Boyer is pleased to announce that Shelley Geraci is joining our team as our newest ERP and CRM project manager for Microsoft Dynamics.
Geraci has 20 years of experience as a project manager and 15 years of experience within Microsoft Dynamics CRM solutions.
She didn’t start out as a project manager though. From her first job in the 1980s as a dispatcher at Time Warner Cable to developing a software solution for a manufacturing company in the 1990s, Geraci’s winding career path turned her into an “accidental project manager.”
As it turned out, PM work suited her well, since she likes structure and details. She decided to study for her Project Management Professional certificate 15 years ago. Then she became Six Sigma-certified, and now she has multiple Microsoft Dynamics certifications on the CRM side.
“I just fell in love with what these types of solutions can provide us to make key business decisions but also manage our day,” Geraci said. Whether corporate executives are planning for the next big initiative or end users are managing their daily tasks, the right CRM system can make a big difference in a company’s success.
To date, Geraci’s favorite project was a year-long global implementation of CRM software in 2007 for a concrete company. The project for Hanson Building Products took her all over the U.S., Canada, Australia and the UK, bringing nearly 900 people onto the same system while still adhering to local standards and requirements. Some of those affected still used yellow paper pads to track their sales and were more than happy to move to an online system.
“It was fun. We became a family … We got to see the impact so that was probably my most favorite one,” she said.
Her growing passion for Microsoft CRM software led her to the Dynamics Community User Groups. She started and led the Cincinnati, Ohio Chapter of Microsoft Dynamics CRMUG in 2013. The chapter covers Ohio, Indiana and Kentucky, and she is still its co-chair today. Geraci also was a previous member of the Board of Advisors for the Dynamics User Group Community and is still heavily involved with the community at large.
“Once you create (a CRM), it’s a living, breathing part of your daily life.”
Shelley Geraci, CRM project manager
Geraci has worked some with SalesForce but mainly within Microsoft Dynamics CRM over the past 15 years.
“Even though it’s a platform and it comes with a foundation, it can be anything you want it to be. It’s creative,” Geraci said. “I think it’s like an art so I enjoy that aspect of business problem solving or creating a vision.”
Since each system is so unique and its own creation, Geraci encourages her clients to name their newly implemented CRM.
“Once you create it, it’s a living, breathing part of your daily life,” she explained. Two clients named their CRM system Merlin, and one went as far as throwing an entire naming party. Another went with the name Sam, a friendly acronym for Sales Automation and Marketing — and Geraci’s favorite name for a CRM system so far.
While she specializes in the details of CRM project management, Geraci has dabbled in several other areas of software that make her a “jack of all trades.” She has experience as a solution architect, developer and end user and knows how to configure software and write flows, among other things.
“That helps round out my skills as a project manager, and I think it helps me more effectively manage the projects I’m on,” she said.
Geraci heard about the position at Boyer through a former coworker, who touted Boyer’s team-centered culture. The idea of working for a closely-knit team — and one that specializes in nonprofits — intrigued her. She always dreamed of starting her own nonprofit but never had the opportunity. Working at Boyer gives her a chance to help existing nonprofits continue their mission.
“Boyer interests me because of being in the nonprofit space so you kind of get to mix your job and your passion together,” she said.
Her title at Boyer is officially ERP & CRM project manager, but she expects to work mostly on the CRM side. She already started working on one big project and anticipates adding more to her list soon.
“I’m happy to be here. I’m excited,” she said.
Love for family, roller skating and football
Geraci lives in Cincinnati, Ohio, surrounded by family. She has four grown sons, three daughters-in-law and 7 grandchildren who all live within two hours of her home.
“We’re a pretty close family,” Geraci said.
She lived in Florida for a while but moved back to Ohio a year ago because she didn’t like missing out on the small but special everyday moments with her grandbabies. The entire family still frequently travels to Tarpon Springs, Fl., their home away from home.
Geraci’s longtime hobby, that she’s passed on to her boys and grandkids, is roller skating. She started at age 10 skating every day and has won four Roller Speed Skating National Championships. She still roller skates on a regular basis, including most Wednesdays with her grandkids.
“Skating has always been kind of a lifeline for me. I’ve just always done it,” Geraci said. She loves the smells of the roller rink and always keeps her quads and inline skates readily accessible.
She’s also a big football fan, especially anytime one of her boys or grandchildren are playing or coaching.
In case that’s not enough to keep her busy, she likes to buy and sell houses, paint, decorate, attend Broadway shows, attend craft beer and wine tastings and eat pretty much any kind of pizza (except pineapple).
