Larry Hicks

Current

Sr Oracle Consultant at The Judge Group
Sr Database Programmer/Analyst at SDI

Past

Sr D/W Oracle Consultant at Tek Systems
Sr D/W Oracle Consultant at Wyeth Pharmaceuticals
Director, Data Base Administration and SAP BASIS at AIG

Senior Consultant/Tech Lead at Idea Integration
Senior Consultant/Tech Lead at United Health Group
Consultant, Speaker, Author at L. W. Hicks & Associates
Project Mgr/Tech Lead, DBA Group at Prestige Staffing
Project Mgr/Tech Lead, DBA Group at IBM
Project Mgr/Tech Lead, DBA Group at Campbell Soup
Sr Consultant/Project Manager at Hudson Highlands Group
Sr Consultant/Project Manager at MBNA
Sr. Consultant/Project Manager at ACS
Sr Consultant/Team Lead/Project Manager at Zeneca
Sr. Consultant/Team Lead/Project Manager at Technical Directions
Sr. Software Engineer at GTE Government Systems
Test/Software/Database Consultant at GTE Government Systems
Sr Consultant at TAC
Sr. Consultant at TECH-AID
Consultant/Seminar Developer/Instructor at Digital Equipment Corporation
VMS/Oracle Consultant at Glaxo
Consultant at Datamasters
Database/Software Consultant - Marketing Director at Turn-Key Solutions
Database Consultant/Technical Lead at GTE Government Systems
Principal and Management Consultant at RDBS, Inc. (Sole Proprietorship)
Timesharing Manager at R. J. Reynolds
Manager, DataAutomation at United States Air Force

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23 more...

Education

Appalachian State University
Wake Forest University
Wingate University

Duke University

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1 more...

Recommended

70 people have recommended Larry

Connections

500+ connections

Industry

Information Technology and Services

Larry Hicks’s Summary

I love challenges and resolving them, either technical, interpersonal or managerial. I have a natural ability to grasp concepts and situations when presented to me. With my extensive experience and this ability, I often can ask questions or provide suggestions to lead to simplier or more robust solutions to complex issues.

I have worked in the computer field for over 25 years. I have worn many "hats" during my career from IT or Software Manager to Sr. IT Consultant to Management Consultant to DBA to Developer to System or Software Tester to Security Auditor with many others in between.

I have trained a number of new DBAs and developers over the years (in Oracle most recently) and have mentored many of my co-workers in project management, SDLC, interpersonal and communications skills.

I have also developed and presented several seminars for my own company and Digital Equipment Corporation (DEC) on Computer Management, Project Management, System and Database Tuning, and Security and Disaster Planning.

In the past, I have written a number of articles for computer magazines, such as Digital Review, Byte, ComputerWorld and Datamation.

Open Networker.larry.hicks2@att.net Will accept invitations from friends, acquaintances, business contacts, alumni from past employers, USAF and college. Also, IT recruiters and sales staff and DBAs. Anyone else must include why they think we should connect.

Larry Hicks’s Specialties:

IT Management (Database, Software Development, Computer Center, and Test/QA)
Project Manager (Large to small, multiple disciplines, multinational; high on-time, on-budget success rate)
Software Development Life Cycle (SDLC)
DoD, FDA, ISO and SEI standards
Oracle: Designer, DBA, Architect, Developer, Modeler, Security
Indust: Banking, Consumer Products, Government, Insurance, Marketing, Military, Pharmaceutical, Telecommunications.

Larry Hicks’s Experience

Sr Oracle Consultant

The Judge Group

(Privately Held; Staffing and Recruiting industry)

November 2009 — Present (2 months)

See details on SDI writeup
Sr Database Programmer/Analyst

SDI

(Privately Held; Pharmaceuticals industry)

November 2009 — Present (2 months)

Will be added soon.
Sr D/W Oracle Consultant

Tek Systems

(Public Company; Information Technology and Services industry)

April 2009 — August 2009 (5 months)

Assigned Wyeth Pharma
Sr D/W Oracle Consultant

Wyeth Pharmaceuticals

(Public Company; WYE; Pharmaceuticals industry)

April 2009 — August 2009 (5 months)

On assignment through Tek Systems.

Investigated current product tables throughout Health Care Systems (HCS). Developed process and data flows for product data through the 3 main Health Care Systems. Identified data inconsistencies and process changes needed. Developed project plan and timeline for the effort. Designed new product master tables and processes for feed from SAP. Developed SQL and PL/SQL scripts/packages to populate and maintain the new HCS Product Master. Developed SQL and modified PL/SQL package to move the 1st system to using the new master. Developed unit test plans for new and modified code and performed unit tests. Provided Oracle tuning and consulting, as needed.
Director, Data Base Administration and SAP BASIS

AIG

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

November 2006 — November 2008 (2 years 1 month)

Managed team of 12-16 Oracle and SQL Servers DBAs and SAP BASIS support staff that support several group in AIG's Personal Lines Division.
Made my group one of the strongest Oracle organizations within AIG.
Have created and staffed the SQL Server team.
Have implemented a number of policies, processes and standards to improve current database and SAP environments and support and to provide guidelines for on-going improvements.
Set direction for database environments including:
Architecture: software versions and tools, backup strategies, etc.
Security: access, data protection, auditing
Support: SLAs, service profiles, customer communications
Planning: Strategic and tactical
Standards: Processes, policies, procedures
Along with senior members of my staff, served as focal point for coordinating application/databases changes and implementations.
Senior Consultant/Tech Lead

Idea Integration

(Public Company; 501-1000 employees; Information Technology and Services industry)

April 2006 — November 2006 (8 months)

See description under United Health Group.
Senior Consultant/Tech Lead

United Health Group

(Public Company; 5001-10,000 employees; Hospital & Health Care industry)

April 2006 — November 2006 (8 months)

Lead group of data analyst and PL/SQL programmers. We were responsible for analyzing data issues with the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid (CMS) Part D prescription plans. After determing the problems, we communicated issues to CMS, and where possible developed work arounds to get the Medicare members covered in prescription plans.

Developed and documented processes and procedures to standardize and streamline the analysis and reconciliation activities. Identified and coordinated the automation of as many processes as possible.
Consultant, Speaker, Author

L. W. Hicks & Associates

(Management Consulting industry)

November 1986 — November 2006 (20 years 1 month)

- Write and publish computer management books.
- Maintained one and three day seminars on the Concepts of Site and Systems Management.
- Presented seminars on the Concepts of Site and Systems Management for L.W. Hicks Associates, Digital Equipment Corporation (DEC) and Digital Equipment Computer Users Society (DECUS). (Over 1400 computer managers attended these seminars.)
- Provided management and computer consulting for small to medium business clients.
Project Mgr/Tech Lead, DBA Group

Prestige Staffing

(Privately Held; 51-200 employees; Information Technology and Services industry)

June 2005 — April 2006 (11 months)

Assigned to IBM. See IBM listing for details.
Project Mgr/Tech Lead, DBA Group

IBM

(Public Company; 10,001 or more employees; Information Technology and Services industry)

June 2005 — April 2006 (11 months)

Managing the IBM Oracle/DB2 DBAs at the Campbell client site.
Establishing policies and procedures for the DBA functions, so that IBM standards and client requirements are met.
Ensuring that DBA efforts are within the current Services Responsibility Matrix, i.e. statement of work.
Coordinating with the customer Database Architect.
Project Mgr/Tech Lead, DBA Group

Campbell Soup

(Public Company; 5001-10,000 employees; Consumer Goods industry)

June 2005 — April 2006 (11 months)

Working for IBM at Campbell Soup client site. See IBM write up for details.
Sr Consultant/Project Manager

Hudson Highlands Group

(Public Company; 1001-5000 employees; Information Technology and Services industry)

April 2001 — May 2005 (4 years 2 months)

Hudson Highland Group was also known as Hudson Global Resources and was spun off from TMP Worldwide as a subsidiary in 2003..

I held consulting assignment at MBNA America. See this company's description for more details.
Sr Consultant/Project Manager

MBNA

(Public Company; 5001-10,000 employees; Banking industry)

September 1999 — May 2005 (5 years 9 months)

-Was technical PM(TPM)/architect for 2 reporting projects and several smaller projects for Consumer Finance (CF) and Business Lending (BL). Projects were HP-UX/Oracle based.
-Coordinated efforts of 5-9 DBAs/data modelers.
-Was TPM for new BL System (BLADES).
-Installed first Oracle 9i instance.
-Developed/maintained project plans/budgets for projects.
-Was TPM for migration of 4 CF databases from NT/Oracle 8.0 to HP-UX/Oracle 8i.
-Trained several new DBAs on DBA tasks.
-Assisted in creating Erwin data models of existing CF systems.
-Led upgrade from Financials 10.7/Oracle 8.0/HP UX 10.20 to Apps 11.5.3/Oracle 8i/HP UX 11.0.
-Trained new DBAs on the 11i upgrade process.
-Investigated technology stack changes for V11.5.1, 11.5.2, and 11.5.3.
-With Oracle consultant, developed 11i cloning procedures.
Sr. Consultant/Project Manager

ACS

(Public Company; 5001-10,000 employees; Information Technology and Services industry)

May 1998 — April 2001 (3 years )

ACS purchased Technical Directions.

I held consulting assignments at Zeneca Ag and MBNA America. See those company descriptions for more details.
Sr Consultant/Team Lead/Project Manager

Zeneca

(Public Company; 5001-10,000 employees; Chemicals industry)

September 1996 — November 1999 (3 years 3 months)

-Provided systems analysis, testing, project management, ORACLE database expertise, and VMS expertise on Zeneca AG's Electronic Commerce (EC)/data warehouse (DW) systems. (These systems were VMS or NT/ORACLE based systems that support the EC/Customer Support (CS) teams for Zeneca AG.)
-Project lead for ORACLE based EDI applications and Oracle to SAP interfaces.
-Supported the EC and CS users for the EDI and Bulk Billing subsystems.
-Represented the EC group on Y2K Integration Test Team.
-Designed standardized data archival process for large tables.
-Redesigned the Bulk Billing system to incorporate new business needs - increased automatic billing 200% and improved cash flow.
-Provided programming support for PL/SQL and PRO/C programs.
-Maintained several Data Warehouse applications.
-Evaluated/tuned several long-running DW applications.
Sr. Consultant/Team Lead/Project Manager

Technical Directions

(Privately Held; 1001-5000 employees; Information Technology and Services industry)

September 1996 — May 1998 (1 year 9 months)

I originally worked for Wesson, Taylor, Wells. Technical Directions bought Wesson, Taylor, Wells in late March, 1997.

I held consulting assignment at Zeneca Ag. See this company's description for more details.
Sr. Software Engineer

GTE Government Systems

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

January 1995 — September 1996 (1 year 9 months)

-Provided system analysis and testing, system architect, project management and database expertise on GTE's Integrated Network Management System (INMS) project. (A VMS/ORACLE based system for designing/managing communication networks for the Army Signal Corps. A SEI level II compliant project.)
-Was project lead/SW architect for the 8-person Van Tracking team.
-Developed DB procedures/triggers for Van Tracking.
-Provided architectural support to team members.
-Trained/supported 2 new ORACLE DBAs.
-Developed project plans for design and coding phases.
-Performed design and code reviews for over 100 units of code.
-Led team that developed PL/SQL coding/documentation standards.
-Developed proposal/plan for upgrade of INMS from ORACLE V6 to ORACLE V7.1.
-Prepared and made presentations to upper management and the customer on the ORACLE upgrade and INMS V 2.5 features.
Test/Software/Database Consultant

GTE Government Systems

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

May 1993 — January 1995 (1 year 9 months)

-Provided system analysis and testing, project management and ORACLE database expertise on GTE's Integrated Network Management System (INMS) project. (A VMS/ORACLE based system used for designing/managing communication networks for the Army Signal Corps.)
-Developed detailed design for several forms and three sets of callable network routing routines.
-Participated in the Joint Analysis and Design (JAD) process for Version 2.4.
-Coordinated testing activities in the System integration Test Facility (SITF).
-Coordinated government witnessed tests of the Version 2.3 INMS System Management subsystem.
-Trained new Oracle DBA on ORACLE database size and performance analysis.
-Performed CSCI, integration and government witnessed tests of the Version 2.3.
-Evaluated ORACLE sizing problems discovered during testing. Recommended changes to fix issues.
Sr Consultant

TAC

(Public Company; 1001-5000 employees; Information Technology and Services industry)

May 1993 — January 1995 (1 year 9 months)

I was on assignment at GTE Government Systems as a Senior Test/Software/Database Consultant. See my GTE write up for more details.
Sr. Consultant

TECH-AID

(Public Company; 5001-10,000 employees; Information Technology and Services industry)

May 1993 — January 1995 (1 year 9 months)

I was on assignment at GTE Government Systems as a Senior Test/Software/Database Consultant. See my GTE write up for more details.
Consultant/Seminar Developer/Instructor

Digital Equipment Corporation

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

January 1986 — December 1993 (8 years )

Developed and taught Computer Management courses for Digital Ed. Services.

Consulted with Digital's Conversion services group in Colorado Springs. Converted DEC-10/20 applications to VAX.
VMS/Oracle Consultant

Glaxo

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

December 1990 — May 1993 (2 years 6 months)

-Coordinated software testing activities for GOLD software system. (GOLD was an international system to capture millions of Clinical Trial results for drug approval. It was a large and complex VMS/ORACLE based system.)
-Coordinated implementation of software and database upgrades and installs to the many testing, training and production environments.
-Coordinated implementation and testing of the upgrades and installs to these environments.
-Performed Oracle DBA and Change Control roles for the test environment.
-Trained/supervised other testers. (Test team varied from 1 to 7 people.)
-Developed standard unit/integration test procedure for GOLD projects.
-In conjunction with Digital consultant, executed over 70 performance test runs between April and July 1991.
-Assisted in planning VAX 9000/ORACLE performance test for the GOLD project.
-Developed software/system test procedures.
Consultant

Datamasters

(Privately Held; 1001-5000 employees; Information Technology and Services industry)

December 1990 — May 1993 (2 years 6 months)

I was on assignment at Glaxo. See the Glaxo description for more details.
Database/Software Consultant - Marketing Director

Turn-Key Solutions

(Privately Held; 201-500 employees; Information Technology and Services industry)

April 1987 — August 1990 (3 years 5 months)

- I was initially a consultant assigned to GTE Government Systems. (See that position description for details.)
- After the assignment there, I set up and was Marketing Director for Turn-Key's Raleigh office.
- I also did some part-time consulting for a couple of clients in the area, including Oxford University Press.
Database Consultant/Technical Lead

GTE Government Systems

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

April 1987 — August 1988 (1 year 5 months)

- Provided ORACLE (V5) database, FORTRAN and project management expertise to GTE Government Systems.
- Managed an eight-month phase of the software development cycle of the client's Phase I Command and Control system, Integrated Network Management System (INMS). (Project team included three to five consultants and two employees.)
- Coordinated the first three-month phase of the software design of the enhanced, multi-system version of this system.
- Performed VMS system management and ORACLE DBA function for the development area/computer.
Principal and Management Consultant
RDBS, Inc. (Sole Proprietorship)

(Sole Proprietorship; 1-10 employees; Information Technology and Services industry)

September 1984 — December 1986 (2 years 4 months)

- Provided management consulting to clients, including site design, relocation planning, hardware/software evaluation, and system tuning (DECsystem-20 and VAX).
- Designed, developed and implemented database applications, primarily using System 1022 and System 1032 DBMS.
- Performed software evaluations, security audits, TOPS-20 system tuning and capacity planning for clients.
- Taught seminars on system management, database techniques, and system security for several Fortune 100 companies.
- Reviewed the design and implementation of System 1022 and 1032 database systems to improve efficiency and performance (DECsystems and VAX) for clients
- Clients including the Jockey Club of New York, Citibank, Miller, Mason and Dickenson. Chase Manhattan Bank, Fordham University, Digital Equipment Corporation, Software House (Cambridge, MA), Grinnell Reinsurance, Sweet Briar College, 3-M, Price Waterhouse, National Information Systems, Inc. and others.
Timesharing Manager

R. J. Reynolds

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

June 1975 — February 1985 (9 years 9 months)

- Managed in-house multi-million dollar, multi-server time-sharing center whose users including Marketing and Sales Department as well as Senior Management.
- Evaluated new hardware and software to expand the center's capabilities.
- Provided technical support and internal consulting to users and developers.
- Was responsible for system and facility security.
- Implemented one of the 1st PC-based Executive Information Systems in the world. (We used 100 of the 1st 400 PCs sold by IBM in 1982-83.)
Manager, DataAutomation

United States Air Force

(Government Agency; 10,001 or more employees; Military industry)

October 1970 — February 1975 (4 years 5 months)

Managed the Base Computer Center at Reese AFB - Lubbock, TX.
Managed the Production Support Group at Mather AFB - Sacramento, CA

Burroughs B3500s, $2+ million dollar budget. 6-30 subordinates.

Larry Hicks’s Education

Appalachian State University

M.B.A. , Marketing and Economics , 1976 — 1979

Was part of the first off-site M.B.A. program offered by Appalachian. Instructors came to Winston-Salem two to three nights a week during Fall, Winter, Spring and we attended classes on campus 5 consecutive weekends in the summers of 1977 and 1978.

Activities and Societies:

With work, family and school, there was no time for other school activities.
Wake Forest University

B.B.A. , Management and Economics , 1968 — 1970

Love those Demon Deacons -- Go Black and Gold

Activities and Societies:

Alpha Phi Omega (member of Kappa Theta Chapter)
As student assistance, helped set up the Babcock School of Management's library and helped many of the initial professors move in.
Wingate University

A.S. , Mathematics , 1967 — 1968

Activities and Societies:

Founder of the Tau Phi Chapter of Alpha Phi Omega
Duke University

General September 1966 — May 1967

Additional Information

Larry Hicks’s Interests:

Writing, Selling on eBay, Boston Red Sox, Washington Redskins, Pittsburgh Steelers, soccer, strategy games, shooting pool, fishing Have a bunch of old DECUS t-shirts and buttons to be sold soon on eBAY. Connecting with old co-workers and with DEC, TOPS-20, VMS, System 1022, System 1032 and DECUS cronies. Networking is key to success - life or work - invite me to connect - larry.hicks2@att.net

Larry Hicks’s Groups:

Certificate of Data Processing (CDP), ICCA, Oracle (IOUG), VFW, ASU Alumni, Duke Alumni, WFU Alumni, DECUS (Site SIG Chair several times, member of several steering committees), System 1022/1032 Users Society (President for 1 yr), ASM, DPMA, Exchange Club, Toastmasters, ACM, LIONS