Additionally About Myself

Database application and report developer, technical business analyst and project manager. Also, a creativity management enthusiast, who combines interest in goal-oriented business creativity and self-expressive artistic creativity into effective outcomes. Increasingly interested in intelligently responding, cost-effective advanced process management application development, in business intelligence and business analytics usage, and in professional development and higher education improvement related areas.

Here's another way how I can describe myself: both professionally and as a person, I am very much a project developer by nature, which means that I focus on moving each of the projects that I work on toward reaching satisfactory outcomes. It's a combination of built-in impatience and learned patience of an innovative entrepreneurial self-starter and a strategic thinker, who focuses on delivering results as promised.

I was born in Estonia, where I was in business for myself from age 16. At the age of 25 I started with one business partner a sweets production company. The company employed up to 34 people, worked 24 hours a day 7 days a week, and sold products in 4 countries. I was responsible for the operations, marketing, sales and sales management.

I moved to the US in 1989, became a citizen in 1996 and am currently living in Massachusetts.

Here in the US I graduated from Rhode Island College (Providence, RI) in 1996 magna cum laude, majoring in economics. Behind this degree was a lot of work and effort. I wanted to learn, to know and to understand.

After graduating I worked in international business and sales, thereafter changed direction, focusing on IT. I have over 10 years of IT experience. Out of this, over 5 years of experience is related to working with financial services industry companies.

Further, I offer complementary sets of skills in one person, which is rare. I have hands-on experience as project manager, business analyst and user requirements documenter, application architecture and navigation structure developer, user interface designer and usability engineer, table structure and other objects developer, programmer, quality controller and user trainer. I am also an expert-level Access developer-programmer.

Strong interest in understanding how different business management areas impact each other, in combination with my service oriented disposition, analytical skills and educational background helps me to understand computer application users needs and wants, so that I can contribute to translating these needs and wants into computer applications and other types of IT and business solutions.

For several years I developed database applications as an independent contractor. My main customer was Fleet Bank (prior to being acquired by Bank of America). Thereafter I worked for 3 years first as IT Project Specialist and then as IT Project Manager for InfoTrends, Inc., a leading worldwide market research and strategic consulting firm for the digital imaging and document solutions industries. After that, I offered services as an independent contractor again.

Thereafter, I worked on a unique self-funded project, developing a creative thinking skills management method, CreativityModel Method, and made it available as an open source project through Creative Commons license.

My personal interests and my work often merge together. For example, both personally and professionally, for years I have been interested in how computer usage can contribute to creative thinking skills management. CreativityModel Method creative thinking skills management method grew out of this interest. At this point my working on this Method remains a hobby.

From November of 2011 to present I have been working as Technical Business Analyst for Brown Brothers Harriman & Co., partnership based, privately-held global financial services firm.

I consider myself to be a reliable, responsible and an innovatively resourceful person. Professional growth in areas that interest me is very important to me. Another trait that characterizes my job performance is that when I work on something, I really apply myself, trying to make the outcome as good as I can. I care about the work that I do, and I can be very persistent.

So, whatever type of work I will do, I will handle the same way. I gather and analyze relevant information, research and devise solutions, work with the people involved, set and achieve objectives, deliver results and honor the agreements that are made.

Thomas Eklund

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