CHACKO VARKEY

• My entrepreneurial venture where I provide consultancy in the areas of
• Project Management
• Information Technology Strategy and projects
• Banking and Finance operations

Was initially hired as Project Manager (PM) in Operations department to put a Project Management practice within the Bank and oversee delivery of all approved IT and Operations projects.

• Developed and initiated projects, managed costs and monitored performance.
• Orchestrated projects within strict timeframes and budget constraints by solving complex problems and working closely with senior leaders.
• Met project deadlines without sacrificing build quality or workplace safety.
• Accelerated progress by continually reviewing performance, budgets and project timelines.
• Modified and directed project plans to meet organizational needs.
• Provided detailed technical and operational direction in project challenges, consistently meeting deliverables according to deadlines.
• Planned, designed and scheduled phases for large projects.

In addition to PM role, was also given additional role as Business Continuity Manager to implement Business Continuity Management (BCM) program for the Bank. Responsibilities included-

• Offer expertise to the senior management to guide, support and lead strategy development for business continuity in the even of a major disaster or incident.
• Devise and deploy training tools and processes to help department leaders improve business continuity plans. Created and administered training and awareness presentations and materials.
• Developed plans to enhance Bank's capability of maintaining and recovering critical business functions. The plans included functional recovery plans for critical departments, Emergency Response Plan, Crisis Management Plan, IT Diaster Recovery plan et al.
• Designed and setup of a purpose built BCP hot site for critical departments to continue operations in the event of a disaster.
• Coordinate for performing periodic drills and tests to ensure BCP plans work.

• Advise and provide strategic guidance to clients on general technology and IT infrastructures with best ROI, service delivery, customer relations, profitability and shareholder value
• Conduct research as needed to gain a thorough understanding of customers’ system specifications, work practices and business processes
• Define client hardware, software, and network requirements
• Implement solutions for new and improved IT systems
• Design, test, install and monitor IT systems
• Prepare documentation, progress reports and training materials for clients
• Assist clients through the change-management process
• Identify potential clients; build and maintain contacts

A leading public listed property developer in the region. Was hired to setup the Information Technology department and transform legacy IT systems into the latest best practices-driven systems and processes driven department

Key Responsibilities and Duties:

• Guide organizational technology strategy and roadmaps.
• Analyze technology trends, provide long term vision of IT services, develop innovative architecture and delivery processes designed for agility and cost effectiveness.
• Lead and mentor a team of IT professionals comprising of software engineers, service support engineers, database & system administrators and network & security specialists to deliver high quality IT services to the stakeholders.
• Establish metrics, KPIs and SLAs to continually monitor and improve the performance of IT operations.
• Preparation and finalization of yearly IT Budgets ( CAPEX, OPEX) and get it approved from Management.
• Demonstrated familiarity with latest hardware, software and networking technology. Led technology selection and rollout, focusing on organizational planning and supplier service-level agreements.
• Coordinate IT operations activities to deliver smooth flow of daily business needs.
• Participate in audit exercises liaising with Internal Audit team and other external auditors, including government Rulers’ Court. Tasks included risk identification , type, likelihood, impact and completion of IT Risk register ( Application & Infrastructure). Review IT Control Audit reports based on COBIT standards and implement mitigation steps by coordinating with internal IT team and other parties
• Confer with executives to advise and plan for short-term and long-term IT system upgrade needs.
• Develop RFPs/RFIs, oversee product evaluations, coordinate product and service selections, and ensure that pricing, terms, and conditions for supplier contracts meet IT standards and within budget while achieving optimal results.
• Establish and maintain strategic partnerships with vendors, contractors and service suppliers to secure products and services.

• (a leading bank reputed to be a front runner in implementing cutting edge technologies in the banking & finance sector in the Middle East)
• Key Responsibilities and Duties:
• Worked as an infrastructure specialist leading enterprise wide hardware/ software deployments and migration of projects for new branches of Mashreqbank across UAE and Qatar
• Mentored and supported IT department and business units in troubleshooting and developing IT knowledge base
• Achievements and Projects:
• Led the Y2K project for several branches including deployment of multiple servers, and over 1600 workstations, their desktop standardization, profiling, licenses inventory control,
• Team member for successful implementation of enterprise-wide fax solution using RightFax, resulting in cutting down operational cost by 40%
• Consolidation and updating of the multiple exchange and database servers, resulting in considerable saving in IT hardware,
• Designed and implemented a hardened Internet kiosk system to be deployed in branches facilitating online banking for customers on a 24x7 basis.

• India’s first electronic stock exchange that introduced and facilitated the first script-less and paper-less trading analogous to NASDAQ, USA)
• Part of the core team implementing and managing OTCEIs Data Center, network & security infrastructure and systems administration
• Impart technical training, consultation and support and to internal staff, external dealers and brokers