Andy Bennett Email & Phone Number

Round Rock, Texas, Us

I Joined Apollo in September of 2020, hit the ground running and have never looked back. I promoted to CTO from VP of Technology (still the CISO in both roles) in February 2024 after three and a half years of rapid growth, both as a company and as a professional. As the CTO of Apollo, no two days are the same, in a good way. I guide service delivery for professional and managed services. Other days are focused on develop technology and service offering strategies to meet future business needs for Apollo and our clients, and some days I spend as a pure play as the CISO as I handle the internal security program focused on identifying, reducing, managing and planning for the unmanageable risks we face.Since the Fall of 2020, I have had the privilege to build and lead a team of highly senior cybersecurity professionals who deliver top notch results as we have gone from 11 people and no services (managed or otherwise) to 80 FTEs, 150 contractors in our contingent bench and 8 figures in service delivery. The growth has been explosive, and the complexity of the portfolio is massive.To succeed in this role I have had to build a team I can rely on. I have advocated for them with the rest of the executive team to get the resources they need while demanding operational excellence from each and every one of them. Another key element of success in this role has been effective communication across a diverse set of internal and external stakeholders and leveraging data to ensure strategic alignment to both our own internal business needs and those of our partners and customers.

Round Rock, Texas, Us

Both internal and customer facing, ensure that Apollo is ready to securely support our customers' in meeting their security and IT enterprise operations needs.Ensure that the internal Apollo security and compliance program is up to date and meets the need of the organization as well as the vendor compliance requirements of our customers.Take a business-centric approach to information security solutions to help customers and stakeholders understand risk exposure and partner with them develop a strategy to mitigate those risks in alignment with the business needs and risk appetite of each client.Strike a balance between strategic planning an tactical action and prioritize initiatives and implementation to ensure current and future business needs are securely met. From developing a strategic roadmap to reviewing and designing security architectures and reviewing third party providers for fit and purpose within the Apollo portfolio.Leverage specialties in incident response and preparedness and help customers and stakeholders prepare to weather the worst threats cyberspace has to offer.Lead customer engagements in business continuity, security & enterprises architecture, IT operations, cloud migration, incident preparedness and response, ransomware consulting (pre and post attack) and overall security program design.Provides inclusive leadership and direction that fosters teamwork, harmony, professional collaboration, and a spirit of partnership across all divisions, and a diverse set of stakeholdersResearch security trends, security technology, best practices, regulations and legislation to provide guidance and recommendations and ensure that Apollo’s portfolio is always able to meet the needs of our clients and stakeholders.Ensure appropriate governance for oversight, development and implementation of information security strategies, policies and procedures.Manage security and business concerns for M&A cycles and lead complex contract negotiations.

Austin, Tx, Us

Reporting to, and working with, the State CISO, to provide oversight of the agency’s strategic cybersecurity policy, planning and governance activities. Plays a key role as a statewide strategic partner leading and translating statewide business needs into information security service offerings that support and secure the business of the State as a whole.Establish governance for, developing, implementing, and providing oversight of statewide information security strategies, services, policies, procedures and guidelines in response to new security technology issues and threats.Research security trends, security technologies, best practices, regulations and legislation to provide guidance and recommendations to the CISO and statewide partners. Develop, deliver, and optimize IT operations and services that support business areas and securely meet their needs.Manage a broad portfolio of projects, services and relationships to provide services, solutions, and consultation that support and secure more than 220 government agencies and institutes of higher education and 325,000 employees.Coordinate and mature statewide security service capability and delivery.Coordinates state inter-agency security communication and information sharing including technical and governance security advisement and customer service engagement.Coordinates federal and state information sharing and collaboration for cybersecurity incident response.Monitors and analyzes proposed legislation, and changes in industry security and privacy standards and drafts appropriate modifications to statewide security strategies, regulations, policies, standards, and procedures.Communicates and collaborates with stakeholders at all levels across government and industry. Prepares and delivers presentations with public officials and staff, advisory groups, public entity personnel and private industry.

Austin, Tx, Us

IT Operations Director leading a fantastic team of 60. Together we securely managed the IAM needs for 56000+ employees and millions of citizens. My teams spanned the HHS system and had a very real impact on the day to day performance and security of this very complex large scale environment and its mix of architectures, versions, and access models that serve a group of stakeholders as diverse as the people of Texas.Responsible for the following:Build and maintain a secure, scaleable and stable access management system.Own the strategic road map and manage all IAM related initiatives.Ensure security through best practices throughout the identity lifecycle.Investigate and identify system issues, deficiencies and weaknesses and design solutions to fully remediate and prevent future re-occurrences.Hire, build, mentor, train and retain a world class team of security, testing and IAM professionals.Use best practices and real world info to develop and assess against data-driven metrics.Effectively manage and accomplish work by delegating to a large department of talented professionals.Identify and securely accommodate critical and unique user groups with specialized access needs.Engage stakeholders to build the network required to successfully deliver service and results across the system.Plan, organize, direct, control, identify, and objectively evaluate technology and services in support of agency and enterprise functions.Take initiative to identify and move on opportunities for consolidation and improvement.Participates in inter-organizational management communications, facilitates the development of appropriate technology solutions to improve agency operations, and actively supports the enterprise’s goals and objectives.Succession and contingency planning to cover the loss of critical personnel in any role.Build and maintain in-depth, end-to-end, business and technical knowledge of agency systems and processes to ensure effective service delivery.

Huntsville, Tx, Us

Built the Center of Excellence in Digital Forensics from a failing, nearly defunct, department initiative to a thriving cyber nexus with applied research, student development, community contributions and engagement in cybersecurity, digital forensics, law enforcement (local, state, and federal), training programs, industry and government collaborations and more.Provided direction and vision through leadership and strategic planning for the Center.Maintained comprehensive operational and organizational knowledge of 5 research and support programs, 3 training and outreach programs, and manage/facilitate 25+ ongoing and concurrent projects, and other collaborative initiatives of the Center. Kept costs down to maximize resource availability for necessary projects, worth-while research and professional development opportunitiesManaged operations of the Center and ensure compliance with all applicable state and federal laws, regulations, and standardsTestified to TX legislative committees as neededIntroduced cost recovery strategies to ensure long term sustainabilityKept abreast of and assess the potential impact and use of new technologiesNegotiated and approved contractual obligations and engagementsBudgeted and approved capital, travel, maintenance and other expendituresProvided and ensured professional development and experience opportunities for all staffDirected hiring, training, and evaluation of personnelDeveloped partnerships with law enforcement, government, and industry leading enterprisesIdentified and developed strategic alliances with corporate and federal decision and policy makers Liaised with other internal departments, and state agencies to further the CenterWorked directly with law enforcement: teaching classes and assisting in investigationsEstablished working relationship with public and private partners such as the FBI, and Sierra Nevada Corp.Developed, implement, and assess strategic and financial plan for future growth and success

Huntsville, Tx, Us

I managed all aspects of information technology operations, from design to implementation and support, for the teaching and research environments for the Department of Computer Science at SHSU.Design and implement cutting edge education and research oriented infrastructure leveraging multiple datacenters and virtualization/ cloud computingtechnologyManage and educate a small but effective team of versatile workers who help maintain existing systems as well as implement new solutions for upcomingprojectsResearch, advise, and direct technology direction/purchases and vendor relationsFunction as a bridge between divisional silos to dissolve the barriers that prevent effective inter-divisional cooperationTranslate executive goals into functional requirements and actionable strategiesDevelop and apply metrics to identify and adjust to short and long-term needs and goalsManage personnel, including scheduling, evaluation, training, corrective counseling, promotion and terminationPlan, test, implement and maintain hardware, software, and infrastructure from the datacenter through to the end user. Work closely with cross-divisionalstakeholders to ensure needs are met within the best practices/requirements of the institution as a wholeLeverage existing technologies and system environments in innovative ways to help ensure that new tech projects and initiatives are achievable on-scheduleand within budgetEffectively plan to meet future capacity/capability requirementsImplement effective training and continuing education processes by ensuring the complete documentation of all processes so that business needs will be metregardless of staff on hand or turnoverResearch industry trends and cutting edge practices and present them in terminology that will be easily understood by technical and non-technical staff alikeEncourage professional and personal growth and excellenceTake a hands-on leadership role in incident response and disaster recovery situations

Reston, Va, Us

Successfully facilitate the migration of server side applications and information in support of Marathons hardware refresh effort. Work with the client and vendors to glean background information about each system. Work hands-on to gather technical specifications and requirements for each system. Perform root cause analysis of previous refresh/migration failures where applicable. Develop strategic migration plans which address each systems unique requirements. Prepare tactical contingency plans to manage migration hiccups as they arise. Conduct and participate in migration plan meetings with stakeholders and management to get insight on and approval of migration plans. Facilitate the migration implementations by coordinating various teams and vendors primarily using influence and suggestion, instead of authority, wheneverpossible. Ensure proper testing and validation of each system before final handoff. Energetically pursue the timely achievement of all project milestones and goals. Provide effective updates of every step to Project Management matrix supervisor. Employ tact and tenacity while engaging decision makers and motivating others during all stages of the process. Work well and achieve goals in an ambiguous, matrix management, work environment.This contract was successfully completed and I separated from SAIC in June 2008 due to a lack of additional work to be done.

Consulting Engagement to help the bank recover from losing its IT staff and maintain continuity of operations.Manage resources and ensured IT needs were met for six branches in three counties Assess business requirements with direct input from staff and upper management of every functional area to determine current and future BCP/DR and IT needs Translate business requirements into an actionable plan for presentation to the executive steering committee Develop IT policy and implemented new IT and physical security control processes Design, implement, and review Active Directory policies, settings, and accounts across multiple domains Work with vendors to ensure effective management of outsourced systems; escalate concerns to VP as necessary Establish a program for testing and updating BC/DR strategies and practices Manage data center and infrastructure maintenance and troubleshooting efforts Plan, execute, and test migrations of legacy equipment to modern equipment Plan and managed backup systems and procedures to meet compliance requirements Manage the integration of new systems and applications Configured and managed specialized servers for programs such as Citrix and Websense

Huntsville, Tx, Us

Served as backup manager for specialized team dedicated to supporting a single University department. Acted as an interdepartmental liaison, articulating Library needs to other departments in order to minimize interdepartmental slowdowns on collaborativeprojects. Collaborated with other management and the director to develop strategic plan for Library needs in terms of IT requirements, business continuity and disasterrecovery strategies, and emergency response procedures. Researched cutting edge technologies to fulfill Library and archival specific needs. Prepared department budgets and presented to upper management. Staff administration: management of systems/support office and support team, applicant interviews, staff scheduling and reviews, and resourcerecommendations. Fostered a collaborative, team oriented work environment emphasizing ownership and innovation. Managed and assigned service request tickets for incidents and equipment requests. Migrated old metadata and inventory systems to new versions and equipment at the end of each versions lifecycle of six to nine months. Documented known issues and solutions for future use facilitating rapid response. Assisted with desktop hardware and software troubleshooting as needed. Hands on management of IT infrastructure maintenance in the data center including routers, switches, and servers; including Windows Server 2003 Forest. Managed operation of imaging/test lab for new policy and technology evaluation. Supported enterprise environment consisting of over 12,000 nodes and 25,000 users. Proposed and assisted with organizational restructuring to break down silos and increase efficiency and client satisfaction.Also worked as a book binder and took a break from work to focus on studies 01/16/2003 to 08/16/2003

Manage a small but effective team that included sales, clerical, and technical staff Cultivate and facilitate acquisition of high value clients such as radio stations and government offices Assist high value local clients, such as Texas Dept of Criminal Justice and radio stations, with Disaster Recovery strategy planning and development. Maintain high levels of customer satisfaction to facilitate repeat business Design, install, and configure home and office networks for clients Completion or supervision of more than thirty in-house repairs and upgrades per day Managed local ISP, providing internet access, both dialup and DSL

Hardware troubleshooting and repair New product and service market development research Customer relations and service proposals Presentation preparation for large client sales Onsite service calls Cross platform (multiple OS) integrations System upgrade and migration Contract corporate rollout team collaborations

Ed.D., Learning Technologies

Ms, Information Assurance And Security

Bachelor'S Degree, History/French