Responsible for translating ADACEN’s vision into actionable plans, overseeing the implementation of business strategies, and optimizing operational processes, both business and technical. Engage and support an executive team to align operational decisions with financial goals, secure funding when necessary, and implement scalable financial processes that support ADACEN’s trajectory towards success in the dynamic technology landscape.

Staying current with the latest NIST guidelines and frameworks, particularly NIST Special Publication 800-53 and 800-171. Collaborate with internal teams to implement controls and measures to meet NIST requirements. Work closely with the data center operations team to assess and enhance physical and logical security measures. Develop and update organizational policies and procedures related to NIST compliance and data center security.

With the merging of Gannett and Gatehouse Media, requested to lead the combined technology (data center, networking, and local markets), cybersecurity, IT compliance and privacy teams providing greater efficiencies and cost reductions through various consolidation efforts. The following are highlights of my leadership with a team of 100+ individuals:Moved to a 100% remote workforce due to the pandemic while still supporting local resources and technology in physical locations where remote work was not an option, specifically print site locations.Planned and executed data center consolidations that went from 9 physical locations down to 2 in geographical diverse locations. These consolidations included the physical movement of equipment, migrations to public cloud, and the transition to SaaS environments.Responsible for the strategic leadership of the organization’s Information Security program, including cybersecurity engineering and operations, incident response, identity management, financial (SOX and PCI) and privacy (HIPAA, GDPR, CCPA) compliance, and security awareness. Presented frequent updates on cybersecurity and compliance efforts to business leaders and auditors, as well as quarterly updates to Board members.Led the Cybersecurity Incident Response Team (CIRT) that developed and managed a process for information security incidents. Formalized the Executive Incident Response Team (EIRT) and acted as the primary control point providing leadership, direction, and guidance in assessing and evaluating information security risks.Managed operating expense budgets more than $30M annually.

Provide strategic direction to 100+ technical experts, including technical managers, across multiple geographic regions within the US. My leadership covers functional teams that are responsible for enterprise delivery of core server technology (Windows, Intel, iSeries, virtualization), networking and voice, business operations, collaboration and workflow (Office365 and G-Suite), identity management (Active Directory, Okta, Novell e-Directory), client computing (Windows, Macs, and mobile devices), and security risk management across all Gannett divisions. Notable areas of focus:Significant information security initiatives teams focused on architecture & engineering (cloud adoption, threat analysis, vulnerability management), governance, policy, and compliance (PCI, SOX, eDiscovery/preservation, user training), and incident response/forensics. Successfully achieve Record on Compliance for PCI as a Level 1 merchant since inception for compliance.A primary technical resource engaged in defining and performing the successful business and technology separation of Gannett in to two publicly traded companies, TEGNA and Gannett.Actively involved in due diligence activities associated with acquisition activities, including the acquisitions of Journal Media Group, North Jersey Media Group, ReachLocal, SweetIQ, and WordStream. Led many post acquisition integration activities identifying strong synergy opportunities providing additional savings.Engagement in real estate activities, specifically associated with company owned data centers, outlining opportunities to sell and lease back or retain. This effort has led to the consolidation of five data centers down to two. One of the remaining two data centers was sold where Gannett is operating in a lease back engagement within the same facility providing annual savings.Propose and manage future capital investments in excess of $10M annually and operating expenses in excess of $35M annually.

2015 finalist and 2004 nomination for “Corporate Staffer of the Year” recognizing exemplary work by introducing innovative initiatives and supporting Gannett’s strategic plan.Managed staff supporting five internal data centers and numerous shared service centers providing 7x24x365 coverage of day-to-day business activities for 80+ daily newspapers, 30+ broadcast stations, and Gannett websites.Negotiated enterprise agreements; leading technical teams through the deployment leveraging these agreements.Spearheaded core technology and business changes evolving the organization from a decentralized autonomous organization to achieve centralization and consolidation efficiencies providing significant ROI. A few notable changes include:- Centralized 130+ distributed Exchange 2000 mailbox servers to 12 highly available Exchange 2007 server environments supporting 30,000 users achieving 37% ROI. Directed successful migration to Office365.- Centralized and consolidated 80+ distributed iSeries machines supporting backend core business functions into 4 iSeries machines achieving 43% ROI.- Pioneered the use of dark fiber connectivity from carrier hotels to strategic Gannett facilities achieving greater than 100% ROI.- Led numerous integration activities associated with acquisition activities identifying synergies achieving cost reductions.Directed security initiatives minimizing exposures, threats, and vulnerabilities; achieved PCI compliance as a Level 1 merchant and adherence to Sarbanes-Oxley.Analyzed all technology capital investments, including capital plans for UK operations.Developed revenue opportunities leveraging optical networking and data center assets providing a digital ecosystem to outside organizations providing greater than 50% net profit margins.Participated in several enterprise advisory boards driving future technology directions. Developed and proposed appropriate data center investments optimizing power and cooling.

1997 recipient of the “Gannett Unsung Hero” award honoring employees who give the company exemplary service each and every day.Managed and led a technical team of 15 individuals spanning many technology platforms (AS/400’s, Microsoft, Novell, and various networking technologies).Identified, planned, deployed, and supported various enterprise roll outs associated with hardware upgrades and changes, operating system updates and patches, and various application enhancements.

Managed all day-to-day operations of USA TODAY Circulation processing (newspaper delivery and financial accounting).Deployed technology enhancements to internally developed applications and third-party products hosted on AS/400’s.Managed the support help desk across three regional centers for all distributed USA TODAY locations.

Provided technical expertise on IBM mainframe environments supporting MVS, VM, VSE, and CICS.Responsible for all network planning, testing, and implementation of VTAM and NCP changes interconnecting the mainframe platform to various outsides services and internal AS/400’s.

Acquired Top Secret security clearance, with polygraph, supporting CIA headquarters.Responsible for IBM VTAM and NCP network configurations and changes.Selected by peers as the leader of technology assignments for unclassified information prior to permanent assignment.