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Jim Kennedy

Retired Survey Methods and Swarm Intelligence Expert

Jim Kennedy is an accomplished Application Developer, DBA (Database Administrator), and database designer with vast expertise in software problem-solving across various industries. He is passionate about finding innovative solutions to enterprise challenges while keeping up with the latest technologies. With an extensive background in OOPL (Object-Oriented Programming Languages), Jim has honed his skills in the insurance, benefits, financial, and actuarial industry, among others.

Jim Kennedy attended Northwestern University, where he pursued a BA in English and Math. He later attended St. Marks High School and graduated with a Diploma in Liberal Arts. With over a decade of experience, Jim has worked with multiple companies, including Kaiser Permanente, Banfield Pet Hospital, My At Once, BizTech, Surescripts, and iovation, among others. He has experience in electronic medical business process, call center operations, and database engineering.

During his career, Jim has developed various expertise, including Oracle, SQL Server, MySQL, and Sybase. He is proficient in database design, data warehousing, data migration, and data analytics, among others. He has participated in the full software development life cycle from requirements gathering to final implementation. This diversity in experience has enabled him to develop a broad range of essential soft skills, including excellent communication, teamwork, and problem-solving.

Highlights

Apr 2 · linkedin

Eat your own dog food. Call your customer support organization up as anon and see how they do. Is it easy to get hold of an agent? What hoops did you have to get to to talk to someone? Is the number to call to reach a human known or is it a company secret? How easy is it to make a suggestion to the person you spoke to? Did they actually take suggestions on how to do it better? (likely no, you will get lip service but front line people are not given any authority to accept suggestions. Change that - they know your customers and perhaps they could suggest how customer service could be improved.

My experience is company's don't eat their own dog food and have no idea how much service their customer service does not offer.

Mar 30 · linkedin

I did not have the good fortune to meet Dr Hallberg. However, she and the folks at Virta have had a positive effect on my life. My wife is a jeweler and I got permission from Virta to use their trademark to create earrings. My wife had just finished creating 2 different sized earrings with Virta’s spark symbol. 2 molds were made in case we got more orders so she could use the lost wax process to create more.

My wife had just finished making the molds when I heard Dr Hallberg had cancer. I boxed up the original earrings and included a note to Dr Hallberg about these earrings and that these were the hand made originals the molds were made from. While I knew these will not cure cancer I hoped they would add a nice touch to her days.

I sent the package off and a couple of weeks later got a wonderful hand written thank you note from her.

Later I saw her 2 hour interview with Dr Attia. She was wearing the earrings I had sent.

Desmond Tutu said “We need to stop pulling people out of the river; we must go upstream and see why they are falling in. “

The world lost an outstanding researcher and a darn fine human being.

Related Questions

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What is Jim Kennedy's current role or focus after retiring from Cox Enterprises?
Jim Kennedy
Jim Kennedy, photo 1
Jim Kennedy, photo 2
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Experience

Retired at Self-Employed since November 2017
Director, Office of Analysis and Research Services at US International Trade Commission from December 2011 to November 2017, Lead Guitar, Vocals at The Colliders from January 2008 to November 2014

Education

PhD in Social Psychology from University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill; MA in Psychology from California State University-Fresno (1988 - 1990); BA in Psychology from University of Arizona

Location

Portland, Oregon, United States