James Carroll has over 30 years of experience leading IT organizations, most recently as Head of IT at GOA Games Services Ltd from 2008 to 2010 where he improved operations and launched successful games. He has also held leadership roles at Microsoft, Yahoo!, CR2, and Eircom with a track record of improving processes, reducing costs, and implementing strategic initiatives. Carroll has an MSc in Technology and Innovation Management and seeks an experienced and professional Head of IT role.

1. JAMES CARROLL
Profile: I am an experienced and professional Head of IT with strong strategic,
change, financial, planning and organisational skills. A leader who is capable of
working on own initiative. A creative and analytical thinker with excellent
communication skills who is results driven and committed to high standards of
operational excellence and performance.
CAREER HISTORY
Paddy Power June – Aug 2011
Consultant
o Head of IT Operations - contract
o Provide consultancy designing an IT operational service improvement plan
o Alignment of operations with strategic vision
o Establish a Network Operation Centre monitoring team
GOA Games Services Ltd (France Telecom Corp Venture) 2008-Sept 2010
Head of IT
o Managing multiple teams co-located in Dublin/Paris supporting revenues of €39m
o Engineered the Chief Architect’s office overlaying new technologies, solutions and
engineering best practises onto GOA’s Internet provisioning platform
o Developed and implemented the 3yr IT vision for the data content division
o Decreased the production release cycle for game updates by 50% using SCRUM
methodologies and decomposing complex problems into simple solutions
o Restricted head count increase to <10% as the portfolio grew from 1 to 8 games all
localised in 5 languages
o Improved the operational launch of each game by a process called ‘Hell Week’
o Built the IT capability to deliver the most successfully launched MMO ever
‘WarHammer’ (1m boxes, 500k subscribers, 100k PCCU)
o Built strategic alliances with Dell, ACER, IBM, Oracle and PlanetLAN and spearheaded
excellent relationships with global gaming IP licensor’s
o Improved in-game bug identification by implementing and sharing BugZilla platform
with 3rd party game developers
o Implemented a cross-skilling developers program (Apache/MySql/PHP/Python)
improving front office functionality and launch capabilities
o Design, delivered and managed the implementation of ITIL across all functions
o Championed and delivered a cross organisation Business Process Excellence program
o Created a cross functional due diligence model for new products saving >€1m
o Decreased the fee structure charge on F2P micro transactions from >15% to <5%
while modernising GOA’s e-wallet technology capabilities.
o Engineered a consistent customer experience by implementing a SaaS CRM solution
o Increased ARPU on 1 game from $9 to $40

2. o Reduced IT Opex by €2.5m by consolidating 3 offshore data centres and
standardising the monitoring of 1K+ offshore servers
o Headed the FT multi-jurisdictional governance and legislation compliance team
o Created a BI model and team to support and enhance agile decision making
o Enhanced organisational productivity by delivering an online HR self-service tool
o Decreased EMEA data circuit outage resolution time by 45mns
o Reinvigorated a culture of collaboration following a 66% downsizing program
o Designed and implemented a viral social media marketing and acquisition program
reducing client churn by 25% and increasing subscribers by 680k
Microsoft 2005-2008
International Business Operations Manager
o Managed multiple teams of FTE and vendors across EMEA and APAC
o Created the 5yr vision that made IT Labs (utility computing) the default within EMEA
and APAC for R&D, scalability, consultancy, testing and support of MS products
o Full P&L responsibility for the division moving from a cost centre to a profit centre
o Implemented an internal cross charging model moving from a $1.1m loss to a $250k
profit within 2 years
o Built strategic alliances with Dell, HP, EMC, Cisco, NetApp, APC and Siemens
o Developed a sales & pricing model allowing MS IT to budget the pipeline
o Developed and implemented a BCA model for new internal and external business
showing value proposition to clients
o Transferred and consolidated Labs in India and China to the new model
o Implemented ROQ (Release Only Quality) code, tools and ISO 27001/Six Sigma
processes for IT Lab engagements and software releases
o Championed and delivered the Global ERP IT Labs solution (SQL / .Net)
o Decreased vendor Opex by 20% while maintaining service levels
o Managed 15 data centre based labs servicing 50 countries and several thousand
Microsoft employees and customers
o Surpassed all personal and team commitments receiving the “excellence in execution”
award from Microsoft CIO both in 2006 and 2007
Yahoo! 2004-2005
Regional Head of IT EMEA
o Managed a team of 22 staff with 5 direct reports in a matrix managed environment
o Managed a $24m budget
o Created and established the EMEA IT PMO
o Implemented and managed “Follow the Sun” model IT service delivery
o Accelerated the modernisation of the IT infrastructure delivering within a fiscal year
o Redesigned collaboration solutions resulting in a 5% increase in workflow productivity
o Managed the due diligence and integration of 2 IT divisions following acquisition
o Standardised all IT reporting creating an online dashboard providing KPI visibility
o Established an Oracle financials development team to underpin the migration of
European ‘in-country’ finance and customer care departments to a Shared
Services Centre in Ireland
CR2 (Banking software solutions) 2002-2004
Global Head of IT

3. o Delivered a centralised professional services division in Bangalore while managing the
cost, risk and reputation of CR2
o Rationalised the global infrastructure allowing the centralisation of IT services
o Decreased voice and data circuit costs by 5% year on year
o Championed the drive for “Microsoft certified for windows server” accreditation
o Counselled staff during multiple downsizing rounds
Eircom Multimedia (Enterprise Division) 2000-2002
IT Manager
o Provided all IT services including call centre support for all enterprise division
companies (Eircom Net, Indigo, Indigo UK, RondoMondo, Eircom card and
payphones, Eircom International)
Irish Life and Permanent 1988-2000
Network Manager
Cement Roadstone Holdings 1985-1988
Mainframe Computer Operator
EDUCATION AND TRAINING
Course College/Institution Year
MSc in Technology and Innovation Dublin Institute of Technology 2010-2012
Management
Dissertation:- "Subsidiary Initiatives: A foreign subsidiary manager’s 2011
perspective"
CIO:Create & Communicate Value Gartner 2010
Emotional Intelligence Thomas International 2009
BSc in Applied Health Science Institute of Physical Therapy and 2009
Applied Science
Managed Services & Outsourcing IDC 2008
Business Continuity & Security
Business Process Excellence Microsoft 2005
Global Leadership & Motivation Yahoo! 2004
Certificate Management The Open University 2003
IT Governance & SarBox Eircom 2001
Cobol Programming College of Technology – Kevin St. 1987
PERSONAL DETAILS
Date of Birth: 5th November 1968
Marital Status: Married
Health: Excellent
Leisure Interests: Gardening and Sports