Alexandra Finichiu, PMP

Experience

• 

  HP

  Oct 2011 - now

  I currently play a key role in a digital transformation program. This involves the major redesign of existing applications or the creation of new ones in order to replace manual processes in the CPQ area (configure, price, quote). The product I am assigned to requires the replacement of an existing desktop application with a new web application. My primary focus is to understand stakeholders' needs and transform them into clear requirements for the development team. Besides my responsibilities as a Product Owner, I am also assigned to coordinate the UI/UX design efforts which are massive given the complexity and size of the application (used worldwide, covering more than 30 different processes, having identified 7 personas).Key achievements:• Lead design thinking activities with more than 300 internal stakeholders across all geographical regions. As a result of this, we gathered valuable insights on user needs and how to deliver them • Created personas and use cases, conducted several surveys including card sorting exercises, and organized interviews in which we performed task analysis, as part of the UI/UX research activities. The main used applications were UXtweak and Miro• Build a repository of all screens and functionalities that had to be redesigned (over 200 main/ pop-up pages)• Coordinated the creation of a new logo & name for the application• Coordinate delivery of low & hi-fidelity prototypes• Managed around 10 features for each PI (Product Increment)• Coordinate UAT activity • Ensure alignment and proper integration with 4 other applications part of the CPQ environment that conducted major transformations in parallel.• Identify benefits brought by the project and define how to measure them in order to facilitate ROI calculations. Work with the BI team to create a monthly report that captures the agreed KPIs.• Obtained SAFe certification Show less My objectives in this position were to maintain the success of the already deployed robots, expand the RPA portfolio to other processes across different organizations, and manage the team of RPA developers. On a monthly basis, I calculated the cost and the ROI for each of the robots. In case the results were not ok, I investigated the root causes and took corrective actions. The most common challenges were related to poor performance of internal applications and frequent changes in the processes. I was also responsible for creating the program roadmap and the development and resource schedules in line with workloads and organizations' priorities. Hiring RPA developers was also part of my responsibility. In order to expand the RPA portfolio, I coordinated competitions aimed to gather ideas from all employees, held presentations about RPA solutions for different management teams, and helped them identify automation opportunities. I did a feasibility assessment for any new idea that was added to the funnel and made recommendations to upper management on which projects can and should be done with priority. On the other hand, for existing robots, I qualified the major change requests and decided if these can be addressed through the standard CR process or require additional funding. The sizing of the licenses was particularly difficult in the case of processes with sensitive SLAs, and very high or fluctuating volumes. On a monthly basis, I connected with the UiPath team to discuss structural issues, get presentations on new UiPath products and obtain recommendations on how to better implement RPA solutions.Key achievements:•Successfully managed a funnel of 12 deployed RPA solutions - All projects met their requirements and yearly profitability targets•Created development plans for all 5 resources and coached them in taking the necessary steps for achieving their personal goals.•Obtained PMP Certification Show less My assignment was to build a new team and process to address a pricing compliancy issue identified in an internal audit. I led the hiring process, defined the process, the KPIs, the team structure, and the communication plans based on the objectives defined by upper management & internal audit team. On a weekly basis, I run KPI reports, and based on the results I created correction or mitigation plans. Also on weekly bases, I sent updates to stakeholders on the team’s results. Due to the complexity and sensitivity of the process, I had to gather a lot of feedback and drive multiple process changes until it became stable. As part of the management of resources, I worked with each team member on setting objectives, identifying training needs, and allocating work according to expertise and existing load.Key achievements in this position include:• Obtained approval from all stakeholders for the new process that was defined.• Met the audit team conditions for the new process implemented• Implemented a communication plan and dashboard which was highly appreciated by main stakeholders. The dashboard contains the number and monetary value of quotations verified by the team for each region, the audit pass rate, the most common issues identified, and the saving brought by stopping grey marketing attempts. • Created with help from the Data Analytics team, a risk matrix that has shortened the turnaround time of one request by 30%• Conceptualized and implemented an onboarding plan for newcomers. Once implemented the ramp-up time was reduced from 3 months to approximately one month and a half. • Flagged on average 4 grey marketing attempts per month, representing around 2.7 Million USD/month. As we raised awareness in the sales community around which are the red flags, the number of attempts identified by the team gradually decreased by around 20%. Show less Main responsabilities: • Develop and manage new programs/projects to support the strategic objectives of the organization.• Work closely with project sponsor, cross-functional teams, and assigned project managers to plan and develop scope, deliverables, required resources, work plan, budget, and timing for the assigned program/project• Analyze, evaluate, and overcome program risks, and produce program reports for management and stakeholders• Work with other program managers to identify risks and opportunities across multiple projects within the department• Implement and manage change Show less In my role of Business Process Analyst for Bid Desk team I am responsible to:• Deliver monthly reporting packages of Bid Desk activities (Key Performance Indicators, Business Information Metrics) to teams stakeholders• Create monthly Scorecard for Bid Desk agents • Support Stakeholders requests for financial analysis • Implement process changes/ new activities transitioned to the Bid Desk team (analysis, implementation, documentation and communication)• Supervise the Subject matter experts activities • Assure all processes are complaint with internal regulation and support internal audit• Assure accuracy of the process ( through monthly reports, refresher training, monthly quality checks followed by action plans when needed)• Conduct effectiveness and efficiency projects• Test main tools used by the team (In case of major updates/ new tools) Show less After gaining experience as pricing analyst I was able to promote to the role of Junior Pricing Manager (JPM). In the approval framework of our team, this was the next level. In my role as JPM for Germany I was mainly responsible to approve deals that were more aggressive in pricing, usually for large companies.Besides deal approval my activity included following:• Being main point of contact for the sales team in Germany regarding pricing process• Create profitability analysis and scenarios in order to determinate best pricing strategies• Revise and update process documentation for the Bid Desk team• Responsible for optimization of the special pricing process• War Room preparation for the most aggressive offers (financial analysis)• Monitor the turnaround time (TAT) of the pricing team and take action if improvements were needed. Show less In parallel with the job of pricing analyst, I offered support as process expert for EMEA (Europe, Middle East and Africa) team. Main activities consisted in:• delivering process training for all new comers, preparing presentation materials and covering documentation on their progress.• generating weekly internal reports (e.g. Quality Check results, KPI results) and close monitoring them along with the Business Process Analysts and the team supervisor• daily monitoring early warning dashboard to ensure that the workload level can be covered on all regions • ensuring that all new comers have all the needed accounts and the corresponding access and that they have the tools up and running Show less

  • Product Manager - CRM

    Nov 2022 - now

  • Product Owner – CPQ applications

    Dec 2020 - Oct 2023

  • Program Manager – RPA solutions (Robotic Process Automation)

    Nov 2019 - Dec 2020

  • Project Manager – Pricing Audit

    Nov 2018 - Oct 2019

  • Program Manager

    Sept 2017 - Nov 2018

  • Compliance Manager

    May 2016 - Aug 2017

  • Business Process Analyst

    May 2015 - Apr 2016

  • Junior Pricing Manager

    Feb 2014 - May 2015

  • Subject Matter Expert

    May 2013 - May 2015

  • Pricing Analyst

    Oct 2011 - Jan 2014