Mark Bye Email & Phone Number

Senior IT Leader and member of Senior leadership team at Outdoor Custom Sportswear, LLC / Triform Custom Apparel, LLC, primary producer of custom and licensed apparel for Columbia Sportwear and Adidas in the wholesale market - based in Leawood, KS. Responsible for leading all aspects of technology, including ERP and Warehouse management systems, technology infrastructure and support, identifying needs and implementing flexible solutions to support business growth. Dimensions: 2 states, 3 sites, 100+ employees, 4 IT reports, annual budget responsibility for $1.2M (opex & capex)• Implemented technology strategic planning processes to align business / technology direction and goals.• Introduced formal project management and review processes, improving communications and work planning.• Leveraged ERP automation capabilities to create process efficiencies, improved order accuracy and saving $175K+ per year so far.• Expanded EDI capabilities with business partners, improving order entry accuracy and speed while reducing labor costs.• Optimized Microsoft 365 services to include significant security and capability improvements at $0 additional cost.• Expanded risk management by implementing 24x7x365 network and data security monitoring and active response.• Implemented robust offsite backup / DR replication capabilities and $0 additional opex / capex cost.• Upgraded network structure to improve network availability, flexibility, and performance, while lowering yearly costs.• Reduced network password reset requests by implementing Self Service Password Reset (SSPR), improving employee experience and service desk efficiency.

Leawood, Kansas, Us

Member of Senior IT Leadership team; responsible for all IT infrastructure and end user support for CrossFirst Bank, a highly successful and fast-growing commercial bank based in Leawood, KS. Responsible for managing and supporting the network, infrastructure, service desk, identifying needs and implementing flexible solutions to support business growth. Dimensions: 7 states, 17 sites, 470+ employees, 8 IT reports, $201.8M in revenue, $6.6B in assets and annual budget responsibility of $8.9M (opex & capex)• Successfully integrated five acquired bank sites and systems into CrossFirst Bank technology infrastructure, expanding product offerings and bank footprint.• Successfully migrated Data Centers to improve reliability, efficiency, and cost-effectiveness.• Upgraded SDWAN network structure to improve network availability, flexibility, and performance. • Reduced network password reset requests 90% with Self Service Password Reset (SSPR), improving employee experience and service desk efficiency.

Leawood, Kansas, Us

Establishing and growing the technology infrastructure group for CrossFirst Bank, a successful and fast-growing commercial bank based in Leawood, KS. Joined the technology leadership team to establish and grow the technology infrastructure group. Responsible for managing and supporting the network, infrastructure, cybersecurity products and programs, vendor and risk management, identifying needs and implementing flexible solutions to support business growth.• Successfully prepared for and responded to resilience and remote access needs during the Covid-19 crisis.• Upgraded from traditional to SDWAN network structure: improving network flexibility, performance, and availability, enabling efficient cloud application access.• Strengthened Information Security capabilities by implementing Arctic Wolf SOC-as-a-Service, an innovative managed security service addressing security threat intelligence, SIEM services, internal and external vulnerability scanning, 24x7 monitoring and response.• Expanded usage of Azure IaaS to include Office 365 data protection.• Continually automating operational processes such as Backup and DR, data encryption management, print management, infrastructure configuration management, storage optimization. Implemented full featured IT Service Management system, improving our capabilities in Change, Problem, Asset, and SLA management.• Implemented centralized management and data protection for VMware branch infrastructure.• Updated Network QoS structure to address voice quality and network performance needs.• Implemented secure corporate Wi-Fi services.

Consulted on Data Center Infrastructure projects, including VMWare and Storage migrations.

Lenexa, Kansas, Us

Led the IT group, including infrastructure and application development areas, for a dynamic and growing automotive parts supplier focused on restoration and repair parts for the classic truck market, supporting 375+ employees.• Reviewed and evaluated the overall state of technology and developed a plan to implement cost-effective technology to support strategic business growth.• Designed and implemented core data center virtualization upgrades, gaining an order of magnitude improvements in performance, built-in backup and disaster recovery capabilities.• Improved visibility and management process for internally developed ERP system, focusing on improving data quality, process automation, and productivity-enhancing changes.• Saved 15% of telecom budget after effectively renegotiating voice services contract expenses.

Lead Infrastructure, Network and Systems strategy and operations for more than 60 banking and mortgage centers in 14 states, including network, security, telephone systems, Internet banking, and remote applications. Evaluated hardware, software, and SaaS purchases, managed vendor relationships, and ensured that SLAs were maintained. Worked proactively to ensure compliance with all data security requirements. Trained, developed directed, and supported team members.* Spearheaded the design and implementation our Infrastructure Modernization Transformation initiative to support business goals of a highly mobile workforce while maintaining a high level of security and improving performance for enterprise and cloud based services.* Led the research, evaluation and implementation of systems to reduce downtime and improve business resilience, including project management and implementation of Zerto DR application.* Co-led implementation of SQL based enterprise reporting and analytics systems for Mortgage and Bank operations, resulting in $1MM+ savings and increased profitability through data driven management.* Significantly increased operational efficiency through SQL driven mortgage operations process automation.* Developed and led high performing Infrastructure/Network/Systems teams.* Regularly reported to CIO and Board of Directors on projects, service delivery, industry trends and best practices, and other subjects.* Worked with Chief Security Officer (CSO) to review and manage IT and Data security, including policy recommendations, security applications, firewall rule-sets and router ACLs, as well as regular internal and penetration testing of security systems implementation.* Negotiated Microsoft licensing agreement options to optimize for business needs and pricing.

Promoted from Network Engineer in June of 2001; led PC and hardware and software activities and network design and installation for 27+ branches in 3 states• Served as Administrator for Windows and Novell Local Area Networks with multiple servers.• Managed Wide Area Network, including design and implementation.• Managed Colorado data center operations.• Designed and implemented security systems, including firewalls, Mobile user and Site-to-Site VPN, antivirus and disk encryption.• Introduced VMWare virtualization to data center, significantly reducing server costs while increasing flexibility and uptime.