VP; Comm Manager II at Bank of America - Consumer & Small Business Banking Technology & Operations Communications
Charlotte, North Carolina Area
- Current
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- VP; Communications Manager II at Bank of America
- Past
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- Freelance Writer at Today's Charlotte Woman magazine
- Freelance Writer at Marquee Publications
- Freelance Writer at Business North Carolina Magazine
- Editor at Pace Communications
- HR Communication Consultant at Wachovia
- Executive Director at Southwestern Virginia Technology Council
- Senior Staff Writer at Business Journal of Tri-Cities TN/VA
- Education
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- Bank of America Learning & Leadership Development
- East Tennessee State University
- Wachovia Learning & Leadership Development
- Agnes Scott College
- Science Hill High School
- Recommended
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9 people have recommended Nicole Sikora - Connections
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192
connections
- Industry
- Public Relations and Communications
Nicole Sikora Heschong’s Summary
15+ years experience in professional communications and publishing, including:
o Writing and editing
o Content planning for print, Web, broadcast,
conferences and speaking engagements
o Staff development and re-engineering processes
o Client management
o New business/product development
Nicole Sikora Heschong’s Specialties:
o Internal communication and community publishing
o Change and technology adoption
o Social media strategy, content development and moderation
o Business strategy and innovation
o Associate engagement
o Product, talent and brand development
o Building strategic alliances across community,
business, government and not-for-profits
Nicole Sikora Heschong’s Experience
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VP; Communications Manager II
Bank of America
(Public Company; BAC; Banking industry)
August 2006 — Present (3 years)
Designing communication plans for 8 consumer technology initiatives. Serving as relationship manager for 2 executives. Strong emphasis on eCommerce and deposits technology, customer channels, enterprise information technology, business strategy, change management, associate engagement, collaborative tools and social networking.
Previously served as Change Manager; then Communications Manager I.
Key accomplishments:
o Participated in Design for Six Sigma Green Belt project to boost internal Web 2.0 capabilities
o Promoted optional Web 2.0 education series that achieved more than 35% participation rate among eligible associates
o Wrote 24-part educational video series
o Managed teams of up to 2 associates -
Freelance Writer
Today's Charlotte Woman magazine
(Publishing industry)
August 2002 — 2007 (5 years)
Writer, concentrated on personality and business profiles.
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Freelance Writer
Marquee Publications
(Publishing industry)
December 1999 — December 2007 (8 years 1 month)
Formerly served as Editor, Special Projects Manager, Freelance Writer and Consultant. As a consultant, assisted with business development, product innovation, staff development and training. As a writer, concentrated on economic development/business stories, travel stories and personality profiles.
Key accomplishments:
o Oversaw end-to-end production of over a dozen issues and special publications
o Supported market expansion to tri-state area
o Trained two new editors since leaving editor's chair in 2002
o Redesigned staffing model, and authored updated job descriptions for staff
o Participated in career development for more than 20 freelance writers
o Created and executed concept of first "special publications" with long shelf life to increase revenue
o Created supporting documents used to secure investor in media company and a spin-off publication -
Freelance Writer
Business North Carolina Magazine
(Publishing industry)
February 2005 — December 2007 (2 years 11 months)
Writer, concentrated on advertorial business and industry profiles.
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Editor
Pace Communications
(Privately Held; 51-200 employees; Publishing industry)
March 2005 — March 2006 (1 year 1 month)
Editor for Teradata Magazine and Teradata Magazine Japan; assisted in new business development and freelance writing for Pace.
Key accomplishments:
o Managed 4 staff members and 12+ freelance writers on Teradata Magazine
o Oversaw 4 issues of Teradata magazine from concept to delivery, reaching an executive and technical audience in 100 countries.
o Oversaw 2 issues of Teradata Magazine Japanese edition
o Served as chief liaison to marketing and technical editors within Teradata
o Attended major customer conferences in Salzburg, Austria and Orlando, Florida
o Led redesign of editorial production processes for Teradata magazine
o Assisted in 5 new business pitches for Pace, resulting in the acquisition of one major account worth more than $1 million annually
o Researched/wrote 15-page special section on education, economic development, health care and recreation for U.S. Airways in-flight magazine -
HR Communication Consultant
Wachovia
(Public Company; 10,001 or more employees; WB; Banking industry)
October 2002 — July 2004 (1 year 10 months)
Served as writer and strategic communications consultant for enterprise and localized HR initiatives, including mergers/acquisitions/divestitures, time & labor/labor law, diversity and leadership development & learning.
Key accomplishments:
o Independently created internal and staff communication plans supporting a small divestiture
o Created initial communication plans supporting change to a new technology for employee time record keeping, including risk communications
o Provided communications support for employee engagement and many other internal campaigns -
Executive Director
Southwestern Virginia Technology Council
(Civic & Social Organization industry)
December 1999 — September 2002 (2 years 10 months)
Advanced technology public policy and awareness as first - and, at the time, only - employee of this non-profit organization. Served a 13-county area (most of Rick Boucher's 9th Congressional District) in Southwestern Virginia as part of a 9-council network of similar organizations across the Commonwealth.
Key accomplishments:
o Raised operating funds
o Managed Board of Directors routines & member activities
o Served as community advocate for tech companies, economic development and public access/education initiatives
o Lobbied state legislature with peer councils
o Contributed articles to Virginia Technology Alliance's magazine on behalf of Southwestern region
o Designed, promoted and supported multiple regional technology education/advocacy/networking special events
Assisted as co-founder of Northeast Tennessee Technology Council (a regional companion council) and served as board member. Participated in other super-regional technology awareness initiatives. -
Senior Staff Writer
Business Journal of Tri-Cities TN/VA
(Privately Held; 11-50 employees; Publishing industry)
September 1997 — August 1999 (2 years)
Writer for regional business magazine serving an 11-county area of Northeast Tennessee and Southwestern Virginia. Specialized in technology and economic development. Contributed to strategic Web publishing planning initiatives.
Nicole Sikora Heschong’s Education
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Bank of America Learning & Leadership Development
certificates of completion , Corporate Training , 2006 — 2008
Training to date includes Design for Six Sigma; Customer Experience/Banking Center Experience; Analyzing the Market; Building Brand Equity; Communication Skills for Resolving Conflict; and three Change Management courses, including Change Adoption Bootcamp. Assisted in script development and on-site event support of Networking and Manager Effectiveness Academy II training programs, which both received more than 90% average satisfaction scores from attendees.
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East Tennessee State University
MA , Professional Communications , 2001 — 2008
All coursework completed with 3.973 GPA. Program capstone thesis not completed - degree not awarded.
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Wachovia Learning & Leadership Development
certificates of completion , Corporate Training , 2002 — 2004
Completed select training, including four Change Leadership courses, One-Day Diversity Training, Writing for the Web and Managing People/Manager Orientation. Served on content review team for other Wachovia learning courses in 2004, including Employee Relations in the Workplace and Managing People/Manager Orientation.
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Agnes Scott College
BA , English and History , 1995 — 1997
Graduated with honors. Previous coursework transferred from East Tennessee State University (Johnson City, Tenn.; double major in English and Mass Communications) and Middle Tennessee State University (Murfreesboro, Tenn; major in Mass Communications)
- Activities and Societies:
- Co-founder of Amnesty International Chapter.
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Science Hill High School
Additional Information
Nicole Sikora Heschong’s Interests:
Social networking technology, travel, community development, fashion/style/design, consumer magazines, photography, walking and hiking
Nicole Sikora Heschong’s Groups:
o Volunteered as secretary of mayorally-initiated City of Johnson City Technology Task Force from 2001-2002. Led task force's Web redesign initiative subteam, creating multi-gen plan and drafting vendor requirements for both City and Chamber of Commerce site redesigns. Presented unanimously supported proposal for funding to City Council.
o Provided end-to-end project management and leadership for Downtown Johnson City community Web site from 2001-2007. Planned site structure, assembled donated photography, built consensus/sense of community ownership among downtown organizations, maintained community calendar, marketed site. Served as administrator and editor of site's open forum, which received 8,845 posts during its lifespan.
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Agnes Scott College Alumnae -
Wachovia Alumni -
Agnes Scott College Alumnae & Students -
SHHS Alumni -
Agnes Scott College Network -
Bank of America Employees & Alumni Network -
twitter innovators Innovation & Creativity Network of Tweeters -
Center for Future Banking -
Information Technology Council Charlotte Chamber -
Business North Carolina magazine -
Twitter Tribe for Business, Marketing & Recruiting
Nicole Sikora Heschong’s Honors:
o Published travel photography includes:
-- "Paris Sewer Museum" in Schmap Paris Guide, Fourth Edition (available by Web, iPhone, iPod Touch). Photo taken June 2007, published 2008.
-- "Stinky Tofu/Taipei" in Travel & Leisure magazine's Web article, "World's Strangest Street Food". Photo taken May 2007, published December 2007.
o Received 2nd place in 2002 James I. Brown Student Award for Excellence in Listening Research and Theory Development at the International Listening Association Convention for study entitled, “Recognition and Recall for Natural and Synthetic Speech Between the Sexes,” a study of voice recognition software, listening and recall
o Received 1997 Sara Wilson Glendinning Prize for journalistic achievement, Agnes Scott College's only journalism prize
Nicole Sikora Heschong’s Contact Settings
Interested In:
- career opportunities
- consulting offers
- new ventures
- job inquiries
- expertise requests
- business deals
- reference requests
- getting back in touch
