Paul DesRosiers is a man of many talents and he has put them to good use in his 12 years at ACS. After earning a degree in computer engineering, his first job was as a programmer for a company that developed accounting software. During his time there, he enrolled in night school at Eastern Michigan University, where he earned an MBA with a concentration in Strategic Quality Management. Paul still retains his membership in the American Society for Quality.
Although he enjoyed programming, Paul wanted to use his business skills as well. He joined ACS in 1997 as an analyst in the implementation area, and began learning Advantage and the project methodology. Paul has great memories of working with Caryn Bair on his first implementation, at what was then called Intertec.
Caryn remembers that time also: "We tortured Paul so thoroughly, that I am surprised he is still with Advantage, let alone that he still speaks to us. He was brand new and assigned to our first implementation. He took the heat from both sides, yet managed to present a positive attitude to his customer every time. But with the trial by fire beginning, we do take credit for how thoroughly he learned the product and the project needs of clients! He put tremendous effort into keeping us satisfied and moving forward. I always ask if Paul can be on my projects because of the confidence I have in him."
During the 1999 Y2K compliance push, many clients scheduled upgrades and Paul was asked to help with resource planning and scheduling in that area. He has worked in the upgrade realm ever since and today, as a Project Director, is the acknowledged Upgrade Guru. Under his leadership, the section has grown from an average of five upgrade projects a year to 20 or more. Since taking over responsibility for the area, more than 100 upgrade projects have been completed.
Steve Miller, of Wolters Kluwer Health, has high regard for Paul: "I've had the pleasure of working with Paul on several upgrade projects here at WKH over the years, and I can say that each of those projects was very successful because of Paul's project management skills, communication abilities and attention to detail at every level. I look forward to working with Paul again on our next upgrade or whatever project Paul may be leading."
Paul earned his Project Management Professional certification from the Project Management Institute and called upon this training to help him implement a methodology for Advantage upgrade projects. Since earning his certification, Paul has helped to develop training materials for other candidates looking to earn their PMP. Helping to create the foundation, plus metrics and standards, was an enjoyable exercise for Paul, as he relishes challenges which enable him to learn new things.
Evelyn Acton worked with Paul at their previous workplace as well as here at ACS. She has this to say about him: "As a programmer, Paul was always top notch. He was VERY dedicated to figuring out solutions and serving the clients well……..that's a quality that has stayed with him throughout the years. I truly enjoy working with Paul. He has an open-door policy and is always willing to help on tasks or let you bounce ideas off of him."
Greg Stout, Paul's supervisor, describes him this way: "In essence, Paul is a guy who gets things done. He is always on top of his various projects and responsibilities, and gets the work done while continually looking for ways to improve customer satisfaction and operating procedures. He is great at working with all kinds of people and offering solutions that work for everyone. When a new initiative presents itself at ACS, I can always depend on Paul to take on the challenge and be an enthusiastic member of the team. And he appears to do all this with the easy stride of an accomplished long distance runner (which he is)."
Perhaps the most enjoyable aspect of his job, Paul says, is that he gets to interact with so many clients and departments at ACS. Upgrades have an impact on--and are important to--nearly every area of the company. Paul works with the support center staff, the account managers, the QA folks, the engineers and the documentation team, all of whom are involved in an upgrade project in its various stages.
Larry Kleber works with Paul on the "nuts and bolts" of most upgrades. "Paul always knows what's going on in all the projects in his area, but never micro-manages. If you can't get a hold of the project manager, chances are that a quick call to Paul will get you the answer you need," says Larry. He goes on to say: "Paul is constantly asking the question ‘How could we do this better?' Even if the process is working well, he is constantly looking for ways to optimize and streamline the process."
Paul and his wife, Lisa—his high school sweetheart—live in Dexter with their three children: Cadey, 12, Blake, 10, and Tommy, 5. Paul and Lisa enjoy camping with the kids and are both Sunday school teachers at their church. Paul's hobbies also include biking, hitting garage sales, exercise and running. He likes both trail and road running, and ran in 12 races in 2008, ranging from 5K's to half-marathons. Paul has brought this outside interest in to the workplace, as he was responsible for arranging a professional trainer to come to ACS twice weekly and lead core exercise classes for ACS staff.
Whatever he does, Paul goes at it with enthusiasm and determination, and you can count on him to keep at it until he achieves his goal. Your upgrade is safe in his hands.
français
