Mike Cotrone Email & Phone Number

Greensboro, Nc, Us

Helping the Triad’s local area businesses discover their digital pathways

Raleigh, Nc, Us

- Since 2015, I have been at the forefront, leading the research, development, training, and implementation of Arista Networks' software-defined networking (SDN) datacenter solutions- I managed crucial partnerships and strategic business relationships with industry giants such as Arista Networks, VMWare, Ingram Micro, TechData, and Cisco Systems- Through my efforts, I constructed, mentored, and retained a top-level advanced engineering team comprising seasoned consultants in Cisco, Arista, and VMware, as well as an in-house of full-stack software developers- I have been directly involved in providing executive-level sales and engineering pre-sales support to B2B service providers

Atlanta, Georgia, Us

- Contributed to leading the company towards an impressive annual revenue of over $300 million- Regularly prepared and submitted detailed monthly and yearly reports, providing crucial insights to support executive decision-making.- Collaborated with management teams to strategize, develop, and execute plans that aligned with clients' vision, mission, and objectives.- Established, staffed, and effectively led advanced IT Managed Services, catering to multi-billion dollar customer operations- Demonstrated a commitment to talent development by conducting interviews, making hiring decisions, providing training, and mentoring staff, all while offering constructive feedback and conducting regular performance reviews- Took the lead in driving improvements in Sales and Engineering operations, fostering better efficiency and effectiveness.

- Founded Confiance with just one professional services contract and achieved remarkable growth, reaching an annual revenue of approximately $35 million and managing a team of 50 employees.- Implemented key operational initiatives that fueled significant business expansion and maintained sustainable growth- Pioneered innovative sales and marketing strategies that played a vital role in facilitating the company's successful expansion- Established and monitored essential performance metrics, ensuring consistent adherence to critical networking standards- Demonstrated strong team management and task prioritization skills, resulting in streamlined project turnaround times and meeting challenging deadlines- Engaged directly with customers in engineering, sales, project management, and visionary capacities, fostering strong relationships and understanding their unique needs- Delivered pre-sales statement work proposals to potential customers while leveraging my technical expertise to effectively convert prospects into sales

- Successfully recruited, hired, and trained a skilled workforce, providing hands-on supervision, continuous staff development, and ongoing education for employees.- Spearheaded revenue generation, contributing to approximately $20 million in revenue.- Employed a consultative sales approach, understanding customer needs and expertly recommending relevant offerings.- Ensured outstanding service delivery to clients, fostering strong relationships for future business opportunities.- Acted as a liaison between customers, management, and the sales team, gaining deeper insights into customer needs and proposing appropriate solutions.- Effectively managed, tracked, and coordinated problem resolution and escalation processes.- Demonstrated expertise in consulting and implementing datacenter, LAN/WAN, Cisco unified communications, contact centers, and software engineering technologies.- Accomplished the prestigious achievement of obtaining my second Cisco CCIE certification - Cisco CCIE Voice #8411

San Jose, Ca, Us

I worked on the Advanced Services team and I was responsible for two major accounts: Verizon GNI and Verizon Wireless IT.- Create and present quarterly reviews to each Verizon entity- Provided technical architectural support on the Catalyst 6500 line to my team members- MPLS / Tag switching / MultiVrf eiBGP- SONET, ATM (LS1010 Soft PVC design)- ATM RFC 1483 Routed- Cisco DSLAM 6xxx design- Large LAB recreates to find IOS bugs, write report, submit to developers, and work with development to resolve/test- Achieved first CCIE in Routing / Switching- Attempted the CCIE lab for Service Provider in RTP (failed lab)

San Jose, Ca, Us

- I was responsible for becoming an expert on Cisco LAN, WAN, Voice, VPN, and Firewall solutions- I regularly presented expertly on Cisco solutions and became the office technical resource- I consulted for the Service Provider Team on BGP design and implementation strategies- I saved the Rockwell School District's 30+ Cisco 5500 FastEthernet / Token ring implementation - I spent 18 hours straight redesigning and reimplementing 8 schools worth of Cisco switches - redesigned the whole TrBRF and TrCRF layouts among many other configurations that were not quite correct - I received a letter directly from John Chambers commending the team and myself for successfully saving this Cisco customer

Purchase, Ny, Us

- I supported all of the St. Louis Mastercard AT&T POPsI Troubleshot, implemented, and trained team members on the following equipment:- Racal Omniplex 800 Multiplexors- Cisco 7000 Routers- Cisco 5000 and 5500 LAN switches - Cisco AS5350 Access server routers- T1 troubleshooting (analog and digital using Wandel and Golterman SNA33 Spectrum Analyzer)- Created CCNA, CCNP labs for mentoring

Springfield, Il, Us

- Cisco Token Ring Switches (Cisco 3920)- Configured transparent bridging, SRB, RSRB (prior to DLSW+)- Establishing the first IP network at Horace Mann- Managed the first IP Firewall solution (Sidewinder)- Wrote Perl and Shell scripts to manage the firewalls- Designed and implemented DLSW+ and EIGRP to the environment- Implemented a Cisco AS5200 RAS router w/ MICA modem cards for dial-in remote access

- I started as a help desk technician helping customers with Netscape Mosaic browser issues and modem dial up connection issues- I became the assistant linux administrator handling filesystem organizational tasks, password/shadow password management, and TACACS management- Learned perl and C with tool applications