Expertise

The most critical focus of leadership is people. In my experience, I have led teams of a few people to several hundred people. The key, for me, is open communication, collaboration, integrity, honesty and compassion. This focus ensures high performance and employee satisfaction. I am certified in Situational Leadership and believe it's important to adapt my leadership style and approach to the individual and the situation at hand.

The father of Continuous Process Improvement, W. Edwards Deming, once said, “If you can’t describe what you are doing as a process, you don’t know what you’re doing.” More often than not, when there is a problem in an organization, I believe it is a breakdown in a process rather than a human mistake. 

I am ITIL Certified and have successfully implemented ITIL-based best practices for many organizations.

At the heart of IT is technology and it's why IT exists. However, it's important to identify the right technology that best meets the needs of the business at the best possible cost. The technology also needs to be secure, scalable, supportable and compatible with the overall enterprise architecture. I have experience and expertise in nearly all aspects of modern technologies used by businesses.

 Digital transformation refers to the process of using digital technologies to fundamentally change how organizations operate and deliver value to customers. It involves integrating digital tools and strategies into all aspects of a business, from operations to customer interactions, to improve efficiency, enhance customer experience, and create new opportunities for growth. Through most of my career as an IT leader, I have focused on helping businesses grow, be more productive and more profitable through the effective use of transformational technologies.

Artificial Intelligence is a rapidly evolving field that holds immense potential to transform various aspects of our lives. As it continues to develop, ongoing research and ethical considerations will be critical in shaping its future impact. While it's important for businesses to embrace the technology, it's equally important for businesses to do so in a planful and careful manner. I have experience implementing ChatGPT and Microsoft Copilot.

My first exposure to the "cloud" was when I managed the global Beta test for vCloud Director when I was a Technical Support Manager for VMware. Since then, I have built and managed cloud instances in AWS and Azure, including on-premises to cloud and cloud to cloud migrations. Additionally, I was an early adopter of Microsoft 365 and have deep technical expertise across the entire suite.

Cybersecurity is crucial because it protects sensitive data, personal information, and critical infrastructure from theft, damage, and unauthorized access by malicious actors, safeguarding businesses by preventing financial losses, reputational harm, and potential disruptions to operations caused by cyberattacks like phishing, ransomware, and data breaches. Cybersecurity has been a top priority for me through my career.

I have also successfully defended one of my employers from a major ransomware attack. 

I have built, rebuilt and relocated data centers for Longmont United Hospital, International Catastrophe Managers and IMA Financial Group. I have experience and experience in all aspects of data center design, construction, maintenance and protection, including on-premises and co-location.

Microsoft 365 is the bread and butter of most enterprises across the globe.  However, it is often one of the most underutilized products in corporate portfolios. More than just email, Word, Excel and PowerPoint, there is a massive suite of productivity apps just waiting to be surfaced. I have extensive experience and expertise across the entire Microsoft 365 suite, including business-to-business tenant migrations.

I have over 20 years' experience managing IT in the financial services, healthcare and insurance industries.  In each of those, compliance with applicable laws and regulations. I have worked closely with Legal teams to identify necessary compliance requirements, developed policies to ensure compliance, conducted audits to determine compliance levels and mitigated any findings.

Disasters and unplanned outages can strike at any moment, putting the business at risk. My first priority is on Business Continuity to minimize or prevent disasters from impacting the business. However, if there is an impact then I immediately focus on Disaster Recovery to restore the business to normal operations as quickly as possible.  The enterprise architecture must be built, from the ground-up, with Business Continuity in mind, utilizing high-availability and fault-tolerant solutions. Disaster Recovery is facilitated by working with business stakeholders to develop comprehensive planning to account for unplanned outages.

 While most of Mergers and Acquisition activities focus on the business, legal, accounting, personnel and financial aspects of the deal, technology integration and support are important considerations to ensure the deal is successful and the new/combined entity is productive and secure. I have led IT organizations through assessing, acquiring and integrating multiple companies as well as being acquired by other organizations.