Ryan Wijesuriya

Experienced program manager with 11 years in apparel manufacturing, telecommunications, e-commerce retail, IT & FINTECH industries implementing ERP & SaaS solutions. Demonstrated success in delivering complex projects on time, on budget & to high-quality standards. Proficient in agile methodologies, risk assessment, stakeholder management & strategic problem-solving. Excellent communication & leadership skills. Seeking a new program management role.

Product Analyst, Carbonplace UK Ltd  (May 2023 – Present)

"Carbonplace is a global carbon credit transaction network that will enable the simple, secure, and transparent transfer of certified carbon credits and allow banks & capital markets to trade carbon credits on the platform. Carbonplace is committed to the transition to a net-zero economy."

• Conducting thorough research and analysis, gathering feedback from banks and capital markets clients to optimize the Carbonplace web SaaS platform
• Converting business requirements into clear and detailed documentation of technical user stories using the Agile framework on Jira, ensuring readiness for the platform's first trades in September 2023
• Providing a clear Definition of Done in the Acceptance Criteria of each User Story to minimize ambiguity in requirement expectations
• Acting as the Product Owner for the scrum team, overseeing the testing and release of expected deliverables through Azure DevOps to the QA/UAT/PROD environments.
• Maintaining and documenting the product roadmap and future platform feature improvements on Confluence
• Proposing automation solutions and finalizing requirements for integrating blockchain registries with Carbonplace omnibus accounts, enabling carbon credit trading by banks and capital markets on the platform
• Project managing the go-live plan for the Minimum Viable Product (MVP) across Finance, Legal, Operations, Technology, and Product departments, as well as future releases
• Collaborating closely with UI/UX engineers to develop professional front-end designs for the platform
• Working closely with senior management to ensure effective prioritization and successful implementation of tasks by the scrum team
• Conducting in-depth analysis and documentation of APIs for GET and POST calls, enabling seamless integration between blockchain registries and the Carbonplace omnibus account
• Providing documentation support for operational procedures and creating video tutorials
• Created dashboards and reports to track product performance and provide insights to senior management and the scrum team

Programme Manager, MAS Holdings  (May 2022 – Present)

“MAS Holdings is a global design-to-delivery apparel and textile solutions provider with a purpose-driven approach to business. The company is a leader in lean enterprise, with a commitment to sustainable practices and innovation in product, technology, and services.”

• Managed a program of 9 concurrent projects, automating apparel manufacturing operations using SAP, resulting in a 23% increase in annual revenue
• Supervised a team of 45 technical personnel from internal and external third-party vendors
• Achieved 95% of program KPIs/OKRs in 2022 while managing a $4 million budget
• Implemented Agile scrum/Kanban using Jira resulting in a 70% increase in on-time delivery of 140 epics/deliverables and a 70% decrease in scope creeps
• Maintained RAID logs and provided accurate project status reporting to senior management and sponsors
• Developed strong relationships with senior stakeholders and sponsors to support risk mitigation with minimal impact on project targets
• Initiated coaching and mentorship programs for PMO resources on resource planning and management using Agile scrum following PMBOK standards
• Established quarterly goals and performed performance evaluations for the team while ensuring functional and non-functional requirements were catered within each release.

Product Manager, Velou Inc  (Aug 2021 – Apr 2022)

“Velou Inc is an innovative e-commerce technology company that provides AI-powered solutions to enhance product search and boost revenue for clients.”

• Implemented AI/ML technology to improve product search, increasing revenue by 10%
• Conducted research and implemented best practices for product positioning, boosting, and UI/UX optimization, resulting in increased average order value, conversions, transactions, and revenue for clients
• Monitored product sales, trends, and behaviors using Google Analytics, providing insights and corrective measures to improve e-commerce stores
• Consulted with clients and identified system enhancements, resulting in a 26% increase in product search
• Developed and managed the product vision, mission, and roadmap
• Created and managed the product backlog using Jira and aligned it with Agile Scrum methodology
• Collaborated with the Director of Engineering, architects, and engineers to improve the product
• Actively engaged in testing feature releases with QA and engineers before launch
• Provided strategic recommendations to improve product delivery by analyzing existing company processes on project governance
• Created documentation standards for BRDs, FRs, NFRs, RTMs, and RACI, followed in all company projects

Head of Business Analysis, Omobio (Jan 2020 – Aug 2021)

“Omobio is a leading mobile technology enabler that provides innovative software solutions and services for telecommunications operators and enterprises worldwide.”

• Mentored and managed a team of 14 BAs, resulting in 5 promotions and developed training plans to improve their skills
• Conducted 200+ interviews for hiring BAs and engineers
• Led teams that completed technical proposals worth USD 2M
• As Project Lead, revamped the largest telecom website of an MNC using agile scrum practices, leading a team of 35 multi-disciplinary technical members
• Facilitated contract negotiations, documented, tested, and executed SOAP and RESTful APIs, and monitored delivery ensuring Definition of Done
• Planned resource capacity, identified, and resolved bottlenecks in DevOps processes
• Conducted UAT, systems integration testing sessions, gained sponsor approvals, and planned loading/security/performance testing
• Developed the production deployment plan to the AWS cloud platform
• Reported project status updates to senior management

Senior Business Applications Consultant, MAS Holdings (Apr 2017 – May 2019)

• Spearheaded the digital automation initiatives of the company using Robotics Process Automation (UiPath) that delivered significant benefits, including $25,000 per month in cost savings and the elimination of 45 full-time equivalent positions by automating 50 redundant processes
  • Conducted comprehensive requirements gathering sessions with clients to identify existing processes and provide alternative solutions using automation technologies
  • Developed technical documentation and collaborated with the engineering team to test and implement automation solutions that streamlined operations and improved productivity
• Conducted extensive research on emerging trends and best practices in RPA by attending global conferences in the United States on two occasions
   

Business Applications Consultant, MAS Holdings (Aug 2012 – Apr 2017)

• Conducted gap analysis between two ERP solutions in a manufacturing facility at North Carolina, USA, recommending system adjustments and collaborating with cross-functional teams to ensure requirement alignment.
• Led technical team to ensure successful SDLC lifecycle activity, including testing, user acceptance testing, and deployment.
• Revamped existing legacy system through adoption of lean practices, increasing revenue by 18%.
• Maintained SDLC lifecycle activities to collaborate requirements with technical team, led data migration activities, analyzed existing business processes and proposed feasible process and system changes.
• Negotiated budget scope, resourcing, and timeline with sponsors, monitored budget and resource utilization.
• Implemented change management process for a project that won over $750,000 worth of change requests to the department, leading impact analysis, communication, and training planning
• Ensured stakeholder buy-in for change requests to be implemented successfully

Master of Business Administration

University of West London

Jan 2016 - Jul 2017

BSc (Hons) in Business Information Technology

Staffordshire University

Feb 2009 - May 2012