Evan A. Davies: experienced product management / product development professional with strong e-commerce background

Evan A. Davies
efd927-resume@yahoo.com

Objective:

A product development / product management or related position that will give me the opportunity to contribute to the growth and development of a high-traffic e-commerce and/or brand-building web site. Director level preferred. Industries of particular interest include TV and radio (including cable and satellite), entertainment and internet-specific companies.

Why Me:

A demonstrated ability to complete time-sensitive projects on schedule as well as excellent communication and analytical skills. 5+ years experience working on high-volume consumer-focused e-commerce web sites. Able to intelligently discuss strategy and requirements with business owners and content experts and document those needs clearly. My background is an advantage when discussing and resolving technical issues: I can translate techspeak to English and vice versa. I can effectively lead large and small cross-departmental teams, including managing information flow and collaborative problem solving across organizations.

Employment:
February 2001 - present	Columbia House, New York, NY Associate Director, New Product Development. (promoted from Product Manager in Feb 2005) Responsible for identifying and documenting new web site features and functionality. Deliver documentation for each stage of the product development cycle (Discovery, Definition, Design/Functional Specification). Work closely with business owners (Marketing/Merchandising, Member Retention), User Interface Director, Production and Development to insure that business needs are met and functionality is built as specified. Present to internal teams, including senior management Steering Committee. Projects include: "Monster Site" - Large-scale project to expand the number of product lines available to DVD Club Members, as well a new points-based rewards program for DVD Club members that is hosted and managed by MetaReward. Site Evolution 2.5 - Improvements to critical areas of the DVD Member site, including the Cart/Checkout pages, a new Add To Cart page designed to drive incremental purchases, Product Details page, and Member Welcome Page. Introduced member-specific and product-specific data-driven upsells on web site and in emails based on Coremetrics and internal sales data. Video Games Boutique - Managed the successful introduction of Video Games on the DVD and Music Member sites. Led efforts across numerous departments in New York and Terre Haute including Inventory, Warehousing & Distribution, Video Programming, Development and Customer Service. Member Services Automation Project (MSAP) - Added web site functionality that enabled Columbia House members to perform tasks such as returning an unwanted item or canceling their membership, reducing inbound Customer Service calls and costs. Site Evolution 2 - Full-scale re-design of six Columbia House web sites, delivered in four phases during Q2/Q3 2001.
June 1999 - January 2001	Wunderman, New York, NY (formerly known as Wunderman Cato Johnson and impiric) Webmaster, Worldwide Headquarters; Technology Advisor, the Marketing Lab Produced and managed external corporate web sites as well as internal web-based resource center for leading worldwide integrated marketing solutions provider and part of Young & Rubicam/WPP. Worked closely with senior management and interactive production team. Managed offsite site development team to rapidly develop and launch new sites with new corporate identity under very tight deadlines. As technology advisor to the impiric Marketing Lab, planned and managed expansion and build-out of themarketinglaboratory.com site; maintained site content and added sections as needed; participated in production of monthly breakfast series; coordinated on-demand webcast production; developed contacts with technology companies whose products could have an impact on future marketing programs.
May 1998 - May 1999	CDnow.com, Fort Washington, PA Senior Producer. Led production of critical areas for top Internet music retailer. Produced the 1999 Grammy promotion, CDNOW's largest to date, including live updating of site during awards telecast; led 20-member multi-departmental task force, keeping company informed of production process and issues. Managed production of ShopperConnection.com, CDNOW's groundbreaking e-tail partnership site. Worked with internal departments, outside site development firm and partner sites to launch on schedule for holiday shopping season. Managed ongoing development and production of MTV and VH1 co-branded areas within CDNOW; worked with CDNOW marketing and MTVN staff so site features would complement on-air advertising and programming. Implemented improved search functionality and results pages.
May 1997 - March 1998	New Century Network/NewsWorks.com, New York, NY Project Manager/Network Architect, Emerging Technologies. Created, configured and maintained searchable index containing over 750,000 documents from 140 newspaper web sites using search/spider technology from Infoseek. Developed index into one of the most popular features of NCN's flagship NewsWorks web site, and an invaluable editorial tool, with no prior search engine experience. Managed consultants working on customizing Verity search software. Heavy contact with internal staff and staff from affiliated newspaper web sites.
August 1989 - May 1997	MTV Networks, New York, NY A Viacom company 9/95 - 5/97: Manager, Emerging Technologies. Researched and evaluated new Internet and Intranet software; determined possible applications at MTVN. Demonstrated/pitched new technologies to all levels of management within MTVN and Viacom, including Viacom's deputy chairman. Initiated and established relationships between MTVN and Internet start-ups such as PointCast, The Palace and others. Managed development of software used for MTV Yack Live! TV program. Code revisions achieved cost savings and increased viewer participation. Hired and supervised consultants; coordinated deployment across multiple departments and divisions. Traveled to Singapore to launch similar program on MTV Asia. Worked with MTV Online on analysis and design of system to maintain database of local music news and information for transmission to cable systems nationwide 7/94 - 8/95: Applications Manager, Information Systems. 6/93 - 6/94: Systems Specialist, Information Systems. 9/90 - 5/93: Senior Programmer/Analyst, Information Systems. 8/89 - 8/90: Programmer/Analyst, Information Systems. Analysis, design, development, and testing of client/server software using PowerBuilder and Sybase. Programming lead on 25-member Affiliate Sales & Marketing System project team. Conducted detailed business analysis as part of Reengineering Lab. Other projects included working with Nickelodeon's research department to create the Nick Kid Panel, an innovative online focus group/private chat area on CompuServe that was written up in the New York Times, and developing custom software for Program Scheduling, Royalty and other departments.
January 1988 - July 1989	Irving Trust Co. (now Bank Of New York), New York, NY Programmer/Analyst/Support, Securities Lending. As a consultant, designed and developed database applications in Paradox and Turbo BASIC to manage daily investments of $6-7 billion. (additional employment history available on request)
Education:
1978 - 1982	New York University, New York, NY. Major: English Minor: Politics. Music director and DJ at WNYU-FM.

Personal Interests:
Underground music, pop culture, drumming. Volunteer DJ, audio production, web development and e-mail list management for WFMU, a listener-supported radio station in New Jersey.

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