Date, Time, and Location

Wednesday, October 7, 2026, 9:25 a.m. - 10:10 a.m.
Commonwealth Room, 50 Washington Street, Westborough, MA

Session Description

The University has used Oracle as its Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) System since XXXX. We are now X years into the planning process for selecting a new ERP. David Nero will review the process to date and the next steps. He will highlight some of the opportunities and challenges that confront the University as we select and implement a new ERP and how that experience will be transformative for the University.  There will be an opportunity for participants to ask questions during and after David’s presentation.

During the second half of this module, John Dunlap will review change management models that focus on how both the individual and an organization adopt to change. These models include the ADKAR Model and Kotter’s 8-Step Process. These change management models may inform how the University prepares for the major system-wide changes that could occur during the implementation of a new ERP.

Session Documentation

  • Available upon request

Speaker Bios

John Dunlap

John Dunlap serves as the Chief Human Resources Officer for the UMass President’s Office. He has worked for the University since March of 2018. His prior positions include:

  • Director of Employee and Labor Relations for the Massachusetts Institute of Technology
  • Chief of Personnel and Labor for the City of Boston
  • Director of Human Resources for the Town of Brookline

John holds a bachelor’s degree in communications from the University of Massachusetts Amherst and a master’s degree in public administration from Northeastern University.

He previously served as the Chair of the Massachusetts Division of Labor Relations Advisory Board and received the 2012 Cushing Gavin Labor Relations Award for a Management Representative.

David Nero

David Nero is Associate Vice President for Strategy & Innovation where he leads enterprise transformation initiatives focused on administrative modernization, shared services, strategic planning, and operational excellence. He has played a leadership role in major initiatives including Shared Services, various system-wide technology projects, and Project NextGen.

Prior to joining UMass, David served as Chief Information Officer at Perkins School for the Blind and spent nearly two decades with the City of Boston in a series of leadership roles, culminating as Deputy Chief Information Officer.

David holds a Masters of Public Administration from the State University of New York at Albany and a bachelor's degree in Political Science from State University of New York at Cortland.

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