George C. Burkes
Office: (877) 224-1173 x 804
Mobile: (216) 224-8333
George.burkes@verticalcg.com
Senior Project Manager
Senior-Level Information Technology Professional with extensive knowledge and experience
across various areas.
Information Technology Professional with over Twenty-Four (24) years experience successfully
leading various organizations in Project Management, Change Management, Vendor
Management, Risk Management, Network and Telecommunications Security, Implementation,
Disaster Recovery , Strategic Planning, Business Continuity, Management, System Integration
and supporting technology within their business.
Information Technology Competencies
Project Management tools: MS Project,
Clarity, project tracking portal, p3, Prime
Network and Security Infrastructure
Architecture
F5 Big IP LTM, F5 3DNS, Checkpoint VPN
Firewall-1 Version 3, 4, NG
Foundry Fast Iron II Switches, Cisco
Catalyst 29xx, 38xx, Cisco 2500, 26xx, 36xx,
7200 Routers
Nortel Networks Routers and Switches,
Juniper Networks Routers
Systems and Storage Architecture
EMC Symmetrix Storage Systems, Hitachi
9200 Storage System NetBackup, SAN
Operating Systems, Enterprise
Management, and Enterprise
Applications
Microsoft Windows NT, 2000, 2003 Server,
Microsoft 2000, XP Professional. MS SQL
Server. ASP.NET
Microsoft SharePoint, Active Director
VM WARE
SAP 4.6B-D FICO (GL Financial Module)
Linux Red Hat Enterprise 3, HP UNIX 9.0 10.01
Novell NetWare 3.2 – 5.0
BMC Patrol for Windows, Dashboard
Network Management
Cisco Works NMS
Professional Experience
Key Assignments and Projects, include:
 Sr. Project Manager, Global Data Center and Managed Services outsourcing.
 Subject Matter Expert (SME), Consolidation of Data Centers, Disaster Recovery and
Business Continuity Architecture and Security for Wells Fargo acquisition of Wachovia
Project Engagements
Experis Omaha, NE
3/14 to 8/14
Project Manager Provide project management technical support for Software Refresh Project
for Global Infrastructure Operations updating out of date business systems.
 Ensure project delivery, methodologies, processes and implementation is followed.
Driving project to completion.
 Taking full ownership of all phases of the project.
 Manage projects with Clarity
 Assumed and closed in-flight Blaze DR Project on time and on budget.
 Completed Phase II of AIX Fail-Over project
 Managed several BAU(Business As Usual) projects
Vertical Consultants Group
Dallas, TX
9/12 to 7/13
Senior Consultant, Technical Project Manager – Providing Technical Project Management,
Infrastructure and Security Consulting to various clients.
Project Manager utilizing PMI or RUP standards for technical based projects, including the
following:
o
Creation of Program/Project Initiation Charters and Scope Documents
o
Defining Project Deliverables and Requirements
o
Review of Software Architect and Technical Architect Documents
o
Risk and Issue identification, management and reporting
o
Cost-Benefit Analysis and QA Review
o
Member of Change Management Team
HSBC
Project Manager
Mettawa, IL
8/12 to 9/12
 Manage Accelerated Separation Project to move applications from HSBC servers to
Capital One Data Center hardware.
 Manage spreadsheet to track platforms and applications for Move Wave events.
Platforms of servers were IBM P SERIES, SUN AND DELL
 Utilized Citrix thin client for IBM applications to manage Lotus Notes and Microsoft Office
apps.
 Working with IBM to help separate a Large Financial institution's data center nonmainframe assets and move them to another Data Center. Validating move waves,
creating move timelines coordinating move events and managing the tasks being
completed by clients. This assignment involved Linux, UNIX and wintel server platforms.
F5 load balancers and touched over 3,000 bank applications. The server count was over
35,000 and involved two data centers.
 I was one of twelve IBM project managers on the team. Each event was considered a
Wave. There were 34 Waves involved in this segment of the project. The client ended the
project to allow for a November 1st restriction period that will run through the middle of
January where no work is allowed in the data center.
 Software used to manage the project was the Microsoft Office Suite which included MS
Windows, Excel and Access. On the IBM side we used Lotus Notes and Sametime for
email and communicating and on-line chatting, WebEx for Web conferencing.
 The budget for this project was $8,000,000.00
RBS Citizens Bank Project Manager Providence, R.I.
3/12 to 7/12
 Develops project work plans(WBS) and schedules - including
Cost estimations, project budget baselines for schedule and cost resource assignments
 Manage day to day operations for Annual Privacy Mailing List.
 Provide leadership for teams responsible for delivery of project objectives
 I utilized the Microsoft office suite including MS Project to manage the project, Visio for
documents and SharePoint to store documents. I was trained on Planview to manage the
project. Used IQ Navigator to report time to agency.
 Had to take Money Laundering Class to pass security clearance.
 This project was an annual event that was self funded but lines of business had to budget
for $500,000
IMG Entertainment
Project Manager Cleveland, OH
11/11 to 2/12
 Assigned to manage the relocation of data center to colo facility
 Migrate applications SAP, Windows environment from server based to VMware
platform. Riverbed Steelhead appliance Juniper SRX600and 6509 Units Cisco
switches were moved to XO site where they provided network services for
Internet and traffic management.
 Track issues and risks to minimize problems that could impact delivery date.
 Manage offshore and onshore resources to run project
 Vendor management responsibilities for move.
 Migrate Citrix environment. SQL cluster build, storage devices,
 Manage install of load balancing infrastructure in new data center.
 Consolidation of terminal services for LAN/WAN environment
 Create Run book to track project activities. Utilized MS Office Suite for all
documentation.
 Network consisted of 80 servers and 2 storage devices.
 Client wanted equipment relocated to XO managed facility, which included
storage unit.
 Managed Change Review Board
BANK of NYMELLON Project Manager Pittsburg, PA
7/11 to 10/11
 Member of Identity and Asset Management Adoption Team
 Facilitate process of On boarding of applications to MS SailPoint IdentityIQ tool To certify
authentication of user IDs
 Manage project artifacts to track progress
 Chair meetings to introduce tool to application teams
 This was a small project that had no budget revealed to project team.
Wells Fargo Charlotte, NC System Integrator Charlotte, NC
11/10 to 3/11
 Responsible for working with the LOB Line of Business and our Internet Service deliver
teams to plan, prioritize, and schedule our infrastructure projects. An infrastructure
management team is aligned with each vertical within.
 Complete merger and acquisition processes and services from Wachovia merger.
 Server Delivery to LOB (Pre –PROD, PROD, DR
 Server builds of DNS and Microsoft DHCP migrations, RACK ND STACK, Operational
readiness, Enterprise turnover
 Solaris 10 upgrades, SAN installs and net backups. Manage net backups; manage all
forms for legacy server turnover process and system integration. Provide security to
network with use of firewalls and DDS implementation.
 F5 LOAD BALANCERS configuration for redundancy
 Clarity was used to manage this project; project status, assign resources, track budget.
 MS Office Suite was utilized to manage documents and drawings.
Wells Fargo Corporation Milwaukee, WI
Project Manager
9/09 to 4/10

Directs and monitors activities of datacenter infrastructure-based projects, from initiation
to delivery.

Coordinate the installation of open-systems servers, which includes the efforts of racking,
cabling (power, network) and the OS and middleware builds and net backups.

Collaborate with engineers to configure firewall rules, implement F5 BigIP load balancers
when required.






Interface with middleware (Weblogic, Websphere) and database (SQL, Oracle, Sybase)
teams to ensure close integration with the app development efforts.
Lead projects across platforms, applications, and/or business lines. Works with business
partners to develop technology concepts, requirements, design alternatives, project
schedules, and costs for new systems initiatives.
Participate in planning and directing program schedules and budgets, monitoring project
status in comparison to cost/time projections.
Provide consistent and comprehensive status reports, project updates, and ongoing cost
analyses, significant issue tracking, and communication at the team and management
level.
Analyze and document customer's business and technical requirements to implement
appropriate solutions.
Integrate and coordinate with staff to ensure accuracy and timely delivery of technology
solutions.
NCB Cleveland, OH
Technical Lead/Consultant
 Provide technical support for Field Engineers for MPLS ATM Project
 Manage IP List for Cisco Routers through Share Point
 Assist with Inventory of hardware for project
 Provide detailed report of daily activity
11/08 to 01/09
Wells Fargo Corporation Minneapolis, MN (remote) Project Manager
3/08 to 8/08
 Provide Project management support for multiple initiatives for EHS Lending.
 Lending Service Delivery team that manages the Project Tracking Portal (PTP) from
CRM hand off to completion of project.
 Single point-of-contact and liaison for the EHS Business Partners as well as to provide
coordination of the execution of end-to-end hosting services with a wide variety of
support partners.
 Single Server Offering management that ensures that system matches business
requirement.
 Drive all business requirements for data center installation of hardware and refreshes.
 Migrate HP DL series and IBM frames w/LPARS from Tempe I to Tempe II data center.
Decommission financial applications, SAN partitions and Net backups. Transfer license
for Websphere and Weblogic to new HP DL 585 servers in new data center.
 Verify Business Requirements, Architectural Assessment and Designs are
accurate/match and have been uploaded to the PTP. Manage ICOD (capacity on
Demand) process for IBM blade servers.
 Perform tech refresh for Oracle 9.2 upgrade
 Manage process efficiencies for organic growth
 Record and track any topics/issues/decisions/action items on the project plan and
periodically post to the PTP.
 Perform build out infrastructure to support Line of Business application deployment
efforts. Windows and UNIX platform server build out with Websphere and Web Logic web
servers were the core applications for the base installs.
 Manage base efforts for EOL/EOS (End of Life/ End of Support) projects.
JP Morgan-Chase Bank Columbus, OH Project Manager
5/06 to 2/08
 Merger of financial institutions created need for technical support of data centers.
Managed Global Technology Infrastructure projects for data center builds,
decommissions, integration of services and consolidations. Reduced costs and duplicate
services.











Provided support of technical projects from initiation through completion including
phases such as planning, analysis, design development and implementation. Multiple
projects were managed and closed on time and under budget.
Maintained project integrity with JPMC methodology and tools such as PAR. P3, AIMS,
ePurchase and WRM. Increased efficiency by bringing large scale/high impact projects
to conclusion from a technical perspective.
Data centers were close to capacity for server space. Managed project for multi-phase
infrastructure re-architecture, X86 Server Virtualization. Reduced server footprint in data
centers by forty percent. Utilized VMware version 1.3 to virtualize 1,600 HP DL 585
servers in seven data centers.
Virtualize AIX servers with LDOMs for test lab in Dallas data center.
Perform tech refresh on 550 Nokia IP 560 firewalls to NGX OS for global network which
consisted of EMEA, APAC and the Americas to keep security infrastructure current.
Migrate Facetime application from MFN MER (main equipment room) to CDC2 (strategic
data center. Decommission eight servers for production at MFN and implement DR
servers in CDC2 to migrate application without downtime.
Data center consolidation required optimization of Internet links. Managed project that
replaced Cisco 7204 edge routers with Juniper M10i units. This project allowed
increased bandwidth of links to service clients with strategic data centers. And reduced
latency in the LAN/WAN network.
Implement Layer 2 refresh to accommodate installation of Gig E link in new data center.
Five data centers were migrated in ten months.
Manage stakeholder expectation for successful completion of project deliverables
Participated in Change Management review process
National City Corporation (Bank) Cleveland OH
Integration Engineering Consultant
5/05 to 6/06
 Duties include but not limited to:

Develop, test, and deploy collections of network components to meet customer
requirements
 Provide designs that maintain the confidentiality, integrity and availability of the
Organizations that maintain a thorough knowledge of current technology trends and
advancements through self-learning, conferences and in-class training.

Troubleshoot errors or system problems once identified by the appropriate support
personnel

Interact with internal and external software and hardware providers in the deployment
and troubleshooting of system errors

Provide documentation on new and existing systems in a manner consistent with
existing practice

Provide mentorship within their respective area of expertise to other employees within
the organization
 National City Bank experienced growth that required technical support for Common
Services. Technical architect for project management team.
 Develop technical solutions for business strategies, merger and acquisition of Banks in
Southern Ohio.
 Web site required disaster recovery solution. Developed and architected technical
solution for hardware requirements. Web site now has a failover strategy for security of
environment.
 Reference data resided on different platforms throughout enterprise. Technical resource
for hardware platform to support DB2 solution for Informatica. Uniform solution for all
reference databases for organization.
 Clarity was the system tool used to track project status, assign resources and document
progress.
DeepGreen Financial Corporation Highland Hills, OH
05/00 to 05/05
Technical Project Manager, Information Technology and Vendor Management Services
 Internet only financial institution experienced need to create technical infrastructure to
replace consulting team. Provided network and telecommunication support to build
infrastructure for hosting web site.
 Company needed to establish administrative office and collocation sites to address
growth. Project manager for these initiatives as well as B2B sites and extranet
connections. Increased exposure to clients and establish a resilient website.
 Chairman of Environmental Management Group/Establish policies and procedures for the
physical assets of the company
 Manage Collocation relocation to Telco datacenters in VA and TX
 Chairman of Change Control/Organization of application and systems group meetings to
maintain communication on promotion of code to the production environment
 Vendor Management/Management of all network hardware, storage hardware and
service agreements; Compliance management with vendor relationship programs;
maintain accurate financial control and contract negotiations
 Disaster Recovery,LAN/ WAN Team/Responsible for designing and implementing the
disaster recovery plan for the WAN infrastructure; develop strategy to insure business
continuity for the bank and the business partners who rely on the VPN infrastructure; codeveloped the overall disaster recovery plan with the systems integration team
 Responsible for entry level engineering resource development for network support and
telephony maintenance.
 Provide management of testing for software development for promoting code into
 production to insure quality control in development
Lincoln Electric
Cleveland, OH
10/98 to 05/00
Technical Project Lead for LAN, WAN Services
 Company growth required reorganizing the sales offices. Implemented frame relay for
forty sales offices and eight plants increased ability to roll out services and application to
sales force.
 Remote access solution insufficient for new demands of migrating technology. Project
leader for 200 users Dial-Up services through MCI/WorldCom. Company ahead of
demand for remote access services.
 Technology changes in telephony required analytical review to reconcile invoicing.
Technical Liaison to the telecommunication administrator. Reduced costs by eliminating
duplicate services.
 Y2K requirements created a need for revisions to mainframe applications. Implemented a
new backbone infrastructure to support SAP, Cimvision, and other new applications that
are replacing legacy systems. Meet Y2K compliance requirements.
 Tracking and monitoring network system needed. Configured and managed Cisco Works
to monitor overall network management system
 Connectivity to EMEA region limited to analog carrier infrastructure. Implemented a VPN
network to replace the dial-up solution for Europe that accesses SAP and Notes.
Increased response on network to eliminate disconnects on link.
 Merger and acquisition of plant in Gainesville, GA. Was lead to train employees on new
system and transition applications from old system for Y2K . Applications included
Cimvision, SAP, Microsoft Office upgrade, and Hummingbird.
 Member of the Disaster Recovery team/Assisted in developing overall plan with Comdoc
and Cisco to maintain and recover business systems in the event of a major disaster.
This included creating an off-site strategy for minimal required services to maintain

business operation; organized the plan to maintain telecommunications with SBC by
developing an alternate entry for service
Work to existing company or project plans and standards in support of full life cycle data
creation: code and requirements development, tracing, analysis, integration and
verification testing.
Education
M.S. Health Information Management
University of Illinois at Chicago Not completed
B.A., Science Information Technology
University of Phoenix, Cleveland, OH completed degree 2005
AS, Electronic Technology
DeVry Institute of Technology, Columbus, OH Competed degree 1980
CERTIFICATES AND TRAINING
Project Management Certificate * F5 Advanced Big/IP Training * Building Cisco Multi-Switched
Networks * F5 Big/IP Training * Cisco LAN Switching Configuration *
Cisco Introduction Router Configuration * Cisco Advanced Router Configuration * BBN Internet
Marketing * Cisco Support Training * Cameron Communication ISDN Training