PROFILE

Versatile, perceptive, and achievement-driven Senior Management Consultant seeki

ng a career opportunity where multi-layered management skills as it pertains to
program development, process improvement, quality assurance, training, billing i
mprovement, sales, and customer service can be leveraged to support an organizat
ion to achieve its goals. Demonstrates an outstanding blend of expertise in sta
ff leadership, communication, creative problem solving, and driving product laun
ches to meet strict timelines. Excels at managing employees, fusing resources, a
nd advancing organizational directives through innovative programs and initiativ
es. Adeptly decodes complex situations and deploys business instinct to present
logical plans, then delegates effectively, remains committed to outcome, and em
braces flexible ways to achieve goals.
AREAS OF EXPERTISE

Process Reengineering
Organizational Development
Strategic Planning
Compliance
Staff Training & Development
Change Management
Program & Project Management
Goal Setting
Process & Procedure Development
Team Building & Motivation
PROFESSIONAL EXPERIENCE
Verizon & Verizon Business, Thousand Oaks, CA 2007 to 2009
Senior Consultant, Verizon, 2009 and Verizon Business, 2007 to 2009
Advanced rapidly through a series of increasingly responsible roles over the co
urse of a highly successful 32 year tenure, based on an exemplary work ethic and
proven record of achievement.
Functioned as a senior consultant in the roll out of a New Product/Service intr
oduction call program that successfully communicated new concepts and educated a
ll relevant business units on products/services.
Developed each presentation for delivery to the business units with responsibil
ity for agenda setting, presentation posting, call hosting, feedback collection,
recording of go/to 2007no go votes, and sending minutes.
Conducted Ready-to-Launch calls with the Product Owner and executive teams for
all related business units, communicating product launch timelines, marketing st
rategies, and project close out information.
Played a pivotal change management role with responsibility for implementing re
quired changes in processes and services without delay or disruption to the sche
duled product/service launch.
Earned senior management recognition for significantly improving product and se
rvice rollout projects by functioning as the primary point of contact for all pr
oject related concerns, problems, and updates.
Received an Individual Excellence Award over four consecutive years based on su
perior levels of performance and a recognized record of achievement in a challen
ging consultancy role.
Demonstrated an innate ability to oversee simultaneous complex projects from co
ncept to conclusion, skillfully coordinating workflow and resources to ensure th
e consistent achievement of project goals.
Facilitated executive meetings, communicated project progress, brainstormed ide
as, and determined the viability and long-term profitability of launches, improv
ing compliance and overall organizational growth.
Provided leadership and direction to project managers in the execution of daily
roles and utilized strong mentoring skills to deliver training on the process,
forms, timelines, web tools, and approval processes.
Meticulously consolidated processes and procedures for sales channels across mu
ltiple sales organizations, effectively improving efficiency, service standards,
and consistency at one single site.
Enforced stringent standard operating procedures and monitored compliance to al
l written sales processes, responding swiftly and decisively to resolve areas of
non-compliance.
Verizon Business, Newbury Park, CA, 2005 to 2007
Manager, Processes and Procedures
Supervised a team of 18 management employees that were assigned responsibility
for creating the methods and procedures from quoting to billing for the companys
Small and Large business units.
Provided remote leadership to the group in the development of processes and pro
cedures through conference calls and Webinar sessions to enhance the flow of com
munication to all parties.
Successfully developed a standardized template for between 6 and 7 different fo
rms and created a consistent work process, significantly improving lead-time fro
m sale closing to order placement.
Continued Lauralei Valdez ~ Page 2 of 2
Played a key role in creating links that provided access to all required forms,
contracts, and checklists, positively improving efficiency, productivity, compl
iance, and customer service standards.
Devised and delivered Webinar training sessions for the sales team, presenting
comprehensive training programs during live and recorded sessions that improved
staff performance, accountability, and morale.
Served as a subject matter expert on the Customer Provided Equipment process an
d developed an SME team that collapsed four different ordering systems in one du
e to numerous mergers over that period.
Meticulously managed this project, conducting interviews, preparing flow charts
, collecting forms, understanding hand-offs, learning the process, and creating
a new, more streamlined process.
Collaborated closely with the team to prepare a list of requirements for the IT
department to test the end-to-end result before training all order entry teams
located across the United States.
Responsible for an expanded role, providing technical support and operational g
uidance relating to issues with processes, procedures, and/or system issues, and
resolving problems in a timely manner.
Verizon, Thousand Oaks, CA, 1997 to 2005
Manager, Business Operations and Billing
Strategically directed the activities of four separate groups including Custome
r Provided Equipment Compliance, Invoicing, the Maintenance Contract Group, and
the Regulated Compliance Group.
Worked with the Compliance group to ensure that the company had a legally bindi
ng contact signed by the officers of the corporation, that prices quoted were ac
curate, and that discounts were approved.
Collaborated closely with an IT professional to link the acceptance function to
a sales function and create an email tracking method to coordinate month-end ac
tivities while minimizing errors.
Successfully streamlined procedures and coached staff members in all areas of p
rocess execution and procedural adherence, improving the sale process function,
compliance, and internal cooperation.
Spearheaded process improvements within the invoicing group that resulting in r
educing average days to invoice from +30 days to between 2 and 4 days, significa
ntly ahead of the planned goal of 12 days.
Earned management approval for improving revenue recognition, reducing sales co
mpensation cycles, resolving billing disputes more efficiently, and improving th
e relationship with sales and field forces.
 Led the maintenance contract group in the sale of new maintenance contracts to
existing customers through effective pricing, negotiating, invoicing, customer s
ervice, and follow up.
Positively improved the renewals process, reduced time delays that affected sal
es channel performance, coordinated workflow, and created an online web based tr
acker, achieving renewal goals in 3 months.
Established a new group that ran reports, provided new contract information for
sales submissions, notified sales of non-compliant contracts, and validated new
contracts upon execution.
Led the group from start-up, establishing new processes and procedures, and ens
uring FCC and PUC compliance in all areas of the business operations, successful
ly avoiding fines and penalties.
Recognized for leading teams that received the Circle of Success over 5 of the
6 quarters of the program and for positively improving staff attendance figures
and employee morale and retention.
Program Manager, 1993 to 1997
Provided support and assistance to the sales team relating to the Telecommunica
tions Act of 1996 which un-bundled services provided to end users at a significa
nt cost-reduction.
Worked with a team of 5 multidisciplinary staff members to create a report that
would aggregate the services to all customers across the U.S., creating tier ba
sed pricing that offered compliant discounts.
Developed and maintained strategic business alliances with Legal and Regulatory
compliance to seek PUC and FCC compliance and with IT personnel to develop a ma
ss order generation system for billing.
Prepared and implemented the required business plan to request the development
of a track program that communicated changes to a contracted customers service t
o ensure contractual compliance.
Delivered in-depth training programs to the order entry and billing departments
, resulting in promotion to the Billing Manager role and the assignment of creat
ing a new department with 8 staff members.
EDUCATION
M.B.A. Marketing, California Lutheran University, Thousand Oaks, CA, 1999
B.A. Organizational Behavior, California Lutheran University, Thousand Oaks, CA,
1996
COMMUNITY INVOLVEMENT
Volunteer, Class Room at Mountain Meadows School