1 what he does

2 who he is

3 what he's done

4 resume

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4.0 resume
  4.1 Executive Profile
  4.2 Expertise
  4.3 Professional Experience
  4.4 Books
  4.5 Teaching
  4.6 Speaking
  4.7 Education
  4.8 Resume in Acrobat (.pdf) Format

4.1   Executive Profile

MICHAEL DRAPKIN
STRATEGY TECHNOLOGY LEADERSHIP

Michael Drapkin combines extensive experience in strategy, technology and leadership across both the for-profit world and the arts. A creative achiever, strategist and problem solver, Drapkin has successfully run large efforts ranging from technology implementation to projects spanning multiple companies and continents, as well as business planning, customer acquisition and market analysis. He has worked in telecom, financial services, new media, as well as the arts, and was previously the Chair of Ecommerce management at Columbia University in New York and recently filed two patents in the retail space. Drapkin was also a finalist for "The Ten Awards" in New York for Outstanding Business Leader, and recently relocated to Austin.

  • With more than 25 years of management and technical experience at Fortune 1000, new-media companies and over 30 startup firms, Drapkin is an expert at delivering cost-effective business solutions. Before starting his own senior-level business, technology and management consultancy in 1999, he served as senior technologist at the Web agencies Razorfish and Avalanche. Drapkin was CTO of DMS Corp., a quarter billion dollar multinational firm in the same-day courier business, where he managed technology across two continents. He also was a vice president at Lehman Brothers, overseeing the firm's deployment of client/server technology, including their first installation of a company-wide data warehouse for brokerage client business intelligence.
  • An accomplished business strategist, leader and technologist, Drapkin has spearheaded strategic partnerships, and assisted firms in restructuring, reorganizing, saving money, and defining markets.
  • Drapkin was chair of E-Commerce Management at Columbia University's Executive Information Technology Management program and taught courses on Web, Internet & E-Commerce. His students included senior managers and directors of major firms seeking to become CEO/CIO/CTOs. He is a visiting lecturer on E-Commerce at the University of Chicago and for Citibank. He consults to numerous small firms and Fortune 1000 firms on all aspects of business -- from how to increase profits, to how to effectively deploy the latest technology.
  • His articles on technology have appeared in numerous trade periodicals, and he has been quoted in Fortune, Wired, PC Week, New York Times, Chicago Tribune and numerous other publications, and on camera with CNBC and CNET. He also is a regular public speaker throughout the metropolitan New York area and at major technology and e-commerce conferences, including Comdex, Internet World, PC Expo and eVenture World. He is in demand as a moderator for e-commerce panels, moderating panels for Akamai, Linkshare, the New York E-Commerce Association and other firms and conferences. He is the lead author of a book on E-Commerce strategy, organization and project management, Three Clicks Away, published in 2001 by John Wiley and Sons, with a foreword by Dr. Pehong Chen - CEO and founder of BroadVision. Three Clicks Away was ranked #20 in sales on Amazon in New York City.
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4.2   Expertise

  • Business & Thought Leadership
  • Business Development & Growth
  • Project Management and Project Reorganization
  • Technology Management
  • Team Building & Leadership
  • Internal & External Customer Relations
  • Operational Management
  • Vendor management and contract negotiation
  • Market analysis and assessment
  • Technology outsource supply and management
  • Web application development
  • Web infrastructure management
  • System and Network administration management
  • Product / Service Development & Rollout
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4.3   Professional Experience

2004 - Present    VICE PRESIDENT OF STRATEGIC PROJECTS, IDT Corporation. Corporate Development. Revived a corporate calling card product, helped develop a business services division, coordinated large efforts spanning multiple business units and projects, including a MasterCard Point of Sale Activation (POSA) system, Alaska routing, Toll-Free NPA-NXX routing, and the integration of Sonus Softswitch as a core carrier switch. Two patents applied for on Point-of-sale Activation of Products on behalf of IDT.

2005 - Present    EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR, Brevard Conference on Music Entrepreneurship (www.bcome.org). Founder of the first national conference on entrepreneurship in music. Think tank with key speakers held on July 16-17, 2005; full sold-out conference held July 14-16 2006; at the Brevard Music Center in North Carolina. $50,000 grant obtained from the Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation. Sponsorship by the College Music Society, Music Entertainment Industry Educator's Association, Executive Council of NY, others.

1/99 - Present   CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER, Drapkin Technology Corp. Built a consulting practice to provide senior-level business, technology and management expertise to enable profitable Web business and E-Commerce, using a deep bench of best-of-breed partners, alliances and resources. Services include: business assessment and triage, project management and reorganization, vendor management and contract renegotiation, market analysis and assessment, technology, web design and application development, web administration and infrastructure.

Selected projects:

Gateway.com. Planned, architected and managed the technology consolidation of four offices of Gateway Internet across the US into La Jolla, CA. Provided system administration resources for the day to day system operations in La Jolla and Gateway's production web site at Exodus in New Jersey. Architected the integration of their legacy AS/400 sales tax system into their web site.

MCY Music, Inc. Took over and put back on track a $14 million web development project while saving the firm cash outlays of $3.5 million. Developed business, web and technology strategies and partnerships. Recruited senior staff and brought in funding partners.

Sector, Inc. Helped a subsidiary of the New York Stock Exchange to bring a proprietary market data product to market via the web.

J. Walter Thompson. Provided subject matter expertise and strategy for their Brouillard Communications division. Assisted them with client Informix, providing expertise on the subject matter. Also defined the strategy and idea for their major ad campaign with Informix.

iVillage.com. Was responsible for overall project management of a move to a new brick and mortar warehouse, including a new supply chain management system and infrastructure for order fulfillment at their iBaby unit in La Jolla, CA.

Frankfurt Balkind. Managed the firm's technology on an outsource basis for this New York City ad agency and new media practice. Oversaw technology for new media, traditional ad agency and infrastructure.

Internet Shopping Network. Helped a client close a million dollar E-Commerce project for web design and development.

Tiffany and Co. Helped a Oven Digital client close a million-dollar E-Commerce project.

iClips.com. Put together a steaming video relationship with Akamai for the distribution of individual video clips. Helped negotiate the deal and established a partnership.

Sony Music. Put together a plan for the distribution of CD music tracks to Sony offices.

Wineshopper.com. Sourced on-site resources to bring part of Wineshopper.com's infrastructure back online in San Francisco. Provided onsite support until internal staff was able to take over production.

Nickelodeon Online. Management of metatags and search engines to increase better search engine exposure and hit rates.

LetsPlay.com. Sourced the development of a high volume email distribution system.

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5/98 - 1/99   CHIEF TECHNOLOGY OFFICER, Dispatch Management Services Corp. CTO of a quarter billion dollar, global publicly traded firm providing on demand, same day bike messenger delivery services in the US, England, Scotland, New Zealand and Australia. Built the infrastructure for basic technology services ranging from wireless Palm Pilots for couriers, global frame relay networks and T1 lines to mobile phones and PC support/system administration. Headed up the technological reengineering of software and telephony, as well as management of office moves/consolidations in both New York and London. Managed staff across two continents; ran multiple projects ranging from software development and system administration to infrastructure architecture; negotiated global technology contracts with vendors.

12/97 - 5/98   DIRECTOR OF TECHNOLOGY, Avalanche Solutions, Inc. In charge of web development, programming, Q/A, system administration and all technology and technology infrastructure for a leading Silicon Alley web design and web-based application development firm. Re-engineered project management practices, managed major multi-million dollar projects and represented technology both to clients and to sister company Razorfish's large corporate customers. Personally managed firm's largest clients including Carnegie Hall, Guardian Life and Casio.

10/93 - 12/97   VICE PRESIDENT, Lehman Brothers Inc. Managed web application development and site design for Lehman's technology architecture group, Fixed Income and Equity Derivatives. Managed group web site for documentation content delivery; implemented web server infrastructure and designed a department-wide web repository.

ASSISTANT VICE PRESIDENT. Project manager for the PC side of Lehman's enterprise system engineering group. Led network and enterprise management technology, including software development for company-wide infrastructure and network utilities, product identification and evaluation, and vendor management.

PROJECT MANAGER. Was responsible for client/server technology within Lehman Brothers' retail brokerage practice. Led software development and built infrastructure. Implemented Lehman's first data warehouse and Decision Support System, and ran it in production. Developed a Lead Prospecting System using high net worth prospects and distributed then to retail brokers saving $800,000/year. Received a letter of commendation from senior management.

8/89 - 10/93   CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER, Lodestar Software Development Inc., In of charge business development, sales and marketing. Performed project management, management consulting, business analysis, and software development. Clients included Reader's Digest, Banker's Trust, IBM Canada Ltd., Dun and Bradstreet, United Parcel Service, IBM Baltimore, Reuters Information Services, others.

1/86 - 8/89   CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER/TECHNICAL DIRECTOR, Susan Levy Consulting, Ltd. Mt. Kisco, NY. In charge of technology, business development, sales and marketing. Selected, placed, subcontracted and managed programmers. Analyzed client technical/business needs. Clients included: Prodigy, Waldenbooks, American Express, Coopers & Lybrand, A & W Brands, others.

1979 - 1986   TECHNOLOGIST, Various Firms and Clients. Software development, programming, product and technology development. Clients included IBM Instruments, American Express, Prodigy, CBS Software, General Mills, Mt. Sinai Hospital, The Population Council, Chemical Bank, Purolator Courier and USC Dept. of Admissions and Financial Aid, others.

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4.4   Books

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4.5   Teaching

  • Chair, E-Commerce Management, Columbia University's Executive Information Technology Management program, 1999-2002
  • Adjunct Instructor, Columbia University: Web, Internet and E-Commerce, 1999-2002
  • Visiting lecturer on E-Commerce Strategy at the University of Chicago
  • Lectures at Citibank in NYC and Florida, University of Texas at Austin, University of Florida at Gainesville, NYU Stern School of Business
  • Lehman Brothers Trading Services University. "Introduction to the World Wide Web"
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4.6   Speaking

  • Media: CNBC (on camera), CNET (webcast), CRN News Radio (webcast), Akamai (webcast), CBS Marketwatch (radio)
  • Trade: Comdex, Internet World, eBusinessWorld, PC Expo, eVentureWorld, eHealthCareWorld, Linkshare, eTV, NY E-Commerce Assoc., Rockland Business Assoc., NY Small Business Council, Wireless Summit
  • Press Interviews: Fortune, Wall Street Journal, Red Herring, Industry Standard, Wired, Fortune Small Business, PC Magazine, Gannett Rockland Newspapers, Fox Sports, InternetWeek Online, News.com, ManagementFirst.com, Westchester Business Journal, Computer Reseller News, Bankrate.com, MyPrimeTime.com, eWeek, Chicago Tribune, IndividualInvestor.com, Silicon Alley News, Philadelphia Inquirer, others.
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4.7   Education

B.M., A.Mu.(Clarinet), The Eastman School of Music, 1979


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