Eric Stary: 2015

Monday, October 12, 2015

Lessons Learned from my FIRST Triathlon

So I completed the Golden State Triathlon on Sunday. This was a 0.5 mile swim (in open water), 15 mile bike ride, and 5K run.

Swimming:

I had "trained for the event", but I was not prepared. I don't have access to a pool or swimable body of water.
I had to rent a wet-suit, now I am not a slender man. I looked like Chris Farley wearing David Spade's coat, or a sausage that had been cooked a little to long and was starting to burst open at the seams.
The wet-suit was too tight, it felt like trying to swim with an elephant on my chest, I could not get enough air. This tends to be problematic when swimming in a RIVER!
Swimming in a river, with a current, is not like swimming in a pool. If you want to do a triathlon I would highly suggest training in a body of water like you are going to participate in. By the first 100 meters I knew I was in trouble. I had to switch to swimming breaststroke which is really slow, but it was that or drown. I think I chose wisely.
I started 10 minutes ahead of the "elite" women, several of them passed me in the river. I knew it was going to be bad when I showed up and saw the "other" peeps. But the worst was yet to come.

Bicycling:

I routinely ride 12 - 15 miles on my bike, so I was not overly worried about this part. I should have been worried.
I was rocking a 100 dollar Schwinn, I bought from Wal-Mart. The other peeps had better rides. Sort of like racing a Ferrari in a Ford Fiesta. I passed NO ONE on the bike, not a single person. I was pedaling hard the whole time and I was being passed like I was riding backwards. On my third lap around the course (5 mile course), people were already leaving. They had finished the ride, run a 5K, drank a beer, cleaned up, chatted with friends, probably had a good laugh at Chubbs Peterson in the tight wet-suit all while I was still on the bike course.

Running:

The 5K was the easy part, except for the fact I was basically all alone at this point.
I did actually start to pass other people here, including a couple of guys. I bet they felt bad when I jogged past them.
I still had energy and my legs still had a little juice, I was able to run most of the 5K without breaks.

I finished last in my heat, and was two or three from the last male, and only finished a few minutes ahead of the last females (some of whom started 15 minutes after me). OUCH!

It was a great experience, and I would do this again, following some training and a better bike of course!

:)

Monday, August 24, 2015

Training

Over the last year, I have made a hobby into trying to torture myself. I have completed 2 Tough Mudders, a 10K, and I am signed-up for a mini-Triathlon, and the Men's Health Urbanathlon. I thought if I scheduled an event once every couple of months, it would give me something to focus on, to keep my diet and exercise habits in check while living here in the Bay Area.

The plan is for at least 6 events in 2016, including my first marathon.

I will admit I was partially correct, in that I do tend to keep an eye on things when I know the next torture test is just around the corner, but I have not done a good enough job, nor taken it seriously enough to drop that bad habit of Sunday Night Oreo's.

But, as I have said a 1000 times, the best part about failing is getting to start over. So here I am, starting over... again.

It is just over a month till my Triathlon and 90 days till the Urbanathlon. So here I go... once again... this time, I will get it right ;)

Sunday, August 16, 2015

ericstary.com

Updated LinkedIn Page...

Summary

Accomplished professional with track record of directing and managing multiple projects simultaneously without compromising quality, service levels, or deadlines. Problem solver with strong history of delivery and quality. Excellent analytical skills with a strong interest in data analysis, metrics, and intelligence. Utilizes project and process improvement methodologies to drive success.

AREAS OF EXPERTISE

Project Management
Budget/Financial Management
Customer Needs Evaluation
Project Reporting
Proposal Development and Bid Defense
Business Development Plans
Partnership Building
Data Analysis
Business Intelligence
Metrics & Reporting
Vendor Identification/Management
Clinical and Office Systems

Experience

Outsourcing and Vendor Management

Gilead Sciences

January 2014 – Present (1 year 8 months)San Francisco Bay Area

• Lead outsourcing activities across all therapeutic areas, including RFI, RFP, proposal review, bid defense, and contract and budget negotiations.
• Lead vendor relationship activities for multiple key providers, including issue resolution, governance, and management of the broader business relationship.
• Negotiate business terms for Master Service Agreements across all therapeutic areas, to date resulting in cumulative savings in excess of $10 Million.

Account Manager

Medpace

July 2011 – January 2014 (2 years 7 months)Cincinnati Area

• Lead new business development process and provide support toward the acquisition of new business, including proposal and budget development and bid defense.
• Evaluate customer and potential customer needs creating pipeline of new opportunities and revenue streams.
• Manage projects with budgets ranging from $250,000 to $5,000,000 plus from inception through delivery, including budget control, team leadership and training, and quality assurance.
• Developed over 200 proposals and project budgets ensuring attainment of customer requirements and expectations over the last two years.
• Liaise with executive staff to communicate project deliverables, pricing and proposal strategy to support business development efforts.
• Provided customer relationship management and executed contracts on over 50 projects over the last two years.
• Developed and refined pricing model for business unit which led to stronger proposal development process and increasing win percentage.
• Developed and maintained contracts database to provide more analytical tracking of contract negotiations and deadlines.

Project Manger

Kendle International/INC Research

2002 – 2011 (9 years)Cincinnati Area

• Efficiently directed PM/PMO projects and initiatives, including development and management of corporate metrics where none existed. Optimized expertise in data analysis and metrics. Developed and deployed corporate level project reporting for all regions ensuring attainment of project deliverables.
• Executed multiple projects on–time, within budget, in compliance with applicable regulations, with superior quality reporting, and customer satisfaction.
• Managed full scope of projects with budgets ranging from $1 million to $20 million. Responsible for deliverables and resource allocation.
• Managed operations and management for multiple software programs with accountability for internal / external training, usability, and support company–wide for over 3000 users.
• Managed a team of highly motivated professionals located throughout the United States, Mexico, and Western Europe.
• Served as local lead for Project Management Office for period of 2 years, directed multiple corporate initiatives including: Corporate Metrics Dashboard, Management Metrics, Process Improvement Initiatives, and System Development
• Provided full scope Project Management for multiple clinical trials, primarily acting in the Phase 1-3 space. Matrix type role included direct line management of reports and dotted line management over functional leads.