Morris Stern
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Selected Work

Programs where the details mattered.

Four programs, each summarized as context, role, actions, and outcome. Every one was completed in an executive operating role, not as a client consulting engagement. Employer names, internal figures, vendor selections, and program detail are withheld or generalized.

M&A IntegrationHome Furnishings Retail · Large North American network
Executive operating role

M&A Platform Conversion Across a Large Retail Network

Problem solved

M&A integrationPlatform conversionCutover playbooksStore onboarding

Context

A cross-border acquisition brought two retail estates under one parent: different retail platforms, different point of sale, different payment stacks, different store operating routines. The combined business needed the retained stores running on a single retail platform fast enough that the integration did not stall the deal thesis.

Role

Executive operating role. Morris led the technology integration end to end as the accountable executive. He had also led the sell-side technology workstream for the divestiture, so the integration began with both sides of the same transaction already understood.

Actions

The program was built around a repeatable cutover playbook: data mapping and cleansing rules, store-by-store readiness gates, training that ran ahead of each wave, and a stabilization window with dedicated support before any wave was declared done. Waves were sequenced by operational risk rather than geography, and the playbook was corrected after every wave. Vendors and systems integrators were held to one shared delivery outcome rather than their individual scopes.

Proof signal

Two retail estates converted onto one surviving platform post-acquisition, without pausing trade.

Outcome

  • Two retail estates converted onto a single surviving platform while stores continued trading
  • Delivery spanned ERP, warehouse management, point of sale, payments, and supporting infrastructure
  • Cutover playbooks materially reduced the effort required for each successive store onboarding
  • Playbooks retained as a standing capability for future acquisitions
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Store SystemsHome Furnishings Retail · Multi-banner, cross-border chain
Executive operating role

Point of Sale, Payments, and Shelf-Edge Pricing Modernization

Problem solved

POS modernizationPaymentsPCI complianceStore rollout

Context

A cross-border, multi-banner home furnishings retailer was running end-of-life point of sale hardware with fragmented payment processing. Customer experience was inconsistent, PCI compliance exposure was growing, and every new store, including locations added through acquisitions, required manual configuration work with no standardized onboarding. Store teams were also losing significant weekly labor to manual paper price changes.

Role

Executive operating role. As Vice President of Retail Systems, Morris owned the store technology portfolio: vendor evaluation, business case, rollout governance, and the operational outcome after go-live.

Actions

Morris built the business cases from first principles rather than from vendor ROI calculators, modeling store labor, payment economics, and error rates against real store formats. He defined integration requirements before evaluating vendors, established go/no-go readiness criteria for each store, and structured phased pilots that had to prove specific operating conditions before any program moved to chain-wide rollout. Weekly executive reporting kept stakeholders informed without adding overhead to the delivery team.

Proof signal

Material recurring payment savings, improved store-system resilience, and reduced support demand.

Outcome

  • Mobile point of sale with e-signature deployed chain-wide on a new store device fleet
  • Delivered material recurring payment savings through payments modernization
  • Reduced store device hardware cost while improving floor usability and associate adoption
  • Improved store-system resilience and reduced support demand on the help desk
  • Validated labor efficiency and pricing-accuracy improvements through a phased shelf-edge pricing pilot before scaling
  • Standardized integration playbooks reduced the effort to onboard acquired store locations
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Capital ProgramsHealthcare & Public Sector · Provincial scale
Executive operating role

Provincial Health System ICT Capital Portfolio

Problem solved

Capital governanceHealthcare ICTPortfolio deliveryRisk control

Context

A provincial healthcare capital program carried an ICT portfolio covering new construction, infrastructure renewal, clinical systems, and technology decommissioning, including two new-build hospitals. With that many projects in flight and no unified delivery governance, execution was inconsistent and oversight was reactive.

Role

Executive operating role. As Program Director of ICT capital projects, Morris was accountable for the portfolio, its governance, and its investment cases through a distributed, fully remote team.

Actions

Morris built ICT and clinical technology investment cases for the two hospital construction projects, developed capital plans, roadmap sequencing, and delivery governance, and aligned technology investment with clinical, operational, security, and governance priorities in a highly regulated, audit-intensive environment.

Proof signal

More than 50 concurrent ICT capital projects governed across a provincial health system.

Outcome

  • Directed a multi-million-dollar ICT portfolio across more than 50 concurrent projects
  • ICT and clinical technology investment cases built for two new-build hospitals
  • Capital plans, roadmap sequencing, and delivery governance established for the portfolio
  • Hybrid and remote-work infrastructure stood up for provincial operations
  • Recurring savings delivered through infrastructure and operating-model changes
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Digital CommerceApparel & Manufacturing · DTC and B2B channels
Executive operating role

Digital Commerce and Business Intelligence for an Established Manufacturer

Problem solved

Digital commerceBI reportingEDI integrationChannel growth

Context

An established North American apparel manufacturer had no meaningful direct-to-consumer digital presence and limited B2B channel infrastructure. Revenue was concentrated in traditional wholesale. Executive decision-making relied on manual reporting with no real-time visibility into sales, inventory, or margin performance.

Role

Executive operating role. As head of IT and business solutions, Morris owned the full technology function: infrastructure, security, enterprise applications, data and reporting, and service delivery.

Actions

Morris led the launch of direct-to-consumer and B2B marketplace channels, integrating drop ship vendors through EDI and a commerce hub. He built executive-grade sales and financial forecasting dashboards with real-time inventory and margin visibility. ERP upgrades and a productivity platform migration ran in parallel with workflow automation that replaced high-volume manual processes.

Proof signal

New direct-to-consumer and marketplace channels, built on ERP, EDI, commerce, and reporting integration.

Outcome

  • Direct-to-consumer channel launched and grown into a standing revenue line
  • Marketplace program originated, opening a new channel for the business
  • Commerce and integration foundation established for subsequent B2B growth
  • Real-time sales and financial forecasting changed how executives made inventory and sales decisions
  • IT operating cost reduced materially while service coverage expanded
  • High-volume manual workflows automated, improving speed and reducing error rates
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The full career record

Employers, titles, dates, and the mandates I am focused on are on the executive profile.

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