Project Description
Hoang Cat
Program Manager
Areas Of Expertise
- Project Remediation & Project Delivery
- Transformation & Organizational Design
- Leadership & Team Management
- Stakeholder Engagement
- PMO Establishment & Management
- Vendor Management
Education
- Bachelor of Banking & Finance, Victoria University
- Diploma in Project Management, AICPM
- SAFe SPC 4.5 (2017) Certified
About Hoang Cat
Hoang is a skilled project professional who has been with Seven Consulting’s Melbourne practice since December 2013. He has extensive experience with project delivery and has a solid track record of turning around complex projects. Hoang has a strong background in the financial services industry, with a focus on wealth, and banking. Recently he has been supporting clients in the NFP and energy sectors to transform their business. Whether dealing with C-level executives, board members, or frontline staff, his adaptive engagement style has been successful in developing key ongoing relationships with all his major stakeholders. His cooperative and transparent approach to teamwork ensures morale is maintained in the face of difficult delivery targets.
What Hoang Brings
- 13+ years’ experience across wealth, banking, insurance, energy, and not-for-profit sectors.
- Track record in project remediation and turnaround.
- Strong delivery focus and drive.
- Experience in complex mergers and transition programs.
- Effective in developing relationships between vendors, other third parties, and client teams to enable collaboration between the disparate groups.
Key Clients
- BNP Paribas
- The Future Fund Management Agency (ie, Future Fund)
- Alinta Energy
- AGL Energy
- The Salvation Army
- Medibank
- Hitachi | ANZ | IAG | AusNet | United Energy
- Superpartners | Link Market Services
- NAB | MLC Wealth Management | JBWere | Goldman Sachs
- ANZ
- Norwich Union | Aviva Plc
- MLC Life | Nippon Life
- Melbourne University | RMIT
- VUT | LaTrobe
Key Achievements
As Program Manager for the Data@Access Program at BNP Paribas (BNPP), reporting into the APAC Chief Operating Officer, Hoang was responsible for leading teams across Melbourne, Sydney, Chennai, Paris, and London to remediate the challenges on the Data-as-a-Service (DaaS) platform and finalise the Minimum Viable Product (MVP). At a critical junction, Hoang took charge of the program and implemented a new project governance model. This involved running weekly updates with the COO, CIO, and regional heads of departments across four countries. His actions successfully stabilised product releases and significantly improved service delivery across technology, operations, and product management. The team obtained client approval for the MVP, leading to a substantial increase in revenue for BNPP. Hoang also played a key role in assisting the Head of Transformation by establishing teams and smoothly transitioning the DaaS product into regular operations. Additionally, he supported the regional COO as a portfolio manager for the Data Custodian initiatives, effectively coordinating teams across Paris, Singapore, Sydney, and Melbourne.
As Senior Project Manager for the Investment Data Management (‘IDM’) Program at the Future Fund Management Agency (FFMA), reporting to the Head of IDM, Hoang was responsible for leading multiple streams of work, including the implementation of a new Overlays capability (Aladdin by Blackrock), the establishment of the IDM Target Operating Model (including product, service, organisational, and technology operating models), establishing the IDM data ops team, and leading multiple uplift projects with suppliers GoldenSource and BNP Paribas. The implementation of the Overlays platform occurred during the height of the COVID outbreak and was noted by FFMA’s CEO as instrumental in the agency securing >$3bn above market returns in the month that it was deployed.
As Program Manager for Data and Analytics at Alinta, Hoang reported to the Head of Data and Analytics. Hoang was responsible for leading the key projects to deliver foundational data and analytics capability to Alinta and to establish a new Data & Analytics department (DnA). Accountabilities include implementation of the first 90-day program, enablement of the new Alinta Data Hub, tool selection and RFI/RFP processes, EDW Decommissioning Tranche 1, Tableau remediation, development of a target operating model, and business case development for funding the next 3 years of projects within DnA.
As Portfolio Manager for Digital Sales & Services at AGL, Hoang reported to the General Manager – Value Office. Hoang was responsible for the effective delivery of all initiatives within the $58M combined portfolio. Accountabilities included validation of business benefits, prioritisation, and escalation points for program managers, scrum teams, and heads of departments / initiative owners.
As Program Manager for the mobilisation phase of the National Collaboration Program at The Salvation Army (TSA), Hoang reported to the CIO. The program aimed to develop the technology stack to enable user migration from three IBM notes domains into a new O365 environment. The program was significantly behind schedule and at risk at the time of commencement. Initial health checks indicated the underperformance of a key vendor and a lack of project governance.
As Program Manager for the transformation of the Mission Enterprises portfolio at The Salvation Army (TSA), Hoang reported to the cabinet member for Mission Enterprises. Hoang managed four project teams to implement the transformation of 9 organisations with a combined annual turnover of $600M, spread across distinct market segments of aged care, housing, retail, commercial law practice, employment services, and funeral services. The program was red at the time of commencement, but through remediation, it was successful in generating $12M in projected annual benefits.
As PMO Manager at The Salvation Army (TSA), Hoang reported to the program director. Hoang was responsible for supporting the transformation program and managing all EPMO resources across Australia (approx 20+ staff). Was successful in managing the team and ensuring stability across TSA’s project delivery while the organisation was undergoing significant restructuring. Designed and delivered project management training to 50 staff and successfully handed the team over to the new head of EPMO.
As Senior Project Manager at The Salvation Army (TSA), Hoang reported to the divisional commander. Hoang was responsible for the merger of 5 organisations within Victoria to form the largest divisional command for The Salvation Army (TSA) globally. Took over the project after a previous unsuccessful attempt to merge these organisations, left the stakeholder community in a fractured and agitated state. Was successful in remediating historical concerns and implementing a plan that enabled the merger to be implemented 3 months ahead of schedule. Feedback from executives listed this as the most successful project delivered in TSA recent history.
As Senior Project Manager at Medibank, Hoang reported to the General Manager – Project Delivery. Hoang was responsible for remediating project delivery across the critical project’s portfolio. Lead resource management functions across a portfolio of 50+ projects and develop remediation for resource challenges, including recruitment, engagement with suppliers, and the development of a resourcing strategy. Supported the establishment of a new enterprise program management office and engaged with C-level executives to develop portfolio reporting. Was successful in remediation of the portfolio and successfully established and operationalized the newly formed EPMO to BAU.
As Project Manager at NAB on the $2.4bn sale of MLC Insurance to Nippon Life, Hoang reported to the Head of Procurement. Hoang was responsible for the procurement and migration of all key third-party contracts from NAB to the new legal entity (MLC Limited / MLC Life Insurance). Managed teams across multiple organisations, including business analysts, lawyers, commercial managers, and executive stakeholders, to turnaround key program stream which was tracking red at the time of assignment. Was successful in resolving project issues, mitigating risks, and transitioned $41m in business-critical contracts on schedule to enable Go-Live.
As Project Manager at Hitachi Data Systems (HDS), Hoang reported to the Head of Project Delivery. Hoang was responsible for the delivery of complex infrastructure projects for key clients, including ANZ (Dodd-Frank compliance program), IAG (evcloud migration), United Energy (Netbackup), and AusNet (infrastructure uplift). Managed four concurrent project teams of 5-9 staff each, geo-distributed (New Zealand, Bangalore, Philippines, Singapore, Boston), across multiple organizations. Was effective in delivering each project on time and to a high-quality standard. The ANZ project was used as a case study by the bank as an example of exceptional service by a vendor.
As Technical Delivery Manager at Link Market Services (LMS) on the Superpartners merger, Hoang reported to the COO. Hoang was responsible for the end-to-end delivery of Letters Migration. Managed a team of 40+ onshore and offshore resources to migrate over 3,500 letter types for 6-million-member accounts. The letter migration project was tracking significantly behind schedule (over 1 month) at the time of assignment, but once placed under situation management, an effective remediation plan was developed and put in place. The project was stabilised prior to go-live, and critical Day 1 deliverables were met. The quick turnaround of the project was recognised by the CEO, COO, and senior company executives.
As Technical Delivery Manager at Link Market Services (LMS) on the Superpartners merger, Hoang reported to the Head of Marketing. Hoang was responsible for the end-to-end delivery of a CRM for MTAA, HESTA, HOSTPLUS, CBUS, and Australian Super. This project provides coverage to over 6 million members and a vast amount of transactional data—approximately 25% of the Australian superannuation market. Managed team of 12-20 FTEs spread across Sydney and Melbourne. The CRM project was red at the time of assignment but was quickly stabilised and turned around. The successful turnaround and implementation were recognised by both internal and external stakeholders.
As Business Implementation Manager at Superpartners, Hoang reported to the COO. Hoang was responsible for delivering a new big data reporting platform for Superstream compliance. Managed team of 10 FTEs. At the time of assignment, the project was red and trending downward. Under situation management, scope creep was eliminated, defects improved, and cost overruns stabilized. Managed the Contributions/Superstream Compliance program during warranty period until project completion.
As Project Manager on the Contributions Program at Superpartners, Hoang reported to the Program Director. Hoang was responsible for facilitating the detailed planning process for Phase II of the Contributions program which was focused on the delivery of a sustainably compliant solution, the delivery of the electronic portability form, and the integration of the Fund Validation Service. Lead the development of reporting and data analytics for Superstream.
As Project Manager at Superpartners during its acquisition by Link Market Services, Hoang reported to the CEO. Hoang was responsible for the management of sell-side due diligence, running the data room for the largest merger in Australian superannuation history. Responsibilities included vendor management and engagement with C-level executives, process design for collection, redaction, approval, and the execution of sales documentation. Managed and delivered the project outcomes on time and under budget, with recognition from executive stakeholders.
As Business Performance Manager at Superpartners, Hoang reported to the Head of Transformation. Hoang was responsible for the control, monitoring, and execution of an ambitious benefits realisation program aimed at generating $600M in CAPEX and OPEX reductions over 3 years to enable the transition of the organisation onto a self-funded business model. The program was able to achieve short-term wins of $160M before being put on hold due to a sale announcement.
As Project Manager for the client migration project at NAB Wealth, Hoang reported to the client migration stream lead. Hoang managed a $6m budget and 35 FTEs, within the $160M Blaze Program to migrate $56bn assets from Goldman Sachs. Responsible for client account migrations, CRM, and client communications. Management of the vendor selection process and of external technology partners. Delivered a new EDMS, workflow systems, and CRM integration with Salesforce. Achievements included >1 million pages of client applications processed, 100,000+ client actions successfully migrated with <1% defects.
As Project Manager at Aviva plc (Australia), Hoang reported to the General Manager Operations. Hoang was responsible for developing electronic payment systems (direct banking and BPay). Lead a team of 6 to re-design and automate operational processes, resulting in a significant reduction in unidentified funds by >95%, $1M in OPEX reductions over 3 years, and improvements in SLA from 3 days to a 1-day turnaround.
