Al Scheels is an experienced IT executive who has served as CIO for multiple companies, an independent advisor to Fortune 500 companies, and a partner with Andersen Consulting. As CIO, he led implementations of ERP systems like Oracle and SAP to standardize processes. As an advisor, he managed projects like developing websites and help desk software selection. He also performed quality assurance reviews and mentored other IT professionals.

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Al Scheels
An experienced IT executive with a diverse background that includes functioning as
a partner with the world’s largest consulting firm, a CIO in multiple companies, and
as an independent advisor to the CIO of a Fortune 500 company.
Recent Relevant Experience
Independent IT Advisor.
Served as an independent advisor reporting directly to the CIO of a Fortune 500
industrial products distributor. Based upon achieving the desired end results and an
ability to work effectively with all levels of IT and business management, my annual
contract was renewed year after year. In my tenure at this company, I had multiple
roles including providing an independent assessment of the IT environment to IT
senior management and business project sponsors. I recently left the company
when there was a management change and all work was reassigned to internal
personnel. Examples of specific responsibilities included:
Marketing/Internet Systems Project Management
- Led a team that developed the company’s first generation website. As this was
early in the .com phase, the objective was to custom build a buy site for the
company’s customers who purchased products via predefined contracts.
Activities included putting together a team of internal and external architects
and systems developers, defining the website strategy and goals with the
business sponsors, training company personnel on new technologies, and
designing, building and implementing the new website. This business
application was successfully implemented and continues to be in-use today.
- As part of the first generation website project, another project was started to
develop a Product Content Management (PCM) business system application.
The business objective was to consolidate multiple product data bases into one
common system and standardize product information for use by sales,
marketing, warehouse management, and inventory management, as well as
support the printing of product catalogs for over 200,000 parts. I had the role as
the contract and quality assurance administrator as most of the development
work was outsourced to a third party.
- As .com commercial software improved and matured over time, another project
was initiated to leverage commercial software and expand the marketing and
sales reach beyond contracted customers. Many of the software applications
developed for the first generation website were utilized in this project. My role
was to work with both marketing and IT management to select the appropriate
commercial software product, and then negotiate the terms and conditions for
the purchase of the software and related vendor services. The new website was

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successfully implemented including the introduction of new business processes
within Marketing to support the business system application.
Quality Assurance Officer
- Performed multiple Quality Assurance reviews for the company’s new initiative
to address their global Order Entry and Warehouse Management work flow
processes and business systems applications. I was assigned to determine if an
adequate and accurate level of planning had occurred at the outset of this
initiative, and then provide an ongoing independent governance review and
analysis. As this was a high risk initiative involving multiple projects, reviews
would occur every 3 to 4 months. Quality Assurance Reports were documented
and reviewed with the CIO and the IT Leadership team.
Vendor Contract Negotiations
- After multiple false starts, I was assigned to co-lead a team to consolidate
regional help desks into one global help desk utilizing a common commercial
software product. This initiative involved defining a new organization structure
and business processes, and selecting a commercial software product that
would address global help desk requirements. I served as an advisor to
department management and the project manager, and led the negotiations in
the software selection, including the terms and conditions for the purchase of
software services. The contract was finalized at a savings of just over $400,000.
Training/Mentoring
- As the CIO was very interested in building the management skills of his team, I
assisted with mentoring information systems personnel on leadership
development, career management, and project management.
CIO Related Experiences
Prior to working as an independent IT advisor, I served as the CIO for a number of
companies including:
CIO for a large recreational products manufacturer and distributor.
When hired, this company’s business portfolio was comprised of multiple acquired
companies, all of them operating under their own independent systems.
- My initial objective was to standardize and integrate computer systems to
facilitate a timely monthly financial closing, and to achieve cost synergies by
employing consistent business processes.
- My secondary objective was to consolidate all of the businesses onto one
common systems platform. The project teams were formed, the ERP software
selected (Oracle), and the technical infrastructure defined. At that point in time,
the company was purchased by a famous corporate raider, and the project was
stopped. I remained as part of the management transition team.

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CIO for a large medical products manufacturer and distributor.
This privately held company had outgrown their computer systems which was
impacting their ability to grow in a very competitive market. I was hired to come in
as their first CIO to implement a new ERP system, and to build a more professional
IT organization.
- Directly managed the ERP project requiring a new state of the art business
software solution and technical infrastructure, as well as new business process
procedures. The SAP enterprise software package was selected, as was a third
party consulting firm who had experience with implementing this product. As a
high risk initiative, this conversion was very difficult due to the newer
technologies and changes in business processes. The system was successfully
implemented after addressing specific issues, helping the company grow from
$600 million to its current 6+billion dollar business.
- Built a professional IT organization capable of supporting the new ERP
enterprise software system, the technical infrastructure, and rapid business
growth. Building the organization included recruiting and hiring professionals
who understood the integration requirements and risks between business and
IT functions. Training and mentoring programs were also put into place.
- Upon the successful implementation of the ERP system, which was my initial
objective, I remained as the CIO until a close member of the family who owned
the company could be made ready to take over that role.
Partner Andersen Consulting (now called Accenture)
Served as a partner in the firm’s Integration Division, which specialized in the
design and implementation of very large and high risk technology projects.
- Managed the design, development and implementation of large multi-million
dollar systems that involved millions of lines of new computer based code,
hardware integration, and significant business process changes. My client base
included pharmaceutical, insurance, defense and government industries.
- Functioned as an independent Quality Assurance Partner for large complex and
high risk projects. Provided guidance and risk assessments to client and
Andersen project managers, thereby helping those projects to avoid costly
mistakes, and even more costly failed implementations.
- I left the partnership not because I did not like the work or the organization, but
to spend more time at home, as I was on the road almost 90% of the time.

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