Rick Amari, Founder & Managing Partner

Strategic Information Technology leader

Rick Amari is the Founder & Managing Partner of Columbus Consulting, which is currently recognized as the largest boutique consulting firm in North America that serves retail. Rick focuses on the Strategic IT practice, assisting retailers with IT Assessments and Strategy. The practice also includes Interim CIO services and working with Private Equity groups on Merger and Acquisition assessments and positioning. Rick has 30+ years of experience in the retail industry, specifically in the Information Technology discipline.

Experience

• DSW, Inc. – Interim CIO
  • CCI has conducted over 20 projects at DSW. A complete IT assessment study yielded a RoadMap that has been the path for projects in various disciplines including Planning, eCommerce, and Store POS. Rick held the Interim CIO title during the summer of 2007
• Express – Program Management Office
  • Created Transition Plan for the establishment of Information Technology capabilities for the spin-off from Limitedbrands. Plan consisted of hardware, application, and organizational requirements. A supporting pro-forma financial was generated for both capital and operating costs, by month, for the full duration of the conversion. Staffed the implementation project to enable the plan.
• The Limited, Inc. – Group CIO
  • Led efforts to replace all home office systems for Limited Stores, Lerner New York, Limited Too, and Lane Bryant brands. Completed a series of 20 conversions over 16 months, replacing primarily custom mainframe applications with packaged solutions. First company-wide, corporate-driven project of its kind at The Limited and was met with significant business and IT resistance. All projects delivered on time and within budget parameters