Enterprise Transformation & Strategic Operations Leader
Salt Lake City Area, UT · linkedin.com/in/jrovalentine
Summary
James Valentine builds the decision and operating systems — planning cadences, governance, and metrics — that turn ambiguous, high-stakes priorities into governed, measurable execution. Across 14 years in regulated and transformation environments, he has partnered directly with C-suite sponsors to align finance, product, legal, technology, and operations, then personally directed the highest-priority cross-functional programs to results — including CFPB consent-order remediation that an independent auditor (Crowe) rated Outstanding with no findings.
Signature Method
ROAD Requirements → Outcomes → Activities & Assumptions → Diagnostics: the operating framework behind these results, first built to launch new capabilities at enterprise scale and reapplied to remediate under regulatory pressure.
Selected Impact
Independent validation. As strategic operating partner to the SVP/General Counsel, drove CFPB consent-order remediation governance through two independent Crowe audit cycles to an Outstanding rating with zero findings — 80+ requirements integrated into a governed program in 90 days.
Investment governance. Built 12+ executive- and board-ready business cases supporting evaluation of ~$50M in proposed investment.
Portfolio operating system. Ran quarterly planning and prioritization for a 12-team program across a 300-person technology organization; led the project-to-product transition and a team of 7 product owners.
AI in regulated operations. Stood up enterprise AI governance and built an AI product pilot on Lovable through prompt-driven iteration — pairing hands-on AI fluency with the judgment to separate what to automate from what needs human decision.
Career Experience
Credit.com — Salt Lake City, UT · 2020 – 2026
Formerly Progrexion; consumer financial services; $100M+ revenue; ~2M clients annually; 3,000 employees
Director, Programs and Planning (Aug 2022 – 2026)
Progressed from Assistant Director, PMO (2020) → Director, Agile Transformation (2021); reported to the SVP/General Counsel
- Strategic operating partner to the SVP/General Counsel (the accountable policy owner): set executive decision agendas, translated regulatory and business requirements into recommended solutions and metrics, and integrated work across legal, compliance, product, technology, marketing, and operations.
- Integrated 80+ CFPB consent-order requirements into an enterprise remediation program within 90 days and built the governance for executive oversight, evidence readiness, corrective action, and board/regulator reporting — culminating in Crowe’s Outstanding rating with no findings in year two.
- Built 12+ executive-ready business cases (new verticals, international expansion, vendor selection, operational investment) supporting executive and board evaluation of ~$50M in proposed investment.
- Established the company’s AI governance approach and built the debt-negotiation product pilot on Lovable through prompt-driven iteration; directed AI-enabled tooling that moved routine collection and first-pass compliance detection into the workflow while reserving human judgment for decisions.
- Launched a remote online notary offering, reframing a reactive cancel-save into a proactive product; measured against a control group, participants showed ~25% higher ARPU within 30 days, with the six-month cohort trending about a month longer in tenure.
- (As Director, Agile Transformation) Led the project-to-product operating-model transition across a 300-person technology organization — running quarterly planning and prioritization for a 12-team program and leading 7 product owners; partnered with the Controller on a revised CapEx documentation and allocation approach, contributing to a 10% favorable operating-income variance to forecast.
- (As Assistant Director, PMO) Coordinated business continuity and the work-from-home transition for a 3,000-person workforce across four states — enabling back-to-back record quarters; built the UK-expansion regulatory business plan, successfully submitted to the UK FCA.
Vivint — Provo, UT · 2016 – 2020
Smart home security; $1.25B revenue; 1.5M+ subscribers
Manager, Onsite Acquisition (2018 – 2020)
- Led the marketing-technology stack, web flows, and operating cadence supporting digital acquisition channels representing 40% of company revenue; built the project-management discipline and hired and led a team of 4.
Conversion Optimization Specialist (2016 – 2018)
- Built and launched Vivint’s conversion-testing program with a prioritization framework and documented standards, driving double-digit conversion gains across the lead-to-install funnel.
The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints Salt Lake City, UT · 2012 – 2016 – Publishing Services (in-house agency) for a global organization of 17M members
Product Manager — Conversion Optimization, Web Analytics & Feedback (2012 – 2016)
- Scaled an A/B testing program from zero to 60+ tests annually — a repeatable enterprise capability spanning 26 departments and 80+ teams, without positional authority.
- Led analytics strategy and tooling adoption across 250+ websites and applications; introduced a Lean UX rapid-testing process that lifted weekly digital engagement by 110K (2× baseline).
Digital Producer (2010 – 2012)
- Managed end-to-end publishing process for multiple departments: layout, editing, approvals, translation, analytics.
FOCUS AREAS
Enterprise transformation · Strategic & portfolio operations · Governance and planning cadence · Regulatory remediation (CFPB) & GRC operations · Investment and business-case governance · Product & portfolio operations · Enterprise AI governance · Agile operating models (SAFe SPC)
EDUCATION & CREDENTIALS
M.S., Strategic Communication — Westminster College
B.A., Communication (Digital Media) — Brigham Young University–Idaho
SAFe Program Consultant (SPC)