sector (e.g., energy platform, Business Facilitation platform, Enterprise Insurance/Banking portal etc.)
• · Collaborated with project owners and team members to set ambitious but achievable goal
• · Reviewed new opportunities to drive business strategy at planning sessions as part of the management team of PwC Business Consulting
• · Maintained positive vendor relations to build strong partnerships. Participated in vendor selection and management process for program initiatives.
• · Identified program obstacles and communicated possible impacts to team by following holistic risk management approach
• · Demonstrated strong writing and presentation skills to develop briefs, memorandums, status reports and analytical reports for clients.
• · Researched industry best practices (e.g. agile, SAFe, Program Management), traditional (with .NET, Cloud, Data technologies) and emerging technologies (e.g. IoT, AI) for both PwC and end customers
• · Collaborated with business leadership to set priorities based on business needs, resource capacity and risk exposure while being program manager.
• · Cultivated partnerships between engineering, product and UX personnel to create holistically designed final products.
• · Led development on at-least 6 simultaneous projects, multi-tasking across several deliverables while remaining in direct control of development paths.
• · Provided regular feedback to both junior engineers and senior leadership on individual performance metrics and observations.
• · Led and assisted technical upgrade projects for clients by working and coordinating with consultants and developers for integrations
• · Communicated regularly with customers concerning data exchange and technology integration.

• · CTO/Founder of cloud native company: product definition (SaaS application aiming to create its own marketplace), architecting(mobile-web-cloud), design, and development (Angular, Typescript, NodeJS, Google Firebase, Mobile Development with Native Script).
• · Consulting to local Cyprus companies related to strategy, analysis, design, and implementation of business applications (Real Estate, Legal, Digital Marketing)
• · Customized in-development software to clients' current hardware environments, designing applications to span multiple systems.
• · Communicated software architecture strategies to senior leadership of customers
• · Analysed software architecture for weaknesses, recommending and designing and choosing appropriate components and technologies
• · Developed application architecture strategy to specifically align with objectives of consulting and developing a cloud native platform
• · Used interpersonal and communication skills in interactions, enriching team collaboration, customer relationships in bringing together several people with the aim to crowdfund the startup
• · Built databases and table structures for web applications for the applications
• · Conceptualized and deployed enhanced product features and optimized implementation for use in the first product that the company would develop
• · Assessed costs and estimated production capabilities to evaluate economic viability.
• · Documented user stories, specifications, and product features into detailed work to build mandatory requirements.
• · Liaised with clients to better understand business needs and current market landscape.
• · Collected customer requirements, directed testing, and conducted continuous evaluations to make proactive adjustments to marketing approaches.
• · Set goals and formalized policies to maximize team performance and keep project on-task.
• · Developed product documentation to communicate upcoming features and products to internal teams.

• · Member of the board of directors. Contributor to the design and implementation of business strategy and the company's objectives (e.g. introduction of Big Data, IoT and Cloud)
• · Manage the Oracle programme of NewCytech.
• · Coordinated innovative strategies to accomplish marketing objectives and boost long-term profitability.
• · Reached out to potential customers and partners via telephone, email and in-person inquiries.
• · Completed and submitted frequent reports to support executive decision making.
• · Devised effective marketing, sales, and other promotional initiatives.
• · Kept meticulous client notes and updated account information in company databases.
• · Developed and promoted successful company sales and account management personnel into leadership positions to drive company growth.
• · Created reports and presentations detailing business development activities.
• · Taught consultative selling techniques to new and existing staff members to build expertise.
• · Identified key products, services and customers and used data to devise innovative sales and marketing plans enabling dramatic growth.
• · Generated new business with marketing initiatives and strategic plans.
• · Developed new proposals, contracts, and procedures to draw in more clients and streamline work operations.
• · Uncovered and qualified prospects and sales opportunities in targeted markets using external and internal resources.
• · Collaborated with sales and marketing departments to support project rollout.
• · Collected data and performed customer needs analysis.
• · Established relationships with key decision-makers within customer's organization to promote growth and retention.
• · Performed client research and identified opportunities for account growth, account penetration and market expansion.
• · Negotiated, prepared, and signed contracts with clients.
• · Represented company and promoted products at conferences and industry events.
• · Negotiated and closed long-term agreements with new clients in assigned territory.
• · Researched industry and marketplace trends to develop marketing solutions and enhance business operations.
• · Performed research to uncover potential target areas, markets, and industries.
• · Identified and pursued valuable business opportunities to generate new company revenue and improve bottom line profit..
• · Partnered with business teams and IT personnel to align project goals with business strategy and define project milestones.
• · Worked with existing customers to increase purchases of products and services.

• Jan16-today: Global Financial Services PS (Prof. Services) Architect/COEs (Centres of Expertise) Leader.
• Sep04-Jan16: Various Leadership, Management and Subject Expert roles e.g.

i. PS Manager/Leader: Near East (CYP, GR, JOR, LEB) & MEA Indirect Channels (20+ countries)
ii. PS Consultant/Expert: Technology, Strategy, Project Manager, Data Warehouse/CRM Consultant, SW Architect, Product Manager, Business Analyst, Software Engineer/Tester

• Summary of Achievements
  • Attracted and retained global talent, team skills development, coaching, mentoring, directly leading.
  - 10 direct reports overseeing multiple teams comprised of 56 consultants (66 consultants in total)
  - Team with a diverse skillset in various locations/departments (e.g. Cyprus, UAE, South Africa)
  - Introduced a recruitment methodology for PS that allowed to double the team within 2 years.
  - Extremely low attrition rate
  • Hands on contribution in internal and external projects e.g.
  - Portfolio (400+ projects) * Program (E.g. government) * Project Manager (e.g. project in crisis)
  - Practical adaptation of project management (based on Agile, PMI) and technical methodologies.
  - Design, Developed, maintained, and enhanced a C# .Net Based framework (still in use)
  • Directly Managed and setting up eleven (11) different teams of experts (Centres of Expertise - COEs) that provided resources, processes, knowledge, communities of practice and expertise.
  - COEs: Banking, Enterprise Awareness, Programmable ATM Applications, Legacy ATM applications, Interactive ATMs, Cheques Processing, Bill Payments/Branch Design/Screen Design, Security, SW Development/System Integration, CRM, Datawarehouse.
  • Excellent Financial Results (Revenue, Cost, Margin for multiple GL Lines)
  - Consistently achieving more than 100% of the financial target. My average was around 105%
  • Continues improvement, disruptive innovation activities (e.g. introducing new technologies/processes)
  • Portfolio managing several projects (more than 400 customer projects per year)
  • Establishing and implementing the growth strategy of my team(s) - more than 10% per year
  • Implemented projects & tenders (e.g. System Integration & development, Data warehouses, CRM)
  • Owner and contributor in numerous tenders, (pre-)sales activities for business applications
  • Formalisation of the global COE practice of NCR, including 5 new PS communities/departments.
  • Consolidation of global processes/technology/project management methodologies of NCR
  • Created several strategies (including budget, go to market, resource needs, utilisation of resources etc)