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Jim Olson
1890 Aglen Street
Roseville, Minnesota, 55113
(651)493-0142
Jim.Olson@SabbathInc.com

 

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OBJECTIVE

To provide leadership in a variety of settings by combining technical and management knowledge and skills.

 

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WORK HISTORY

January 1998 to present, President, Sabbath, Inc.

  • Provide technology consulting services. These services cover a range of technology-related activities, including project management (encompassing system design, development, and deployment), establishment of a corporate or technology product strategy or vision, due diligence reviews, and technology legal issues. 
  • Significant clients and relationships include: West, a Thomson Company; Thomson & Thomson; Mellon Ventures; Sherpa Partners; Augsburg Fortress Publishers; and Emerson Technologies.
  • Reviewed hundreds of companies and technologies, providing detailed analysis and recommendations on investment, acquisition, license or partnership opportunities.
  • Worked with a broad range of technology organizations from start-up companies to mature companies, gaining exposure to best practices industry wide.
  • Successfully established an electronic publishing strategy for a mid-size publishing house and launched the first major electronic product.

1997-1998, Vice President, Information Server Technologies

  • Responsible for product development of the server portion of Westlaw, the premier online legal research system. Westlaw comprises over 10,000 online databases containing over seven terabytes of legal and news/financial data. The server environment is a complex computing environment using client-server technologies, automatic load balancing across multiple computers and data centers, multiple programming languages and platforms. The Westlaw computer installation is one of the largest in the Mid-West.
  • Transitioned Westlaw from a mainframe-based, client/service architecture to a multi-layered, componentized, multi-platform architecture, speeding new product development time and reducing costs
  • Managed $12 million budget and staff of 140 software architects and programming analysts.

1996, Chief Technology Officer

  • Responsible for all technology and software development at West Group. Managed a staff totaling over 1700 people, including 900 technical development staff and 800 professional and clerical database and production management staff.
  • Spearheaded the integration of the technology functions at West Publishing Company with the technology functions at Thomson Legal Publishing. Integration was accomplished on time and on budget. 
  • Implemented first formal departmental budgetary process, establishing annual budget of over $150 million.

1990-1996, Executive Manager, Publishing and Westlaw Database Development

  • Responsible for the development of all internal editorial and publishing systems, including text capture, text editing and preparation, composition, and database management. Also responsible for CD-ROM publishing, WWW publishing, Westlaw database development, and search engine development.
  • Developed industry-leading natural language search engine, the first large-scale implementation of easy-to-use plain English techniques for querying online databases.
  • Doubled the quantity of online text information available to customers on Westlaw while cutting the programmatic conversion costs by 75%.
  • Automated manual processes used to publish statutory and caselaw products, speeding product delivery and cutting costs.
  • Responsible for a staff of 250 software architects and programmer/analysts.

1981 to 1990, Various positions including Manager of Westlaw Database Development, Data Administrator, and Programmer/Analyst

  • Responsible for staff of programmer/analysts that built and maintained Westlaw databases, making thousands of new products available to customers.
  • Responsible for database management technologies and database design at West.
  • Built internal case management and publishing systems, replacing manual processes.
  • Programmed the legal market’s most up-to-date online citation verification service, still in service today.

 

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EDUCATION

Bachelor of Arts, Mathematics and Religion, Hamline University, 1981

Graduated cum laude; member Phi Beta Kappa.

Master of Arts, Luther Seminary, January 2003

 

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PERSONAL INFORMATION

I am married (my wife's name is Karen) and together we have four children, ages thirteen to twenty. I am active at our church in a variety of capacities, including teaching, the church council, and other ministries. My hobbies and interests include traveling, farming, reading, and running.