DEANNA M. RUSH, PMP
247 Forest Walk Way
Mooresville, NC 28115
(704) 799-9244 / (540) 355-1210
Deanna.Rush@deannarush.com
PROFESSIONAL SUMMARY: Ms. Rush is an accomplished leader with over 20 years of project, technical, team,
and financial management experience in positions of increasing responsibility. She has created and led large
teams of over 30 functional managers, project managers, analysts, architects and developers and been
responsible for 10+ million dollar budgets. Ms. Rush communicates with strength and appropriateness to the
target audience in oral and written, formal and informal contexts. She has had direct responsibility for efforts
through all phases of the project lifecycle.
STRENGTHS: Business Relationship Management  Team Development  Employee Development  Project
and Program Management  Information Technology Management  Retail  e-Commerce Systems 
Oral/Written Communications  Military Operations/Planning  Training  Linguistics  Systems Engineering
 Modeling and Simulation  Technical Writing  Technical Editing
PROFESSIONAL EXPERIENCE:
LOWE’S HOME IMPROVEMENT, Mooresville, NC, 2010 – Present
National retailer of home improvement products
Senior Project Manager (07/10 – Present) Lowes.com IT
 Responsible for the Agile Scrum strategy employed by Lowes.com encompassing 18 Scrum teams. The
strategy includes coordination with the business/Product Owners, release planning/execution, and high
level planning and backlog prioritization.
 Responsible for the Projects portfolio from an IT Solutions perspective for all of Lowes.com. Hiring project
management leadership and support team. Manage the Agile SDLC efforts of Lowes.com and supervise
Scrum Masters and Business Analysts.
 Responsible for Process Improvement.
 Serve as Project Manager for integration of ATG Stores product to Lowes.com.
 Served as Project Manager for the Flexible Fulfillment/Discrete Order Management project under the
Services Platform for Lowes.com (SP3 R2 and R5).Responsible for managing the scope, timeline and
resources for the efforts including FTEs, onshore and offshore contractors. Worked directly with the PMO
to support management and financial reporting. Worked through all aspects of the project: initiation,
planning, control, execution and close. Helped to redefine Services project needs to align to the new Agile
structure for Lowes.com.
 Member of Lowes.com IT leadership team. Support operational activities. Act as management liaison in
problem management/issue resolution as needed. Work with the business on new opportunities/defect
resolution.
 Manage resources for Lowes.com IT including day-to-day support and management as well as PDP goal
setting and reviews.
ADVANCE AUTO PARTS, Roanoke, VA, 2001 – 2010
National retailer of aftermarket auto parts
Director, Systems Development (11/04 – 04/10) – Content, Collaboration and Catalog Systems (Web 2.0),
e-Commerce Systems, Store Systems, Merchandising and Marketing Systems
 Maintained full responsibility for IT relationship management of assigned business units.
o Partnered on technology-enabled business strategy. Kept senior leadership apprised of status of
strategic projects.
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Responsible for growing and maturing business relationship.
Served as primary IT/business liaison for all IT needs for assigned business units – the single
point of contact.
Directly responsible for area teams of varying sizes from 9 to over 30 managers, project managers,
architects, designers, developers and on-site and off-shore consultants. Responsible for hiring/firing,
mentoring, and developing. Responsible for vendor partner selection.
Developed strategic plans and budgets to fulfill corporate IT vision. Manage area capital/expense and
payroll budgets in excess of $10M.
Partnered with Technical Services staff across desktop/midrange systems, telecommunications and
information security to provide customer solutions.
Responsible for the PIM system (Stibo Systems) including development, deployment, and IT strategy to
fulfill needs for merchandising product information and content elements to support multi-channel
(B2C, B2B, brick and mortar stores). Collaborated with the e-Commerce, Merchandising and
Operations business teams on the strategic development and planning of PIM system for product
introduction, maintenance, and vendor collaboration in support of enhanced content, catalog and
images for Advance’s 650K+ products.
Developed deployment and policy strategies for collaboration platform (Lotus Connections) and team
member enablement.
Set strategy and plan for the evolutionary growth of legacy web sites.
Built out new e-Commerce functionality for both B2B (internally developed) and B2C (Websphere
Commerce) due to expertise and experience in building strong teams and having detailed background
in critical systems and business areas. Launched shop.advanceautoparts.com, the first generation eCommerce site including catalog and inventory functionality, in 54 days. Redefined and executed the
corporate e-Commerce strategy from an industry shared offering to an internally controlled, branded
offering.
Responsible for vendor selection, implementation and ongoing support of a strategic retail pricing
solution (DemandTec). The implementation focused on pricing optimization and control.
Refined AAP’s “Custom Mix” initiative customizing store and regional auto parts coverage via sales trends
and auto populations by market area to individually merchandise stores. Related product sales were also
included to ensure appropriate merchandising for the customer project. The Custom Mix initiative was
directly responsible for $600K in sales in its first year (in a $5B company).
Implemented factory direct ordering via internet and EDI through the point of sale system. This project
was a Merchandising initiative to grow sales in key categories and from key vendors – extending the
supply chain.
Responsible for internal development of a commercial pricing system (tiered and value pricing) and
promotions engine (a joint project with Merchandising and Store Operations) to expand promotion
options (Buy X Get Y, BOGO, bundle pricing, etc.) through legacy Merchandising tools and a highly
customized POS system.
Stood up new IT teams within a five year period: Merchandising and Marketing; eCommerce; and
Content, Collaboration and Catalog Systems. Responsible for selecting and hiring core team members to
build out new and needed functionality. Determined team composition and structure. Provided
leadership and focus to new areas of support to the business.
Other strategic initiatives include:
o Selected and implemented a Real Estate life cycle system for birth-to-death tracking of a
property.
o Added additional security measures for store and web applications and infrastructure to protect
personal data and corporate information.
Volunteered as the IT liaison for the corporate fundraising committee for juvenile diabetes research
(JDRF).
Manager, Corporate Systems Development (09/01 – 10/04)
 Served as Manager/Project Manager for internal development projects on multiple platforms to
support the Inventory Management, Advertising, Marketing, Merchandising, and Real Estate Groups.
 Executed standard project methodology by establishing project parameters, gathering and
documenting business requirements, tracking team progress, briefing executives on project status,
mentoring team members, developing and executing test and implementation plans, developing after
action reports.
 Founded IT Project Management Office with peers.
 Managed the installation and integration to a new plan-o-gramming tool (Intactix) to host systems and
data. This effort included the gathering of new data elements and graphics as well as development of
greatly improved reporting.
 Led the design, implementation and training planning of a new front tag layout, software and fixturing
overhaul for over 200,000 tags to over 2,500 stores across a 5-week execution period with an
interdepartmental team of 40+ people.
 Directly responsible for Advance’s support of PartsAmerica.com and for the e-Commerce relationship
with CSK Auto’s IT Department. Provided integration support to the legacy e-Commerce system
housed at CSK. Undertook a number of initiatives with the PartsAmerica.com site including expanding
the number of servicing distribution centers, tying the services into a new point-of-sale and enhancing
interfaces/feeds.
 Directed the development of an automated Line Review process to assist buyers in making vendor line
decisions.
 Managed the development of a Purchase Order Tracking Log that reports on the percent of PO
fulfillment by vendor and/or buyer (first component of a vendor scorecard).
 Managed the development of a modular research system for the Real Estate department to analyze
demographic, forecasting, and geographic data.
TRW, Fairfax, VA (now Northrop-Grumman), 1997 – 2001
Large consulting firm with focus in aerospace and defense
Deputy Program Manager (06/00 – 08/01)
 Founding member of the PKI Center for Excellence team responsible for enabling digital signature
technology within the TRW community and to commercial customers. Team was hand-selected by senior
leadership. Successful roll-out of the technology achieved in February 2001.
o Established software development lab, tracked product roll out, briefed senior managers on
benefits of the product/service, and verified CMM Level 3 software compliance.
o Led the patent application process for 16 unique patents in TRW’s digital signature
implementation. Trained marketers on the technical and business strengths of TRW’ s PKI
solution.
o Supported proposal efforts for PKI-related activities as cost volume captain and technical
contributor.
 Volunteered on TRW’s Contributions and Fellowships Committees.
Technical Project Manager (05/97 – 06/00)
 Managed the DoD Intelligence Engineering Program team consisting of 20 software and systems
engineers working across multiple task orders.
 Served as Project Manager supporting business development/marketing efforts for the DoD Intelligence
Area at TRW, specifically for the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency.
 Served as member of numerous proposal teams, handling technical writing and editing, and cost
estimating.
 Mentored the professional development of team members.
SYNERGY, INC. Washington, DC, 1989 – 1997
Government consulting firm specializing in Air Force Planning and Logistics
Analyst/Manager II (02/96 – 05/97)
 Served as Deputy Program Manager of operations at the Air Force Checkmate office in the Pentagon.
 Managed task orders for software development/model support efforts for the Joint Forces Air Component
Commander (JFACC) Planning Tool (JPT), a tool used to organize strategy-to-task links for air campaigns.
 Supervised entry and mid-level employees.
 Interviewed candidates for employment and trained new employees in software packages, company
philosophy/structure, proposal writing, and contracts.
Analyst/Manager I (05/93 – 02/96)
 Lead Task Order Manager for software development/model support efforts for the Theater Warfare
Model, a regional conflict capability assessment tool.
 Served as the Contract Manager for a $10 million contract with the United States Air Force to provide
engineering and technical support.
Junior Analyst/Research Assistant (11/90 – 04/93  11/89 – 10/90)
 Provided round-the-clock analytical support for the air power campaign in Operation DESERT STORM
and was recognized by the Secretary of the Air Force for this work.
 Worked with senior management to develop and test government software as well as provide ad hoc
analysis as directed by Air Force officers.
EDUCATION:
Master of Arts, English/Linguistics, George Mason University, Fairfax, VA, January 1996
Bachelor of Arts (Summa Cum Laude), Mathematics and English, West Virginia University, Morgantown, WV, May
1989
Workshop: Situational Leadership II, Ken Blanchard Companies. October 2011.
Workshop: Agile Training Bootcamp, Davisbase. February 2011
Workshop: “Our Town” Change Management, Advance Auto Parts. Spring/Summer 2006 - Instructor
Workshop: Great Manager, The Gallup Organization. March 2005
Seminar: Time Management, Franklin-Covey. July 2004
Workshop: Tricks of the Trade for Project Management/PMP Exam Prep. RMC Project, Inc. July 2003
Seminar: Gathering, Documenting, and Validating User Requirements, Rice Consulting. October 2001
Seminar: Essential Management Skills, TRW. July 2000
Workshop: Flight Simulation for Leaders  Program Management, Davis & Dean. November 1998
Workshop: Managing and Writing Winning Proposals, Shipley Associates. September 1995
PROFESSIONAL ORGANIZATIONS, AFFILIATIONS, HONORS, AND AWARDS:
Project Management Institute (PMP-certified 5 September 2003, valid through 4 September 2013)
Phi Beta Kappa
Phi Kappa Phi
Pi Mu Epsilon (Mathematics Honorary)
Sigma Tau Delta (English Honorary)
West Virginia University’s Ms. Mountaineer 1988 (University service award)
WVU Alumni Association Life Member
Full Tuition Scholar
President's List  2 semesters / Dean's List  6 semesters
Kappa Delta Sorority