Christopher Beck Leaders
As an experienced IT professional with over 25 years of experience, I have assumed numerous roles for established, mature companies – public and private – and entrepreneurial start-ups like Harrys, Inc., the most recent disruptor in the CPG market today, where I was the Global Head of IT.
The role of IT is critical for any company, especially startups that rely on it for every facet of their business. As such, I’ve created a highly skilled global department of 30+ professionals. I’ve established enterprise-level systems that enable the company to scale exponentially into new retailers like Target, Costco, Walgreens, Boots, etc. and have deployed automated systems that increase productivity and reduce overhead by redistributing the workforce to tasks that add value, creating streamlined processes and increased sales and revenue. I also play an integral role in M&A: analyzing systems for redundancies, identifying synergies, evaluating licenses, and providing analysis around cost envelopes, among other things. Also central to my role is IT IPO readiness and related tasks.
Over 2 1/2 decades, I’ve become passionate about many aspects of my jobs and have strengths, which I leverage for the success of my employers and my career. Career highlights and value add I provide include:
• Team Leadership: Consistently assemble high-functioning teams with unprecedented low turnover.
• Compliance & Governance: Establish IT controls necessary for public companies, which include providing access to the appropriate people, establish protocols, ensure vendor compliance, create service-level agreements, and comply with IPO requirements.
• Metrics and KPIs: Create meaningful metrics and KPIs to obtain the greatest value from technology and vendor agreements.
• Vendor Selection: Oversee the RFP process: understand requirements and vendor selection for optimal value. Negotiate contracts and build relationships for smooth transitions and compliance. Understand when to outsource and when to bring jobs in-house.
• Financials: Understand how to read and analyze financial statements and own a P&L. Consistently improve efficiencies to deliver under budget to redirect money to other value-added programs.
Central to my success working for different, renowned companies is to know what a company needs at each stage of its lifecycle – a skill I have been fortunate to learn having worked for companies at various stages of theirs.
