Fair, accountable leadership.
Shawn Syms
shawn@shawnsyms.com µ +1-416-843-4169
Core competencies
Production & delivery
• Resource scheduling and/or team management
(UX/creative, dev, content, animation,
illustration, video production, translation, WCAG,
Zinc Maps & more [in-house and/or freelance])
• End-to-end vendor relationship management
• Production forecasting & resource scaling,
including offshore/nearshore solutions
• Process & workflow auditing & re-engineering
• Triage/solutioning/crisis management
• Estimation & scoping of budgets & timelines
• Auditing, implementation & administration of
production management SAAS solutions
Strategy & leadership
• Dynamic membership in agency-leadership teams
• Goal-setting, delegation & follow-through
• Participation in Business Development processes
• Client-facing support of account leadership
• Deep exposure to heathcare/pharma vertical
Agency experience
Colour
Director, Production
Toronto | Halifax
Business context
Colour created my role to scale capacity to manage
a gargantuan influx of work from a cannabis client.
In addition to daily management of a multi-
office resourcing process, I worked with the vp of
Finance & Account team to audit production workflow.
I built a case for a pmo, hired their first PM, &
directly supported other hires.
After a business restructure eliminated the role, I
stayed on board to develop a comprehensive 96-page
presentation deck on relevant SOPs.
Through innovation & collaboration, I optimize
teams, systems & processes, bringing out the
best in people & helping businesses succeed.
Legal & finance
• Drafting & administration of legal agreements
• Budget setting, managing & monitoring
People & culture
• Organizational design
• End-to-end mgmt of hiring processes
• Development & delivery of role-specific
onboarding materials
• Day-to-day team leadership
• Performance mgmt & career development
• Aptitude for difficult conversations & conflict
resolution
Technology & creative
• Direct mgmt & restructuring of creative teams
• Collaboration with CDs/CCOs
• Hands-on experience as network, system &
security adminstrator
• Strong communicator & published author
8 months
May–Dec 2018
Duties & accomplishments
• Expanded partner roster from a handful to 40,
with skill sets aligned to client deliverables
• Defined & documented new workflows for
vendor-intake & payment processes
• Consolidated SOW template & drafted new
contractual agreements to reduce legal risks
• Established skills-inventory database for internal
& external talent
• Improved the hiring process by developing &
rolling out a templated approach to job offers
Shawn Syms
shawn@shawnsyms.com µ +1-416-843-4169
Brightworks
VP, Delivery (2013–2018), Director, Operations (2011–2012)
Toronto | New York
Business context
At Brightworks, I helped evolve the company from a
small agency of fifteen to a mid-sized one three times
larger, & supported the founder in moving from a
flat reporting model to one organized & managed
by functional leadership.
Though initially I also had core responsibilities in
facilities, HR & IT, from the outset my central role
was management of production. The creative/UX
team also reported to me until I successfully made
the case for a Creative Director hire.
As the first member of the Brightworks leadership
team (after the founder, of course!), I participated in
steering the business & was accountable for
production profitability.
Elsevier Interactive Solutions
Associate Director, Operations (2008-010)
IT Lead (2006–2007), Team Lead, Systems Administration
(2002–2005), Systems Administrator (2001)
Toronto
Business context
I started in hands-on network technology & moved
into management & production leadership, staying
with the company through two acquisitions, four busi-
ness names & three rebrands. Two key opportunities
came via amazing women business leaders.
Production expert Trudy Rink quickly promoted
me to manage the systems-admin team; I learned so
much from her about internal/client communications,
& managing expectations. Subsequently, the late
Janet Banks decided I was under-utilized in IT & put
me in charge of production.
When Elsevier eventually shuttered the business
unit, I personally managed all technical aspects of
the closure.
2
7 years, 6 months
Oct 2010–Mar 2018
Duties & accomplishments
• Managed production processes & resourcing
across multiple active projects (~125 concurrently
& ~600 annually)
• Owned profitable relationships with 50+ partner
organizations & individuals representing 1.5M to
3M of annual business, including financial
accountability and strategic direction setting
• Developed custom tools to capture interactions
& feedback on vendor relationships
• Led the company-wide annual performance-
evaluation process
• Organized training for the internal production
team & freelance partner roster on web-
accessibility standards
8 years, 7 months
2001–2010
Duties & accomplishments
• Ran a profitable internet-hosting portfolio
serving clients in the pharma sector, including
Bayer, Roche, Ferring, Lilly & Janssen
• Managed scheduling, resourcing & production
processes
• Day-to-day management of development/IT team
• Managed application, server, network &
security administration
• Engaged directly with clients on inquiries &
proposals in relation to network & web-
application security
• Local office lead for global business-continuity
planning initiative
Shawn Syms
shawn@shawnsyms.com µ +1-416-843-4169
3
Immersant 2 years, 6 months
Network & Systems Administrator 1999–2001
Toronto | Ann Arbor | Boston | Seattle

Business context Duties & accomplishments

After a decade in management & communications
at non-profits, I was introduced to agency life in the
middle of the dot-com boom.
Immersant was formed when Bowne & Co, the
world’s largest financial printer, entered the digital
space, buying five software/design shops. I learned
first hand about business-integration challenges!
When Immersant closed, I managed the final
inventory & data backups. I was the last person to
leave the office, & slid my key under the door on the
way out.
• Oversaw company-wide asset-management
initiative
• Coordinator of helpdesk incident management
for four North American offices
• Started as part of an IT team of four, & took on
increasing responsibilities as team members left
& were not replaced
• Installed, configured & maintained Windows
& UNIX servers
• Administration of Exchange Server, DNS server &
firewall

Cultural experience
Author, Editor, Journalist & Critic 1988–present
Toronto
• Work in 50 publications including The Globe and Mail & National Post
• Short story “On the Line” shortlisted for prestigious Journey Prize
• Anthology I edited, Friend Follow Text: #storiesFromLivingOnline,
won Silver for Best Anthology in the (U.S.) Foreword Reviews Awards
• Organized & participated in readings, launches & workshops across
Canada, and in New York & Chicago
• Debut short-fiction collection, Nothing Looks Familiar, selected as a
National Post Best of 2014 book

Education
Humber School for Writers
Creative Writing, 2007–2009
The New School
Summer Writers Colony, 2008
University of Toronto, Creative
Writing Honours certificate, 2004–2007
Institute for Computer Studies
Internetworking Support certificate,
1998–1999
• received Microsoft Certified Sys-
tems Engineer (MCSE) & Microsoft
Certified Professional with Inter-
net Specialization (MCP+I)
Ryerson University
Editing for Books, Journals &
Reports, 1993
Glendon College, York University
Undergraduate studies in sociology
1988–1990