Additionally About Myself

Database application and report developer, IT business analyst and project manager. Now also a creativity management enthusiast. This is one way how I can describe myself.

Here's another way: as a person, I am very much a project developer, which means that I focus on moving each of the projects that I work on toward reaching satisfactory outcomes. It's a combination of built-in impatience and learned patience of an entrepreneurial self-starter and a strategic thinker, who focuses on delivering results as promised.

I was born in Estonia, where I was in business for myself from age 16. At the age of 25 I started with one business partner a sweets production company. The company employed up to 34 people, worked 24 hours a day 7 days a week, and sold products in 4 countries. I was responsible for the operations, marketing, sales and sales management.

I moved to the US in 1989, became a citizen in 1996 and am currently living in Massachusetts.

Here in the US I graduated from Rhode Island College (Providence, RI) in 1996 magna cum laude. I had one major, economics, and 3 minors: business management, psychology and philosophy. Behind this degree was a lot of work and effort. I wanted to learn, to know and to understand.

After graduating I worked in international business and sales, thereafter changed direction, focusing on IT. I have over 9 years of IT experience. I have hands-on experience as project manager, business analyst and user requirements documenter, application architecture and navigation structure developer, user interface designer and usability engineer, table structure and other objects developer, programmer, quality controller and user trainer. I am also an expert-level Access developer-programmer.

Strong interest in different business management areas in combination with my service oriented disposition, analytical skills and educational background helps me to understand computer application users needs and wants, so that I can contribute to translating these needs and wants into computer applications and other types of IT and business solutions.

For several years I developed database applications as an independent contractor. My main customer was Fleet Bank (prior to being acquired by Bank of America). Thereafter I worked for 3 years first as IT Project Specialist and then as IT Project Manager for InfoTrends, Inc., a leading worldwide market research and strategic consulting firm for the digital imaging and document solutions industries. After that, I offered services as an independent contractor again.

My personal interests and my work often merge together. For example, both personally and professionally, for years I have been interested in how computer usage can contribute to creative thinking skills management. Out of this interest grew a creative thinking skills management method that I named CreativityModel Method. At this point my working on this Method remains a hobby.

I consider myself to be a reliable, responsible and a resourceful person. Another trait that characterizes my job performance is that when I work on something, I really apply myself, trying to make the outcome as good as I can. I care about the work that I do, and I can be very persistent.

So, whatever contract or other type of work that I will do, I will handle the same way. I listen to the application users and analyze their needs and wants, research and devise solutions, work with people involved, set and achieve objectives, deliver results and honor the agreements that are made.

Thomas Eklund

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