Kim Shook

Current

• VP of Operations at BASIC
• Cofounder at Bella Terra

Past

• Project Manager at Pfizer
• SM/PM at McDonald's Corporation
• Owner/Consultant at Independant Consultant (Self-employed)

• Manager of Clearing Systems Development at Chicago Mercantile Exchange

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Education

• Michigan State University

Recommended

1 person has recommended Kim

Connections

69 connections

Industry

Human Resources

Websites

• My Company
• My Company

Kim Shook’s Summary

Currently I am Vice President of Operations at BASIC, a third party benefits administration and Human Resource services company in Portage, MI. We provide services nationwide for: Flexible Spending Accounts, HRA, HSA, COBRA, FMLA, and Payroll (www.basiconline.com).

My volunteer service at nonprofit organizations includes the Volunteer Center of Greater Kalamazoo, Equine Experiential Education Association, and Bella Terra, the nonprofit organization I started with my husband with the mission to empower individuals facing life challenges by providing quality therapeutic, personal growth and educational opportunities utilizing experiential programming with horses. Bella Terra also provides programming to the general public in the areas of team building, leadership development, and personal growth for groups up to 20 people (www.bellaterrainc.org - click on Equine Adventure).

Previously, I spent 20 years of my career in Information Technology working for Fortune 100 companies as a manager and executive. Previously employed at Pfizer, McDonald's Corporation, The Chicago Mercantile Exchange, Purdue University, and NCR. Responsibilities included managing 60 staff and $30 million annually. Extensive experience facilitating top executives and strategic planning. Highly effective at building high performing teams and sustaining successful performance with high morale over long periods of time. Recipient of many top awards in project management, team excellence, coaching, and process improvement. In 1998, I received McDonald's Corporation Presidents' Award that recognizes their "best of the best" top 1% employees.

Kim Shook’s Specialties:

Nonprofit management, nonprofit board member, experiential education, staff development and training, strategic planning, organizational culture change, information technology, human resources, training, process improvement, executive management, personal development

Kim Shook’s Experience

• VP of Operations

  BASIC

  (Privately Held; 51-200 employees; Human Resources industry)

  October 2007 — Present (2 years 2 months)

  BASIC provides Human Resource and Benefits Administration services nationwide. As Vice President of Operations, I am responsible for the administration of Flexible Spending, HRA, HSA, and COBRA services in addition to company wide project management, communications, and IT.

• Cofounder

  Bella Terra

  (Professional Training & Coaching industry)

  March 2003 — Present (6 years 9 months)

  Bella Terra is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization that provides experiential programming with miniature horses for individuals of all ages and abilities. Their nonprofit mission serves individuals facing significant life challenges with a learning process that provides new perspectives and tools; enabling individuals to chart a new course to fulfilling their potential. Bella Terra also offers this inspiring program to the general public through leading edge team building, leadership development, and personal growth training programs. Bella Terra’s Equine Adventure program is a powerful, unique, introspective, and fun process of self-discovery that empowers individuals to improve their personal and professional effectiveness unlike anything else.

• Project Manager

  Pfizer

  (Public Company; 10,001 or more employees; PFE; Pharmaceuticals industry)

  January 2002 — July 2003 (1 year 7 months)

  Led the project to implement a Laboratory Information Management System (LIMS) at Pfizer's largest pharmaceutical manufacturing center. The system is utilized to track quality assurance testing of manufactured pharmaceuticals and supports the lot release process. The scope of the project was to upgrade the current software suite, move to a new technical platform, and develop approximately 200 custom functions that integrate with the software packages. This is the largest LIMS installation in the world with 1400 end users and an extremely large database. Led a team of 30 staff and project budget of $10M over three years. I stepped in after the project had been under way for a year. Quickly I earned the respect of the team and management. I was able to turn this project around and put it on track with strong Project Management disciplines, building relationships, and coaching staff.

• SM/PM

  McDonald's Corporation

  (Public Company; 10,001 or more employees; Restaurants industry)

  1995 — 2002 (7 years )

  Store of the Future: This project piloted restaurant Internet connectivity in McDonald’s four global regions. This included testing web back office functions as a proof of concept in order to determine the future technology direction of the restaurant operations systems.
  Year 2000: Responsible for the Y2K initiative including mission critical system readiness as well as enterprise-wide preparation and contingency planning. Implemented strategies to minimize costs and risks, resulting in a 45% cost reduction. Continual improvement of the system renovation process resulted in a 55% per module cost reduction over the life of the project. McDonald's Year 2000 readiness approach was considered by other companies to be a best practice.
  I/T Alignment & Multi-Year Planning: Led the strategic planning effort to align technology initiatives based on the business priorities. Developed a 3-year technology plan based on available funding, business benefits, and technology dependencies.

• Owner/Consultant

  Independant Consultant (Self-employed)

  (Self-Employed; Myself Only; Information Technology and Services industry)

  September 1994 — April 1995 (8 months)

  The Associated Group: Led the project management, quality assurance, and system architecture aspects of the project to deliver an integrated Health Care Claims Processing System. Implemented project management processes and developed disciplines for the entire project (45 staff and 10 concurrent projects) in order to more accurately track project progress. Defined a test strategy that included acceptance criteria for the applications developed offshore.

• Manager of Clearing Systems Development

  Chicago Mercantile Exchange

  (Public Company; 1001-5000 employees; CME; Financial Services industry)

  December 1988 — September 1994 (5 years 10 months)

  Re-engineered business processes and developed new automated solutions to support the Commodity Trade Clearing and Financial Risk Management of the Exchange. Managed the implementation of many systems including the initiation of daily funds movement of settlement transactions at banking institutions (via SWIFT) and the daily management of $9 billion of collateral. The business objectives achieved were enhanced risk management by instantaneously assessing financial exposure, dynamic automated solutions to react to market conditions, improved competitiveness by quickly introducing new products, better solutions to support the 24-hour global market, and cost reductions for both the Exchange and the Clearing Member Firms. Acted as the key business and system architect for the design and implementation of the new business vision. Managed 12 staff, 3 concurrent projects, and approximately $2.5M annual budget.

Kim Shook’s Education

• Michigan State University

  B.S. , Computer Engineering , 1980 — 1984

Additional Information

Kim Shook’s Websites:

• My Company
• My Company

Kim Shook’s Interests:

Serving the community and nonprofit organizations: 12/06 to present One of the founders of E3A (Equine Experiential Educators Association), an international professional membership organization offering training, certification and resources for the implementation of Equine Assisted Learning programs by educators, coaches, professional development trainers and other facilitators. 1/06 to present Board of Directors for the Volunteer Center in Kalamazoo, MI. Executive board member in the role of Board Secretary. 12/03 to 4/06 Part-time employee responsible for financial management and accounting for Pretty Lake Vacation Camp in Mattawan, MI, an organization that provides a cost-free camping experience for the youth most in need in Kalamazoo County. 9/04 to 9/05 Board of Directors for Community Advocates for Persons with Developmental Disabilities in Kalamazoo, MI.

Kim Shook’s Groups:

EAGALA (Equine Assisted Growth and Learning Association), O.K. Corral (Equine Facilitated Programming), AMHA (American Miniature Horse Association), AMHR (American Miniature Horse Registry), PEAK (Professional and Executive Association of Kalamazoo), Kalamazoo Regional Chamber of Commerce

•    MSU Alumni Association
•    ASTD National
•    StrengthsFinder -- I know my strengths!
•    Mini Horse Therapy Friends
•    FMLA
•    PEAKS Networking Group
•    Third Party Administrators of Employee Benefit Plans

Kim Shook’s Honors:

McDonald's Corporation: 1999 Presidents' Award recognizing the top 1% employees, 1998 Project Manager of the Year, and other awards for team accomplishments and personal mentoring and coaching service

Kim Shook’s Contact Settings

Interested In:

• career opportunities
• consulting offers
• new ventures
• job inquiries
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