Rick Molenaar, Project Manager in Kockengen, Netherlands
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Rick Molenaar

Verified Expert  in Project Management

Bio

Rick has over 25 years of experience in the IT industry, 12 of which have been spent as a consultant. He is experienced in developing software, managing the delivery of software solutions, acting as a CXO, and leading teams of up to 150 engineers. Rick has collaborated with over 20 companies in different stages of their lifecycle and functional domains, including flight ticket distribution, banking, ERP, eCommerce, and footwear.

Project Highlights

PCI DSS Level 1 Compliance for Travelstart
Achieved PCS DSS Level 1 compliance for the biggest online travel agent in Africa.
Migrating Three Enterprise Technology Platforms to a Single Platform
Headed the development of a new platform and then migrated the original platforms to the new one.

Expertise

  • Agile
  • Distributed Team Management
  • IT Consulting
  • IT Project Management
  • Jira Administration
  • Scrum
  • Software Development Management
  • Team Management

Work Experience

Interim Delivery Manager | Platform Transformation Consultant

2022 - 2023
Stater
  • Managed the delivery of mid-office delivery teams over several product increments, including major deliveries, to enable the internationalization of the stater product portfolio.
  • Reorganized the delivery teams to provide clearer team missions and cleaner processes.
  • Outsourced work to India to provide a more cost-effective delivery.
  • Lead the evaluation of a technical platform to potentially accelerate Stater’s Platform Transformation.

Technology Director

2021 - 2022
Exact Cloud Development Benelux b.v.
  • Spearheaded the personal development of 150 engineers delivering our cloud solution portfolio.
  • Responsible for the integration of three technology teams from acquired companies into Exact.
  • Implemented regular management reporting that brought more focus on results for the different teams.
  • Initiated more modern ways for the teams to connect and collaborate remotely through Microsoft Teams.
  • Optimized the delivery processes of some teams by changing from Scrum to the Shape Up method.

Head of Engineering

2020 - 2021
Bunq
  • Managed the front-end, back-end, QA, and data science teams.
  • Improved planning and delivery processes as well as daily, weekly, and capitalization progress reporting, OKRs, and automated hours extraction for subsidy reporting.
  • Spearheaded the delivery of regular bunq app updates and regular maintenance releases.

Chief Product and Technology Officer (CPTO)

2020 - 2020
SafeSize
  • Managed the definition and delivery of in-store and online product portfolios.
  • Streamlined a development process focussing on value delivery, improved feedback cycles, and continuous improvement.
  • Secured a data lake solution delivery and adjusted data flows to ensure more scalable business reporting.

Chief Information Officer

2016 - 2019
Travelstart
  • Worked on team building, including recruitment, coaching, and performance management.
  • Led some significant architectural changes, including migrating to the cloud, breaking up the monolith into microservices, and moving from SQL Server solution to Google BigQuery.
  • Improved processes, including business support and operation, Agile methodology application, experimentation, and continuous delivery.
  • Worked on information security and achieved PCI DSS Level 1 compliance.
  • Headed the migration from regular Microsoft Office to Google Workspace and implemented a new cloud-based call center infrastructure.

Head of Project Management Office

2011 - 2016
Travix International
  • Headed the migration from three enterprise technology stacks to one.
  • Implemented Agile and scaled the team from three to ten teams while delivering value to the business.
  • Worked on controlling IT costs, including managing research and development (R&D) project administration and reporting.
  • Built and managed a team of product owners and project managers.
  • Managed an overall portfolio and program for ten software delivery teams.

Integration Consulting Manager | System Analyst | Development Unit Manager

2000 - 2011
Amadeus
  • Worked as a system analyst from 2000 to 2002. Improved scalability of a single-page web app and participated in developing a new framework for this application used by many travel agencies all over the globe.
  • Acted as a development unit manager from 2004 to 2005 and secured the delivery of various applications, including a car-and-hotel reservation app and insurance booking.
  • Defined new services around system integration capabilities and led many system integration projects for Amadeus customers around the globe while working as a service and system integration manager.

Technology Consultant

1996 - 2000
Capgemini (Dublin, Ireland)
  • Delivered several projects involving software development, such as An Post, Esat Telecom (later Vodaphone), Merck, etc.
  • Participated in a team addressing the Year 2000 (Y2K) bug issues for An Post in Dublin.
  • Developed a Microsoft solution delivery practice in Capgemini.

PCI DSS Level 1 Compliance for Travelstart

Achieved PCS DSS Level 1 compliance for the biggest online travel agent in Africa.

I managed a number of deliverables from development teams, system engineers, and an IT service organization, as well as changes required in processes throughout the organization. This certification was done by an external provider and involved several companies providing scanning or other security-related services.

Migrating Three Enterprise Technology Platforms to a Single Platform

Headed the development of a new platform and then migrated the original platforms to the new one.

This involved different development teams, including the front-end and back-end ones. Also, we had to choose new partners to deliver a new content management system (CMS) and a middle office. We migrated the existing system to a new enterprise resource planning (ERP) system that integrated well with our middle office. Once a part of the new platform was delivered, we operated the platforms in parallel until we were comfortable migrating the traffic to the new system. We migrated front, mid, and back office components separately, keeping us firmly in control and not affecting current business operations.

Bunq Updates 15 and 16

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v69amNBsBxI

Launched two new major versions of the Bunq online banking app, where the launch event is determined by the project's scope and delivery time. I ran each update like a critical project with significant functionality upgrades.

Bunq updates are fixed time, fixed scope projects, which means a lot of pressure and coordination between product, back-end, iOS, and Android teams to ensure the team can deliver on time. The launch event is always planned, and practice runs happen twice a day while the software is still being delivered.

Personal Development Project

http://rickmolenaar.me

Developed small accounting software in React and Node.js.

To keep my development skills up to date, I developed a small-scale accounting package that I use to manage my personal finances as well as business accounts. Using the same methodology, I developed my business website.
1991 - 1995

Bachelor's Degree in International Business

Amsterdam University of Applied Sciences - Amsterdam, Netherlands

MARCH 2011 - JUNE 2014

Project Management Professional (PMP)

Project Management Institute (PMI)

JULY 1998 - PRESENT

Microsoft Certified Solution Developer

Microsoft

Tools

Google Sheets, Jira, Confluence, Slack, Microsoft Project, Miro, Excel 365, GitLab, Visual Basic, Asana, GitHub, GitLab CI/CD

Paradigms

Scrum, Agile Leadership, Agile, Agile Product Management, Agile Project Management, Azure DevOps

Platforms

Amazon Web Services (AWS), Oracle

Other

Project Management, IT Project Management, Software Development Management, Technical Project Management, Planning, Key Performance Indicators (KPIs), Developer Relations, Agile Coaching, Distributed Team Management, Team Management, Jira Administration, IT Consulting, Agile Program Management, Progress Reporting, CTO, Interviewing, Advisory, Technical Hiring, Computer Science, Agile Transformation, Microsoft Teams, React, Node.js, Coding, Data Science Product Manager, Software Development, Amazon Athena, Product Management, Team Building, IT Strategy, Freshdesk, IT Program Management, Portfolio Management, PCI DSS, Information Security, JavaScript, Java, French-English Translation, eCommerce, Scaled Agile Framework (SAFe), Organization Building, MongoDB, Visual Studio Code (VS Code)

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