Steven J. Sonnen

Experience Summary: Steve is a seasoned professional with deep experience in program and technical project management, risk assessment and risk management, process improvement and operations strategy, and strategic technology planning. Through effective analysis and management, Steve has saved his clients and companies which he has worked for hundreds of millions of dollars during his career.

Project and Program Management

Steve has run projects large and small for more than a decade. He has also effectively delivered large enterprise programs for his employers and clients. The following are sampling of work Steve has delivered in this area:

City of Seattle, Department of Planning and Development (DPD) – Steve served as technical project manager for the migration of DPD’s GIS users to a new, web-based platform. Steve developed a comprehensive work plan designed to result in the implementation of a system to support and extend current GIS user needs at DPD. Working with a small, but talented, project team, use cases were identified covering all current GIS uses within DPD and then we worked to configure the new platform to support those needs. Once complete, we prepared curriculum and conducted training courses to support the launch of the updated GIS platform. In all, we developed functionality for 12 distinct modules and rolled out the application to over 120 users.
City of Seattle Municipal Court (SMC) – Steve was the technical project manager for a software development project for the Seattle Municipal Court. SMC has been using the municipal court information system (MCIS) for over 20 years. One impact of continuing to use an aging platform is not being able to take advantage of Windows-based design and other more modern design elements. This project is a component of the SMC’s MCIS Remodel initiative, which leverages the existing underlying data environment while improving the user interface. In particular, the project team designed new user interfaces for magistrate adjudication and staff support functions. Most importantly, we removed physical paper from the magistrate process, opting for use of electronic court records instead. Based on the design we created, SMC technology staff built out the new system which we managed through development, testing and deployment. (Development still ongoing as of August 2011).
City of Scottsdale (AZ) – Steve managed a strategic technology planning engagement involving a cross-functional project team. The plan articulated a road map for the future of IT investment in the City. The detailed assessment phase included analysis of the City’s IT staffing, budget, and application portfolio. Also examined IT-related business processes and developed recommendations for improved processes.
City of Bellevue (WA) – Steve also managed a project focusing on the development of a business model for operation of a regional public safety center, hosted by the City of Bellevue. This project included the development of rates to be charged to the City’s partners and a rigorous cost-benefit analysis incorporating net present value analysis among other financial metrics.
Washington Mutual VOCALS Program Manager – Served as program manager during WaMu’s implementation of the Voice of the Customer Advocacy and Loyalty System (VOCALS). Responsible for all aspects of the implementation including design oversight, vendor management and team management. Successful implementation led to its incorporation into corporate key performance indicators (KPIs).
Online Originations: Launched Small Business Free Business Checking platform in Feb. 2008, driving a cross-functional team of technologist, business experts, and ecommerce specialists. Followed up that successful launch by delivering a similar platform for online origination of Business Online Money Market accounts.

Risk Assessment and Risk Management

Steve has conducted decision and risk analyses for industrial and governmental clients resulting in anticipated client savings of hundreds of millions of dollars. Tools employed included cutting edge decision and risk analysis methods, applied practically for maximum impact. Selected projects are described below.

· Chevron Real Estate Management Company (CREMCO): Developed and implemented approaches to evaluate three strategies for cleanup of contaminated oil production and refining lands in the Huntington Beach area in support of due diligence for residential and commercial development. Refinement of the strategy led to anticipated savings of $24 million and provided a 63% likelihood that the project could be completed within the established budget. Personally presented results of this analysis to the Presidents of Chevron Land and Development and Chevron Real Estate Management Company.

· Southern Everglades Restoration Alliance (SERA): Managed and facilitated a decision support project for the 8.5 Square Mile Area (SMA) in the East Everglades. Leading a cross-functional team, the District Review Team (DRT), (consisting of the seven local and national stakeholders such as, the South Florida Water Management District (SFWMD), and the Army Corps of Engineers), Steve developed a multi-criteria decision model which helped the participants understand the tradeoffs which were implicit in their evaluation of the various alternatives presented to them. Personally presented the results of the analysis to the SFWMD Governor’s Board in a public forum. The board voted unanimously in favor of the recommendation developed by the DRT.

· Department of Energy (DOE) Rocky Flats Facility – Conducted a probabilistic analysis of the 10-year budget for the Department of Energy’s (DOE’s) cleanup of the Rocky Flats Nuclear Facility. The results validated recommended savings of approximately $600 million and provided insight into areas of high financial risk.

· Monsanto Company (now Solutia) – Developed a probabilistic risk assessment for the Monsanto Company's (now Solutia, Inc.) elemental phosphorus plant, a mining Superfund site. Performed both human health and ecological risk assessments for the site resulting in substantial cost savings to the client.

Process Improvement and Operations Strategy

Steve helped build the Operational Excellence program for a Fortune 500 company, developing key tools, delivering training, and applying six sigma and Lean techniques to a variety of projects. In addition, he applied those concepts to struggling operational units, resulting in new operating models which drove sustained success. Some such projects are detailed below:

· City of Seattle Municipal Court (SMC) – SMC has struggled to perform routine accounting functions efficiently due to a court information system that was built over 20 years ago without accounting functionality in mind. While the Court has always managed to track funds appropriately, they desired improvements to the current way of doing business. To assist them in this endeavor, we documented the current state of accounting business processes and associated technology limitations. Based on these findings, we worked with the project steering team to identify high priority areas for improvements. With priorities established, we developed a future state for these areas, building out high-level design documents as needed. Finally, we created a transition plan, with common understanding by business and technical managers, to guide the implementation of desired improvements over time. (Work still in progress as of August 2011).

· Boeing – Steve served as project manager providing decision support services for Boeing in support of their process improvement initiatives. Mergers with two other companies resulted in a variety of hardware, software, and data networks/protocols being used across the newly merged company. Developed a financial model for a business case analysis to help understand support service savings that might be realized by standardization of computer equipment. The analysis indicated that savings of over $100 million were likely to be achieved by the adoption of a single desktop standard

· Washington Mutual Online Strategy and Operating Model – Steve drove a project to evaluate and improve WaMu’s online operations. Tasks included development of high-level strategy for wamu.com, evaluation of current operations and governance, and development of recommendations to address key areas of concern going forward. Presented recommendations (in person) to WaMu’s President and COO, who unanimously approved them. In the years that followed, WaMu’s online offering was consistently among the top rated sites in the financial services industry.

· Washington Mutual Marketing Operating Model Development – Steve managed a project examining the operations of the newly-consolidated marketing group. The project analyzed all marketing operations, their interaction with business units, and overall effectiveness of delivery. The output of this effort was a revised operating model, articulating the necessary roles and responsibilities for marketing staff and describing the expected interaction between those groups going forward.

· Washington Mutual Marketing Operational Excellence: As manager of the Marketing Delivery team, Steve drove the Six Sigma mindset into teams, resulting in roughly $2.6 million in savings. (From teams whose total budget was $1.8 million!)

· Offer Redemption Program: Reduced cost per campaign by over 80% by implementing improved technology and renegotiating terms with the vendor

Strategic Technology Planning, Options Analysis and Social Media Policy

Steve has developed strategic technology plans for public sector clients ranging from cities, to small and large public utilities, to county and statewide plans. A sampling of Steve’s work with these clients follows:

City of Seattle Department of Planning and Development (DPD) Strategic Technology Plan – Working with stakeholders from across the department, Steve conducted a comprehensive analysis of current technology use within the department. After identifying current inefficiencies and unmet needs, we worked with the project steering committee and the department’s executive managers to develop a set of priorities for future work. The final step was to create an actionable implementation plan addressing the highest priorities identified in a rational, pragmatic manner. Key elements of this plan included a new IT governance process, development of social media policies, and implementation of an updated geographic information system (GIS) for use by departmental staff.
City of Seattle Department of Planning and Development (DPD) – GIS Options Analysis DPD had allowed its GIS platform to become out of date to the point that it was not expected to function when the City conducted its next MS Windows upgrade. We developed a set of viable options for continuing GIS use at DPD, each of which were subjected to rigorous cost-benefit analysis. With this work complete we worked with departmental and IT management to select the option which would most effectively serve DPD GIS users in a cost-effective manner.
City of Seattle Department of Planning and Development (DPD) – Social Media Strategy and Policy Development – IT staff at DPD was becoming overwhelmed with request to support emerging social media outlets such as Facebook and Twitter. This project identified key goals for social media and developed policies and procedures to support those goals. One driving factor in this project was streamlining work for IT staff. Through the project, we assisted DPD in developing a process which organized their content, identified content owners, and then leveraged their blog platform to support Twitter and Facebook feeds. This approach has allowed DPD to effectively develop a social media presence without incurring an overwhelming increase in IT workload.
City of Scottsdale (AZ) – Steve served as project manager on a strategic technology planning engagement involving a cross-functional project team. The plan articulated a road map for the future of IT investment in the City. The detailed assessment phase included analysis of the City’s IT staffing, budget, and application portfolio. Also examined IT-related business processes and developed recommendations for improved processes.
City of Bellevue (WA) – Steve also managed a project focusing on the development of a business model for operation of a regional public safety center, hosted by the City of Bellevue. This project included the development of rates to be charged to the City’s partners and a rigorous cost-benefit analysis incorporating net present value analysis among other financial metrics.
Other Public Sector Strategic Technology Planning Clients - Billings (MT), Bothell (WA), Kirkland (WA), Los Angeles County Waterworks, the Metropolitan Water District of Southern California, the Sammamish Plateau Water District, and State of Alaska.
Washington Mutual Consumer Lending Division – Steve devised short-term and long-term strategies for implementing an electronic loan file within consumer lending. Approach was approved by senior management and rapidly implemented. Also prepared a detailed cost-benefit analysis demonstrating a 3-year NPV of $20.3 million.

Education

MBA, University of Washington (Delivered Commencement Address)

MS in Physics, Oregon State University

BS in Physics and Mathematics, University of Puget Sound

Honors

Volunteer of the Year for 2001 – Boys and Girls Club of King County, Kirkland/Northlake Branch

Department of Education Fellowship 1991-1993 to develop and teach college physics curriculum

Conference Presentations

Customizing the Message while Optimizing Marketing ROI. Steven Sonnen, WaMu and Susan Kelly, Raine Media. 4^th Annual Financial Services Marketing Symposium, October 2006.

Stochastic Characterization of Radiological Risk for CERCLA Response Program at a Phosphorus Plant. William E. Wright, Steven J. Sonnen, and Robert L. Geddes, Montgomery Watson Inc. Society for Risk Analysis, 1997.

Decision and Risk Analysis to Enhance Decision Making Under Uncertainty for Brownfield Redevelopment. Steven J. Sonnen, William E. Wright, and Michael J. Stafford, Montgomery Watson Inc., Society for Risk Analysis, 1997..