Ralph Loftin

Summary

More than thirty years of information systems and general management experience. As Vice President for Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Massachusetts, managed a staff of more than 750 to provide voice and data communications, printing services, mail operations, office automation, system development and information processing. At General Electric, developed and managed a programming services business for both government and commercial markets. Responsible for marketing and sales, contract administration, and project management and control. For the same firm managed a full-line computer services business, including sales, application development, billing and customer support, computer operations, and contract administration. Earlier, managed a contractor support group for a major NASA installation, furnishing programming, hardware engineering, and equipment maintenance services. Pioneered the use of organization development methods as a way of improving the effectiveness of the information systems function. In addition, was among the first in the nation to develop and employ an information architecture as an integral part of the planning and management process. Consult broadly on issues of strategic and tactical planning, organizational effectiveness, vendor relationships and contract management, operations performance, and capacity and resource management. B.S and M.S. degrees in Electrical Engineering from Georgia Tech; authored numerous papers and articles and has spoken widely at national and international conferences. Work in the use of behavioral science methods in managing the information systems function was the subject of a prize-winning paper in a national competition. Also served as a commercial arbitrator for more than 20 years. Served on the National Executive Council of the Society for Information Management, and was Chairman of the Boston chapter. Taught at Georgia Tech, the University of Massachusetts and Babson College. Specialties: Outsourcing; sourcing strategies; contract negotiations; arbitration; mediation