Mihai Zugravu
Verified Expert in Project Management
Project Manager
Cluj-Napoca, Cluj County, Romania
Toptal member since January 17, 2022
Mihai has over 12 years of extensive project management experience in telecommunications, travel, energy generation, and gaming industries, where he acquired a robust toolset to strive in any environment. Having transitioned from a consulting background and Waterfall methodologies to hands-on project management and an Agile mindset, Mihai has helped multiple organizations on their path towards digital transformation, scaling product development and project delivery.
Project Highlights
Expertise
- Agile
- Agile Product Management
- Project Management
- Project Planning
- Requirements & Specifications
- Risk Management
- Scrum
- User Experience (UX)
Work Experience
Senior Agile Project Manager
Tremend
- Reshaped the corporate accounts section of a major telecommunications company, one of the biggest and oldest accounts of the company, after joining the team as a senior project manager.
- Set up a new risk management process and an improved KPIs-based monitoring system for projects.
- Reorganized the internal tools to optimize project visibility and enable third-party tools integration to release management, versioning, and more.
Head of Product Operations
GameMine
- Progressed to head of product operations almost a year after joining the team as a project manager in the product development department.
- Interacted with key stakeholders to define, develop, and refine internal and external systems and product requirements.
- Improved operational efficiency by removing unnecessary complexity.
- Unified Agile processes and introduced the Atlassian set of tools.
Project Manager
Lola Tech
- Managed planning and resourcing and owned the product delivery as the project manager.
- Fostered an Agile Release Train for several projects and initiatives under the same business vertical.
- Drove all scrum ceremonies and acted as a liaison between all entities involved in the project delivery process.
- Implemented and continuously improved the agile delivery environment, nurturing a self-driving and empowered organization.
Scrum Master
Xoomworks
- Fostered Agile practices across distributed cross-functional teams working on four different time zones as a scrum master and partially direct line manager.
- Maintained direct communication with the client to manage expectations regarding the delivery process and quality standards.
- Grew the team size from five employees to more than 20 in less than one year, scaling the development process accordingly.
- Improved quality levels by reducing the number of production defects after each release by more than 30%.
Technical Project Manager
Ding
- Joined the team as a technical project manager also focused on scaling scrum framework within the organization.
- Managed several projects to create Android and iOS mobile applications for international top-up requiring API development.
- Set up a unified Agile process across the entire organization, scaling the Scrum delivery model.
- Supported setting up a release management process focused on continuous improvement and risk mitigation.
Scrum Master
Netbridge Services
- Played a key role as the scrum master for several web development projects.
- Unified smaller development teams into larger pods to remove idle times in the development process.
- Coached the teams to fully adopt the Scrum framework and properly understand Scrum.
Project Manager
CEZ Romania
- Led high-impact projects after progressing from junior project manager to senior project manager.
- Coordinated an efficiency enhancement program that consisted of five simultaneous projects involving more than 50 employees.
- Conducted several time-norming and performance measurements projects that led to new time standards and norms in the resourcing process.
- Managed an outsourcing project to externalize activities to a third-party supplier.
Project History
Sabre Corporation & Expedia Affiliate Network Integration
https://www.sabre.com/insights/releases/sabre-expands-hotel-choices-with-expedia-affiliate-network-giving-agents-more-options-for-travelers/Managed an extremely challenging project to integrate inventories from two of the most prominent players in the travel industry: Sabre GDS and Expedia Affiliate Network, a part of the Expedia Group.
Allegiant Airlines Irregular Operations Program
Launched a new program for managing irregular operations during force majeure, crisis, and emergencies, including customer self-service options, new airport servicing, diverted flights, grounded flights, and more.
Ding Top-up: Mobile Recharge
https://apps.apple.com/us/app/ding-top-up-mobile-recharge/id425228767Launched a native app for phone top-up that works with virtually any carrier at a global level. Limited the interaction flow to less than 10 clicks until the transaction was completed. So far, the app has over 50k ratings and an average score of 4.8.
MIndfulness and Meditation Native App
https://amen.io/Launched and managed several releases of the app. Achieved a star rating of 4.9 after three months from launch and a top 50 ranking in the health and lifestyle category in Apple Store Canada.
Education
Executive Master's Degree in Business Administration (EMBA)
Tiffin University - Tiffin, Ohio, USA
Bachelor of Political Science in Elections Marketing
University of Craiova - Craiova, Romania
Certifications
SAFe 5.1 Agilist
Scaled Agile, Inc.
Certified Scrum Professional – ScrumMaster
Scrum Alliance
Certified Scrum Professional – Product Owner
Scrum Alliance
Scrum Fundamentals Certified
SCRUMstudy
Certified Scrum Product Owner (CSPO)
Scrum Alliance
Certified Scrum Master
Scrum Alliance
Skills
Tools
Atlassian, Zoom, Confluence, Jira, Slack, Microsoft Project
Paradigms
Scrum, Agile, Agile Project Management, Requirements Analysis, Agile Product Management, Kanban, Change Management
Platforms
ProductPlan
Industry Expertise
Software
Other
Project Management, Project Planning, Risk Management, Project Discovery, Team Management, Project Scoping, Feature Backlog Prioritization, Scrum Master, Product Planning, Roadmaps, Feature Analysis, Certified ScrumMaster (CSM), Backlog Management, Resourcing, Project Delivery, Scrum Coaching, Web Project Management, Product Roadmaps, Backlog Grooming, Projects, eCommerce, Planning, Staffing, User Experience (UX), Stakeholder Management, Discovery Workshops, Portals, Risk Analysis, User Journeys, User Journey Maps, UX Analysis, Scrum Product Owner, Jira Administration, Website Redesign, Product Development, Product Design, Consulting, Project Consultancy, IT Project Management, System Integration, Vendor Management, Project Timelines, Requirements, Requirements & Specifications, Product Management, Operations Management, Program Management, Tourism, Travel, Product Discovery, Gaming, Mobile Apps, Project Leadership, Critical Path Analysis, Waterfall Methodology, New Product Development, Mobile App Development, Religious Organizations, Digital Marketing Strategy, Marketing Research & Analysis, General Management, Data Integration, Analytics, Scaled Agile Framework (SAFe), RiskMetrics, Risk Modeling, Process Redesign, Cross-cultural Management, Business Analysis, Organization
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