Michael O'Sullivan
Verified Expert in Project Management
Project Manager
Sydney, New South Wales, Australia
Toptal member since October 29, 2019
Michael is an accomplished agile project manager. He has managed teams at startups and some of the world's largest companies. Michael is highly technical and has a background in business analysis and software engineering. Michael is also an accomplished full-stack engineer. Overall, Michael has a rare blend of agile project management expertise coupled with a deep technical skill-set that allows him to provide end to end support across projects.
Project Highlights
Expertise
- Agile Project Management
- Agile Software Development
- Architecture
- Minimum Viable Product (MVP)
- Mobile Apps
- Technical Project Management
- Web Development
Work Experience
Agile Delivery Manager & Technical Consultant
Infornite
- Worked with a variety of clients on both small and large scale projects providing technical expertise and project management.
- Specialized in projects where clients require both project management and technical expertise.
- Provided agile training and help clients to set up the team and processes for success.
- Focused on web and mobile application development along with implementing the back end applications to support next gen applications.
- Commonly took a dual role in managing the project and also managing the overall technical design and application architecture.
Technology and Data Management Consultant (Part Time)
Enterprise Data Management Council ~ Sydney, Australia
- Represented the council within Asia Pacific working closely with clients on the ground and the core team that is based in New York.
- Guided clients to put in place the processes and team structures to support the efficient delivery of their data projects based on industry best practices.
- Designed and rolled out training programs to help uplift teams in project delivery and data management practices.
Agile Delivery Manager ~ Digital Transformation & Data
Macquarie Banking Group ~ Sydney, Australia
- Managed the development and maintenance of a suite of web based applications used across the bank along with a back end data-warehouse.
- Led a permanent team of three analysts and 3 Dev Ops engineers to support a user base of 300+.
- Managed a series of projects from MVP stage through to vendor negotiations and development in areas such as data management, analytics and dash-boarding.
- Implemented agile processes and training across the team to create a more transparent delivery road map for end users.
Agile Program Manager & Scrum Master
QBE Insurance ~ Sydney, Australia
- Managed 5 interrelated work-streams in a complex and high pressured delivery environment.
- Took over the project when it was under-delivering and put in place the agile methodologies and processes to turn the program around.
- Started with a small team of five and grew the team to 25 people responsible for a multi-million-dollar pipeline of work.
- Put in place an efficient interview and assessment processes in order to allow us to find and hire the right technical resources and ramp up quickly.
- Ability to lead the team whilst also providing technical oversight was critical to this projects success.
Technical Project Manager & Solutions Architect
Zurich Insurance ~ Zurich, Switzerland
- Responsible for delivering a pipeline of projects in the areas of innovation and data excellence.
- Managed the successful delivery of web based application that allowed the business to visualise flood and storm risk worldwide.
- Ran a number of Proof of Concept and MVP projects in the areas of IOT, Telematics and Machine Learning..
Scrum Master
Westpac Banking Group ~ Sydney, Australia
- Brought in to manage a time sensitive integration project following the acquisition of a new business by the bank.
- Managed a project team responsible for creating an application that would provided a single view of customers across multiple different applications.
- Highly technical project requiring expert technical oversight and closely managing the communications between the business and engineering teams.
- Tasked with ramping up the team very quickly and delivering a series of outcomes in quick succession.
Chief Data Architect
AIG Insurance ~ Tokyo, Japan
- Managed a team of 12 with responsibility for requirements, architecture, and data integration activities.
- Developed a common approach and processes to manage data mapping and reference data collection.
- Managed the vendor RFP and selection process and led onboarding and training of the selected vendor.
- Oversaw the solutions architecture and design of both up-stream integration and the final warehouse.
- Established the data governance process across the business and IT functions for the new platform.
Business Analyst
Equifax ~ Sydney, Australia
- Defined and rolled out new functionality that would increase the revenue base through up and cross-sell.
- Headed business requirements and use case definitions for a major upgrade to the existing credit alert system enabling new functionality that doubled the customer base.
- Defined and managed the development of a new web service allowing the integration of the alerts system with other consumer products providing a significant lift in cross-sell potential for the business.
Program Manager
AIG Insurance ~ Dubai, UAE & Sydney, Australia
- Owned the end-to-end delivery playing a diverse role both in managing the development team as well as owning the key relationships with executive sponsors across the two regions.
- Developed the business case and managed its approval through regional and head office review boards.
- Ran workshops to develop use cases and define the core business requirements.
- Managed the offshore development team providing technical expertise and critical path planning.
- Headed weekly reporting to executive management as well as chairing the monthly Steering Group.
- Managed the UAT execution including pre-UAT workshop, daily progress tracking, and triage of issues.
Project Manager and Business Analyst
AIG Insurance ~ Dublin, Ireland
- Held various roles starting as a business analyst and working my way through to project management.
Software Developer (Part Time)
Sort My Books ~ Kerry, Ireland
- Developed software using the Microsoft technology stack.
Systems Analyst (Internship)
Fidelity Investments ~ Boston, USA
- Participated in a 6-month internship with Fidelity in the US.
Project History
MVP to Implementation ~ Flood Mapping Application
Delivered a web and mobile application that is used by 1000's to identify and visualize places that are at risk of flooding.
✪ I leveraged cutting edge technologies including a big data environment and geographic information system to successfully deliver this product.
✪ The application had a big business impact as it gave the company a competitive edge in assessing and pricing flood risk exposures in the Insurance Industry.
✪ I designed the back end infrastructure and API and I managed the engineers in developing the web and mobile applications.
Startup ~ Web Based Data Management Platform
Managed the design and delivery of a full-stack web platform based on Node.js, Angular, and Neo4j (cutting edge graph db).
✪ Following a successful delivery of the MVP, I was tasked to deliver the fully functional platform.
✪ I managed the project working with a small team of remote engineers based in South East Asia.
✪ This was a lightweight project for a cash strapped startup so I had a dual role of both project manager as well as a technical lead.
✪ I was responsible for researching technology choices, defining the overall architecture and design and guiding the engineers to ensure delivery of a high quality and secure application.
Cloud Based Data and Analytics Platform
Managed the end to end delivery of a multi-million dollar analytics platform and an agile team of 25+ resources.
✪ The overall goal of the project was to leverage the data within the company to deliver information more quickly to the business teams so that they could make decisions in the field.
✪ This was a very broad project where I had to begin by working with the business teams to come up with clear requirements and develop a delivery road-map.
✪ I started with a small team and worked closely with the business to deliver their key requirements.
✪ The project was extremely successful and well regarded by the business sponsors so I was soon tasked with extending the team up to 25+ resources and managing a series of work streams.
Education
Master's Degree in Economics
National University of Ireland, Cork - Cork, Ireland
Bachelor's Degree in Business Information Systems
National University of Ireland, Cork - Cork, Ireland
Certifications
Data Management Capability Assessment Model Certification
EDM Council
Certificate in Business Analysis
National College of Ireland
Skills
Tools
SQL, Jira, Confluence, Excel 2016, Microsoft Project, Microsoft Power BI, Microsoft PowerPoint, Informatica Master Data Management (MDM), Visual Studio, SAS, Asana, Visual Basic, Microsoft Access
Paradigms
Scrum, Kanban, Agile, Waterfall Delivery, Waterfall Development, Agile Product Management, Agile Software Development, API Architecture, Agile Project Management, PRINCE2, Change Management, Organizational Change Management (OCM)
Industry Expertise
Insurance, Insurance Technology (Insurtech), Architecture, Banking & Finance, Health Insurance, Credit Industry, Life Insurance
Platforms
Google Cloud Platform (GCP), Amazon Web Services (AWS), Azure, Oracle, Blockchain
Other
Governance, Stakeholder Management, Project Management, P&C Insurance, Data Management, Data Architecture, Solution Architecture, Business Analysis, IT Strategy, Data Strategy, Project Management Professional (PMP), Data, Analysis, Property Insurance, Project Delivery, Projects, Project Discovery, Project Tracking, Project Design, Solution Design, Agile Sprints, Product Delivery, Product Management, Digital Product Management, Scrum Master, IT Projects, IT Project Management, Program Management, IT Program Management, Technical Program Management, Agile Program Management, APIs, Gantt Chart, Communication, Business Intelligence (BI), Analytics, Software Development, Software Development Lifecycle (SDLC), Software Development Management, Digital Strategy, Data Analysis, Web Development Strategy, Project Design & Management, Technical Project Management, Software Design, Development, App Development, Technical Consulting, Technical Design, Minimum Viable Product (MVP), Mobile Apps, Story Mapping, Backlog Management, Backlog Grooming, Feature Backlog Prioritization, User Stories, IT Business Analysis, Waterfall Methodology, Compliance, Data Science, Insurance Broking, Node.js, Neo4j, Excel VBA, Visual Basic for Applications (VBA), Big Data, Business Strategy, Healthcare & Insurance, Credit Risk, Informatica, Web Development, SQL Server 2016, Sybase, IBM Db2, Test Management, GraphQL, JavaScript, User Interface (UI), Agile Data Science, Process Design, Business Process Re-engineering, White Papers, Web App Development, Software QA, Business Processes, Business Process Analysis, Artificial Intelligence (AI), Angular, React, Commercial Banking, Investment Banking, Machine Learning, SQL Server Integration Services (SSIS), COBOL, Visual Basic .NET (VB.NET)
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