George Sofka

832-202-3737 (cell)

Houston, TX
http://www.linkedin.com/in/georgesofka

gsofka@gmail.com

PROFILE

Product Management / Development Manager

Deeply accomplished Senior Product Management Executive with demonstrated success in all aspects of product delivery from concept
and primary research, through pricing and go-to-market, to on-going operational execution. History of positioning and consensus
building in a variety of consulting and technical product management roles which spans industries including Healthcare, Oil and Gas,
Consumer Products, Construction, and Government. Developing pricing strategies with the goal of maximizing the company's profits
while ensuring the customers are satisfied. Expertise lies in creating product roadmaps, refining business operations, collaborative
innovation management, product management, product strategy, partner management, stakeholder management, customer
development, lean startup, agile product management, requirements definition, server platforms, highly scalable systems, benchmarks,
enterprise software, business intelligence, enterprise reporting and database design. Proven ability to coordinate open source and
commercial strategies to the full product portfolio based on emerging technology trends, market demands, competitive landscape,
customer feedback and internal innovation. A tactical leader who can lead teams by establishing the direction and motivating team
members, creating an atmosphere of trust, leveraging diverse views, coaching staff, and encouraging improvement and innovation.
Entrepreneurial and tech savvy with excellent management, analytical and communication skills.

CORE COMPETENCIES

Software Product Design & Development

Product Strategy & Resource Allocation
Project & Product Management
Continuous Process Improvements
Budget Development & Management
Software Support Management

Cross-functional & Development Leadership

Data Migration Management
Computer Systems Architecture
Enterprise Content Management
Contract Development & Negotiations
Systems Integration & Data Warehousing

SELECTED PROFESSIONAL ACCOMPLISHMENTS

Project & Risk Management

Stakeholder Management
Sustainable Growth
Database Design
Training & Development
Agile Product Management

Spearheaded Innovation Through Product Development: Transition from Service-Based Offerings to Product-Based
Offerings. Led the design of Prodagio applications. Directed the initial design, development, testing, documentation and support of
Prodagio software products. Supervised the product release process and communicated release status to sales and marketing teams.
IMPACT: Successful launch of the companys application; awarded the EMC Offering of the Year; approved broad industry exposure.
Software Development Process: Streamlined and Minimized the Delivery Time of High-Quality Software Applications.
Designed and developed internal processes. Implemented product code management and standard built scripts. Supervised product
development, testing & support activities. IMPACT: Increased the speed and efficiency of delivering high-quality applications;
enhanced communication and collaboration across workgroups; reduced project costs and maximize the talents of available resources.
Standardized and Automated Service Delivery Processes Across Service Life Cycles. Designed and implemented continuous
improvements in the delivery processes, workbooks, templates and support ticket management. Developed and documented standard
data and content migration methodology. IMPACT: Minimized the cost and cycle time to translate service ideas into market offerings;
reduced cost by repurposing existing content and applications.
Created a Continual Improvement Sales Culture. Architected the environment provided for robust concurrent client
demonstrations. Developed numerous technical documents to support marketing and sales collateral. IMPACT: Enabled sales team to
effectively demonstrate products to a variety of industries; improved the closure rate of sales leads.
Organizational Business Transformation: Transitioned from Traditional Applications to Cloud Product-Based Offerings.
Investigated requirements, architected solution, planned transition tasks and coordinated transition team effort. Designed cloud
architecture. IMPACT: Led on-boarding of new clients in less than 24 hours; created a new and significant revenue opportunity for the
company.
Lean Distributed Startups:Launched an Offshore Software Development Team. Designed development environment, trained
team members, implemented tracking tools and coordinated all work activities. Evaluated productivity of team members and
recommended changes when necessary. IMPACT: Significantly lowered development and testing cost; increased profit.

TECHNICAL SKILLS & APPLICATIONS

Platform Systems SQL Server; SaaS; Cloud Computing & Storage; Content Management; Data Warehousing; Database Design,
Business Intelligence & Reporting Tools; Documentum, FileNet, SharePoint, Systems & Application; Web Applications; MS Project & MS
Visio;
Computer Languages Eclipse IDE - JAVA / JSP, J2EE, XML; Microsoft Office Suite Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Outlook, Access

EDUCATION
Bachelor of Science, Industrial Engineering
Texas A&M University, College Station,TX

George Sofka
832-202-3737 (cell)

Page 2

gsofka@gmail.com

PROFESSIONAL EXPERIENCE
PRODAGIO SOFTWARE, Houston, TX

Contract Lifecycle Management, AP Invoice Automation, Vendor Portal, and e-Invoicing software
Director, Product Development (2006 2014)

1997 2014

Led the ideation, technical development, and launch of innovative products and services
Defined product vision, roadmap and detailed requirements for cross-channel analytics to improve marketing reach and
performance marketing across revenue channels.
The ability to shift from strategic to tactical thinking as you will constantly fluctuate between high-level business goals and detailed
requirement definition.
Provided expert assistance with sales, client services and business development teams to maximize the potential of existing
product capabilities.
Defined successful metrics and work with the business intelligence team to track, analyzed and reported on key performance
indicators
Transitioned product knowledge to analytics, product marketing, sales, engineering, platform training, and technical writing teams
to ensure a successful launch and support of new features.
Analyzed feature performance to identify enhancements for continued improvement based on feedback, usage and revenue
opportunity, and bring new ideas and concepts to the roadmap.
Maintained communication among and between stakeholders and technology teams to ensure alignment of vision and
implementation.
Enabled prioritization of technical product features amongst stakeholders
Anticipated and mitigated roadblocks and barriers to development
Ensured customer and partner data is actionable and measurable within the platform to provide data driven, multi-channel
marketing at scale across both online and offline marketing channels.
Developed a deep knowledge of ad tech, enterprise marketing software and database marketing.
Defined and analyzed metrics that inform the success of products
Participated in industry events, stay on top of market trends and competitive offerings, and become known both internally and
externally as a product and industry expert.

Vice President, Technology (1997 2006)

(Formerly known as IMAGITEK, LTD.)

Oversaw the development of mission-critical applications and technology to support the companys long-term goals
Designed the development and implementation of organizational information systems, software applications, and IT support and
infrastructure systems.
Directed and managed IT plans, schedules, policies and programs for an organizations data processing, network communications,
business operations, computer services and management information systems.
Drove the implementation of development best practices throughout the organization, while governing control and ensuring
objectives are achieved.
Ensured objectives are achieved. Risk management, resource allocation, project prioritization, and research and recommendation
of new systems and software products and services.

INDEPENDENT CONSULTANT, Houston, TX

1992 1997

Content Management Consultant

Provided technical expertise on content management projects for Amoco, BP and Texaco
Performed data migration and analysis projects for Baker Hughes

BAKER HUGHES, Houston, TX

1980 1992

Supervisor of Engineering IT (1985 1992)

Successfully introduced CAD workstations followed by personal computers into the engineering department. Workstations were
deployed in US, UK and Singapore. Transformed engineering group into a leader in the use of computer technology in the oil
industry.

Manufacturing Engineer (1980 1985)

Successfully introduced computerized process planning into the manufacturing engineering department.
Utilized Group Technology analysis to streamline manufacturing processes