Michael Stefanavage
Corporate User Member (The Vanguard Group, Inc)
Professional Role & Oracle Products Used
I am a Senior Product Owner at Vanguard, accountable for the day-to-day system health and strategic roadmap of our Oracle EPM Financial Applications. I have deep knowledge in the Financial Consolidations and Tax Reporting applications and a growing knowledgebase in Planning, Profit & Cost Management and Enterprise Data Management. Prior to my current role, I was a lead in the cloud transformation program responsible for data conversion from our legacy on-prem PeopleSoft ERP. I was chosen to lead the data conversation due to my extensive PeopleSoft experience, which was developed from seven years supporting the technology through regular upgrades and business-aligned custom enhancements.
Before transitioning into technical space, I was a Financial Analyst using the technologies that I now support. Working in functional and technical roles give me a unique lens enabling me to better connect users to technology and drive ever evolving advances to the tools we use.
What makes the OATUG mission meaningful to you?
As a Product Owner in the EPM space, my mission, my drive is to maximize the value of the products for which I support. OATUG’s mission is meaningful to me because we are aligned in the sense; we are striving to achieve the same goal—value. I do this in my organization today by partnering with my technology users to understand their needs and the goals at which they want to achieve. OATUG does that same thing by connecting the broader community together to share ideas and product content that helps the community learn and grow together.
I am a strong supporter of putting people together to identify and solve shared technology challenges and I believe OATUG’s mission is a driving force to help its community see beyond their individual spaces and empowers members to leverage the tools provided by this user group.
Why are you running for the Board, and what skills, connections, resources and expertise do you have to offer the organization?
I am running for the OATUG Board because I truly see the impact that a global community can collectively have to a set of tools. I believe that as a member of the Board I can add value by increasing collaboration and promoting content that is relevant to members within OATUG. Throughout my professional career I have built relationships with technical and functional users of Oracle technologies and have leveraged those connections to share and implement ideas that increase the value realized by my organization and the organizations of my peer network. I have worked on cross-functional teams for most of my career and can effectively listen, interpret, negotiate, adapt, and leverage the individual strengths of team members working on a common goal.
Other OATUG and Volunteer Experience:
I attended the Ascend 2021 and OATUG ERP/EPM Cloud Weeks the last couple years. I read OATUG articles and frequently connect with my organization’s OATUG Ambassador. Last year I attended Oracle Cloud World and will be attending again, later in September. I have been recognized on Cloud Customer Connect as a top contributor for sharing new ideas by collaborating with fellow customers and Oracle product team members on topics that impact the broad user community. Several of my submitted or supported ideas for new features have been released or are prioritized by Oracle for future product releases.
Outside of work, I volunteered to serve as the Treasurer for our districts Home and School Association. We organized events to bring students together while raising money to support the district. While I was there, we made multiple capital improvements to the facilities and provided financial assistance for students in need.