Experience

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  Active / “Retired”

  • Lenexa, Kansas

  • Business I.T. Consultant

    • 2003 - 2014
    • Lenexa, Kansas

    I continue my education with sources including: Harvard Business Review; Scientific American Mind; public and home libraries; fact-checked, online references; and personal network exchanges. My ongoing self-study includes SAP and ACA (Affordable Care Act). I switched to a self-managed IRA, and gained 200% during the 12-months following March, 2009 market bottoms (gains 4 times greater than the Dow or S&P, with weighted-variables I combined from multiple sources, and luck). Post-“retirement”, I took on more domestic roles while non-traditional-student Wife-Arline did Agronomy graduate work. (Our domestic lives include healthy diets; 5-to-6 gym-sessions/week; and States-side travel to family, scenic, and historic destinations.)

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  Blue Cross Blue Shield of Kansas City

  • Kansas City, Missouri

  • Senior Business I.T. Project Consultant

    • 1990 - 2003
    • Kansas City, Missouri

    I worked with nurses, physicians, accountants and vendors, making improvements in case, quality, and risk management; provider relations, contracting and reimbursement; and health care data-information analysis. Teamwork outcomes included:• An initial 250-user PC-mainframe network that reduced costs $2 million/year.• A PC-mainframe Managed Care Support System that reduced costs $1million/year.• An institutional claims electronic data interchange that reduced costs $500,000/year.I worked with accounting and marketing clients and first-rate data base administrators (DBAs) and contracted developers to select, acceptance-test, and implement Y2K-compliant vendor software. We beat late-start, crunch-time Y2K targets.• DBAs and developers provided exceptional support in refining and implementing table and programming specifications I presented for interfaces and run-time triggers and logs. • We made ongoing process and software improvements.

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  GTE Health Systems

  • Phoenix, Arizona

  • Project Manager

    • 1988 - 1990
    • Phoenix, Arizona

    I started with Systems Choice, Incorporated (SCI) which was acquired by GTE Health Systems in 1989 (General Telephone & Electronics). Q/Care was SCI’s managed-healthcare software brand name; and our Q/Care team presentations were essential to the acquisition.• I worked with clients, analysts, developers and CICS techies (Customer Information Control System) in developing relational databases and Q/Care applications for benefits, billing, and provider and member services.• Our Q/Care teamwork included quantum improvements in online and batch processing performance with intersections of relational tables. • Our Coordinated Q/Care presentations and upgrades led to 7 and 8 figure contracts with Travelers and Health Net. (Health Net currently has 6 million members.)• We merged SCI and GTE Health Systems consultants and developers into one cohesive team as we were negotiating and finalizing the Health Net Q/Care contract. • We solved problems and increased revenue 50% with a near-lost account handed off to me.Siemens acquired GTE Health Systems. Siemens was acquired by Cerner in February, 2015.

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  Business Mens Assurance Company of North America (BMA)

  • Kansas City, Missouri

  • Corporate Database Manager

    • 1985 - 1988
    • Kansas City, Missouri

    My Project Leader to Database Manager promotion was based on predecessor, I.T. managers, and CFO recommendations. My work included:• The installation, maintenance, and usage of Applied Data Research (ADR) database management, programming, query, and reporting products.• Leading the development and implementation of premium billing, remittance processing, and reconciliation applications through prototyping with ADR and SAS tools.Business Mens Assurance, a life and health insurance company, was acquired by Liberty Life and began operating under the brand name of RBC Insurance in 2003.

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  Mid-States Energy Corporation

  • Kansas and Oklahoma

  • President and General Manager

    • 1975 - 1985
    • Kansas and Oklahoma

    With “field hand” as one of my starting “titles”, we grew from a 4-person partnership to a 60-person operation in 6 years. Growing a more scientific and skilled-labor 60-person team in Kansas and Oklahoma augmented the Human Resources insight I gained from growing a 56-person systems and programming team in Texas. Through improving best practices generously shared by area operators, drilling contractors, service companies, geologists, and petroleum engineers, we:• Increased annual production revenue from $90,000 to $1.6 million.• Developed a $3 million/year contract drilling clientele included AMOCO, Gulf (Chevron), and independent operators.The world oil glut that began in 1982 sent prices from $42 to $20/barrel (right after $100 guesstimates). I did self-study catch-up and resumed my I.T. career (as oil went to $10/barrel).

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  Blue Cross Blue Shield of Texas

  • Dallas, Texas

  • Systems and Programming Manager

    • 1968 - 1975
    • Dallas, Texas

    My Systems Analyst to Project Leader to Manager was a 4-year progression. To move Electronic Data Systems (EDS) services in-house, we grew our 56-member, systems and programming team (with 3 Assistant Managers and 9 Project Leaders) with exceptional support from Human Resources and Business and I.T. operations. With exemplary EDS support, the Medicare Part-B and Medicaid Intermediary systems transitions went smoothly.• Moving EDS services in-house reduced costs $6 million/year.• I led the development and implementation of Medicare Part-A Intermediary systems that reduced costs $1 million/year. • I dealt directly with federal and state government agency auditors, as a player on teams that consistently achieved high audit scores. • I quickly resolved production problems related to operator and (others’) coding errors.Disengaging with such class was a major factor in EDS regaining a full-service contract a few years after I left Dallas for Kansas oil and gas opportunities (including applying my summer oil patch jobs experience).

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  TENNECO

  • Houston, Texas

  • Programmer Analyst

    • 1966 - 1968
    • Houston, Texas

    Clients, colleagues, and I have benefited greatly from the computer operations and developers camaraderie instilled at Tenneco (when it was a conglomerate with $2.5 billion/year in revenue).• Systems Trainees had to excel as operators to earn analysis and developer training.• With guidance provided by senior operators, developers and business leaders, I completed Tenneco’s 2-year program in 1 year.I was offered a “Systems Trainee” position at TENNECO in a new-college-grad interview. The response to my “What’s a Systems Trainee?” question prompted me to accept an opportunity that provided lifelong returns.

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  Houston Lighting & Power, Sears, Small Businesses & Individuals

  • Texas

  • Jobs, while attending school

    • 1950 - 1966
    • Texas

    • Licensed Insurance & Securities Sales• Skilled & Semi-Skilled Labor in: Garden Shop Care-Taking & Sales Commercial & Residential Construction Electric Utility Meter Surveys Sports Events & Tourist Concessions Oil Fields, Agriculture & Roofing Industrial Cleaning & Yard Work Grocer Produce Stocking & Re-Upholstery