Derek Blum / Experience
Full history

Experience

Thirty-two years in enterprise IT - pick a role for the detail behind it.

Solutions Architect · FOMX.ai (2026 - Present)

I own the full lifecycle solo, end to end: the idea, requirements, architecture and design, AI-assisted development, testing, deployment, and the CI/CD pipeline itself - no stage handed off to someone else. Partnering with FOMX.ai, a Claude Partner Network firm building Claude-based AI systems for small and mid-sized businesses, every AI-generated change is reviewed and tested before it ships. One platform live in production, a second in system integration, a third in active development.

  • Specified, directed, and shipped Tourney, a fantasy sports platform live on AWS with an agentic assistant built in and live scoring pulled from ESPN's real-time API, in full use through the March 2026 NCAA tournament in a pool that covered its own hosting costs.
  • Owns two further applications end to end: a financial planning advisor with a retrieval-augmented knowledge base now in system integration, and a workflow and tracking platform in active development.
  • Developed the reusable delivery patterns the team builds on - shared agent instructions, tool definitions, and guardrails - cutting recurring AI cost by an order of magnitude.
  • Built a reusable retrieval-augmented generation pipeline as a standalone, dataset-agnostic package, so any application in the group points it at its own corpus instead of rebuilding retrieval each time.
  • Enforced answer fidelity in the advisor application by making code, not the model, the sole source of every published figure - eliminating fabricated numbers in generated guidance.
  • Established a dev-to-SIT-to-production pipeline in GitHub Actions with five automated checks every deploy must pass, plus a required human sign-off before anything reaches production.

The full technical detail for each of these three platforms is on its own page - Tourney, Runway, GetSeen.

Senior IT Manager, Enterprise Data Management Office (2023 - 2026)

Directed product ownership for the enterprise Data Retention and Disposition Catalogue (DRDC), strengthening governance, correcting systemic design failures, and enabling accurate ownership, compliant retention paths, and audit-ready evidence.

  • Restored DRDC integrity by updating 95% of application records with verified ownership and retention paths through a targeted remediation plan that exposed uncatalogued and non-compliant data.
  • Specified requirements and guided development of TD's standardized DRD evidencing tool, producing audit-ready disposition artifacts.
  • Reengineered DRDC design by adding mandatory fields, integrating issue tracking, and enforcing ownership accuracy to align with audit expectations.
  • Revised DRD standards and procedures with external consultants and trained data owners, strengthening accountability and reducing regulatory and reputational risk.
  • Presented DRD program status, open risks, and remediation progress to senior technology and business stakeholders.
  • Nominated for the 2025 CEO WOW! Leadership Award for advancing DRD governance and enterprise engagement.

Senior IT Manager, IA Operations (2022 - 2023)

Led automation operations across 50+ automations and 300+ virtual machines supporting 15+ business lines; stabilized failing environments and strengthened operational readiness across distributed teams.

  • Streamlined incident handling, driving an 83% reduction in volume and eliminating weekly leadership escalations.
  • Optimized straight-through RPA performance to 99% by establishing metrics-driven reviews that surfaced failure points for targeted remediation.
  • Implemented automated dashboards, standardized monitoring, and monthly reporting to strengthen governance and accelerate triage.

Senior IT Development Manager, ECM Development & Operations (2019 - 2022)

Managed custom development and operational stewardship for enterprise content management applications supporting large-scale ingestion and document processing - Technical Asset Owner for 9 custom Java applications processing more than 1.3 million new documents per month.

  • Overhauled ECM operational workflows, driving an incident reduction of more than 90% through automated monitoring and modernized team processes.
  • Automated daily verification activities with Microsoft Power Automate, cutting review time from hours to minutes.
  • Led a 2-day, cross-team recovery effort that restored monetary processing and prevented a payroll failure.
  • Led change management for upgrades, patching, and releases across 9 ECM applications, coordinating business stakeholders and offshore vendor teams.
  • Recovered platform stability through accelerated triage and targeted remediation, earning the 2021 CEO Leadership WOW! Award.

Senior IT Development Manager, BPM & ECM Development (2010 - 2019)

Steered custom development across BPM and ECM platforms during major upgrade cycles and enterprise modernization initiatives - scaled onshore and offshore teams to more than 40 resources.

  • Established the Pega development practice for TD US and built a cross-trained BPM and ECM team capable of supporting multiple niche technologies.
  • Coordinated delivery and level-3 support across BPM and ECM platforms; oversaw the transition of 7 ECM applications from .NET to Java to strengthen platform stability.
  • Owned the development budget and vendor relationships for onshore and offshore partners, scaling the team past 40 resources.

ECM BPM Development Team Lead (2004 - 2010)

Drove ECM and BPM platform development during the Commerce-TD merger, architecting foundational workflow and ingestion components for digital and physical documents supporting the integrated enterprise.

  • Architected and built NAMES, a critical anti-money-laundering workflow application - still in use at TD Bank's stores today, more than twenty years later.
  • Designed and developed an MS SQL ETL solution for data loading, and a reusable object-oriented framework (.NET & SQL Server) that laid the foundation for future development.
  • Built custom FileNet Capture solutions enabling automated capture of physical documents using barcodes for indexing.
  • Oversaw a team of 10 development resources, onshore and offshore.

FileNet Application / Web Developer (1997 - 2004)

Team lead and lead application/web developer providing custom Enterprise Content Management solutions for multiple clients on FileNet - finance, healthcare, and energy.

  • Built a reusable object-oriented framework configurable for custom solutions across multiple industries.
  • Involved in pre-sales and presentations to prospective clients, building proofs of concept.

Application Developer / Consultant (1995 - 1997)

Provided custom enterprise solutions for healthcare and finance clients using the Documentum workflow/content management system, VB, PowerBuilder, and SQL Server.

Developer / Consultant (1994 - 1995)

Software developer on a proprietary banking system - the start of a 30+ year career in enterprise IT.

President (Boys Basketball) & Gym Assigner (2015 - 2022)

Ran the operational and technology side of the program, not just the title.

  • Built and ran the program's website, online sign-up forms, and a shared calendar system so teams could swap gym times when needed.
  • Sourced leagues, tournaments, and referees each season.
  • Tracked and verified background clearances for every coach and volunteer in the program.