Ira Watkins

About Ira Watkins

As the Director of Project Management at Sunwest Bank, I help bring structure and planning to bear on executing the bank’s strategic priorities. With a small team of dedicated professionals in the Project Management Office, I adapt our project approach to the needs of the organization. I’ve had the pleasure of working on projects of various types and sizes: large ones, like when we purchased a building, refurbished it, and moved our operations team into it; complex ones such as when we executed a critical software system conversion; and small ones like when we implemented a cost-saving travel expense vendor.In my world, no two days are the same. I enjoy technical IT projects where I can lean on my IT background and ability to translate requirements into actionable steps, and projects where I must learn new skills to implement a solution, such as when I learned about SQL/database design, card transaction processing, and the entire ACH process.What fills my cup is developing team members and watching them grow and succeed in life. I also enjoy giving back to the community and helping youth and underserved communities find their footing professionally. When I’m not at work, I enjoy spending time with my family, nerding out about performance cars, and exploring new places.

Experience

1. SVP, Director of Project Management

   Sunwest Bank

   Mar 2025 — Present · Irvine, CA, US

Education

• Webster University

  Master of Arts (M.A.), Information Technology Management

• University of California, Irvine - The Paul Merage School of Business

  Executive MBA

• The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill

  Bachelor of Arts (B.A.), Peace, War, & Defense

Skills

• Insurance
• Cross-Functional Team Leadership
• U.s. Department of Defense
• Business Process Improvement
• Conflict Resolution
• IT Management
• Operational Planning
• Program Management
• Information Technology
• Interagency Coordination
• Critical Thinking
• Veteran
• Technical Support
• Agile & Waterfall Methodologies
• Presentations
• Army
• Military
• Microsoft Project
• Data Analysis
• Microsoft Excel
• Negotiation
• Sap
• Information Assurance
• Account Management
• Command
• IT Project & Program Management
• Veterans
• Network Security
• Leadership
• Comptia Security+ Certified
• Comptia Network+ Certified
• Management
• Business Intelligence
• Project Planning
• Active Ts/Sci Clearance
• Airborne
• Coaching
• Military Operations
• Scrum
• Customer Service