1. ERIK T. RYAN
San Diego, CA | 619-540-1762 |ErikTRyan@gmail.com
DIRECTOR OF KNOWLEDGE BASE
Knowledge services executive with expertise in software industry. Improves customer experience by harnessing
web analytics, surveys, usability tests, process improvement methodologies, and data-driven practices to reflect
Voice of Customer. Impactful collaborator who creates and nurtures an open culture of innovation and
experimentation company-wide and within the Knowledge Management team.
CAREER HIGHLIGHTS
 Implemented 2 separate global/multi-lingual online support ecosystems from ground up.
 Created Return On Investment (ROI) report detailing Knowledge Base visitor behavior, in order to
improve customer experience, provide better solutions, and increase customer purchases.
 Dismantled silos between product developers and customer support by creating analytics-based
Knowledge Centered Support reporting; drove 15+ product changes in 2 years and $100k in savings.
 Built single technical writer position into 6-person Knowledge Management Team.
 Created technical support social media infrastructure + response team.
PROFESSIONAL EXPERIENCE & ACCOMPLISHMENTS
ESET, LLC, San Diego, CA July 2007 – June 2016
DIRECTOR OF KNOWLEDGE BASE (Oct 2013 – June 2016)
Led online support ecosystem and team of 5, providing strategic direction based on latest technology and best
practices for award-winning global security software company. Liaised between Slovakia HQ and San Diego,
created online solutions to reduce customer email/phone volume and improved agent efficiency.
 Migrated entire Knowledge Management System (KMS) to new platform, including 5 years of content in
12 languages and 6,000+ articles with content authors in 20 countries.
 Created 1st
Knowledge Centered Support Report, leading to 10+ product improvements in first 6 reports.
 Designed and launched targeted phone number project, resulting in improvements to 10 separate
articles in first week and 10% decrease in phone calls per month.
 Reduced internal email communications by 20% via company-wide initiative to enroll all new employees
in appropriate SharePoint communities, spheres, and team sites.
 Improved accessibility and effectiveness of internal and external self-service online content by focusing
on usability, responsive design, and customer experience principles.
SR. KNOWLEDGE BASE MANAGER (May 2012 – Oct 2013)
KNOWLEDGE BASE MANAGER (Jul 2008 – May 2012)
Managed day-to-day operations of growing, 4-person Knowledge Management Team.
 Transitioned Knowledge Management group from traditional top-down culture to collaborative and
team-oriented environment.
 Implemented global customer-facing knowledge base in 10 languages, offering 5,000+ articles.
 Improved article ratings by 20% and reduced call/email volume by leading project to create Article
Quality Index, measuring 50+ data points to determine self-service efficacy of any given article.
 Designed "Suggested Answers" feature, resulting in consistent 40% email case deflection rate over 5
years.
TECHNICAL WRITER (Jul 2007 – Jul 2008)
Created product user guides, online knowledge base articles, and agent-to-customer email templates.

2. ERIK T. RYAN – PAGE 2 619-540-1762 |ErikTRyan@gmail.com
 Designed official ESET Style Guide which is still used by every member of organization.
 Wrote 200+ unique agent-to-customer email template scripts, improving case handle time by 15% and
reducing average number of interactions by 1.
BLUE HORNET, San Diego, CA Feb 2007 – Jul 2007
TECHNICAL WRITER
Created online and in-house tutorials in support of e-marketing software, translating complex technical concepts
into clear and concise user documentation.
 Coordinated with Marketing for new feature releases. Wrote and distributed software release notes.
 Decreased time to create new feature documentation by 25% by developing new process workflow.
HOLLISTER CORPORATION, San Diego, CA Sep 2005 – Jul 2007
STORE MANAGER
Promoted to Store Manager after 11 months, directing 70 associates and 4 assistant managers.
 Sales leader for stores with equivalent volume for 2 consecutive months.
 Received 3 perfect scores from “secret shoppers.”
SUNGARD BI-TECH, Chico, CA Aug 2001 – Sep 2005
DOCUMENTATION SPECIALIST / UNIX ADMINISTRATOR
Wrote company-wide documentation used by hundreds of clients. Served as key customer contact for system
maintenance, trouble-shooting, and upgrades.
 Improved experience for internal and external customers by defining processes not previously
documented and designing feature specific step-by-step tutorials.
 Supported web-based and client-based report-writing and accounting applications.
 Chosen as founding team member of Application Service Provider (ASP) business unit.
TECHNICAL SKILLS
Content / Knowledge
Management Systems:
InQuira/Oracle Knowledge, Knova, RightAnswers, Drupal, WordPress, SharePoint,
SAP, FrameMaker
Analytics: Adobe Analytics (Site Catalyst), Google Analytics, Crazy Egg, Clicktale
Business Tools &
Databases:
Oracle/Sun, Oracle, Informix, Excel
Web / Design: Adobe Illustrator, Acrobat, Photoshop, HTML, XML
Operating Systems: Windows, Mac OS X, Linux, AIX Unix, HP-UX
PROFESSIONAL AFFILIATIONS & CONTRIBUTIONS
Member, Society for Technical Communication
Presenter, Multi-Lingual Online Support – TSA Conference, 2012
5-year Presenter, Knowledge Base Lectures at ESET World Partner Conference
EDUCATION
BS, Management Information Systems, California State University – Chico, 1999