Robert Atkinson Email & Phone Number

Wheaton, Il, Us

Chicago, Il, Us

Downers Grove, Il, Us

- Led the Help Desk partner and a globally dispersed team of 8 internal support specialists who provided technical support for 900+ users across 12+ countries. - Created and managed towards average resolution time, ticket backlog, mean time to repair, and asset deployment time KPI’s, and drove continuous improvement to ensure quick resolution of IT issues. - Directed IT support and end-user computing roadmap, standardized or improved upon technologies and processes while ensuring alignment with overall IT and organizational objectives. - Streamlined device provisioning and management through implementation of a new endpoint management solution utilizing Intune and Autopilot, resulting in reduced setup times and an improved user experience. • Conducted a Lean Six Sigma DMAIC review of the manufacturing employee digital experience to identify improvement opportunities, leading to reduced frustration with digital tools- Coordinated and monitored resources and daily workflow using Scrum methodologies to enhance team performance, transparency, and collaboration.- Created metrics dashboard for Senior IT Management consisting of ticket volume, ticket backlog, tickets breached SLA’s, average age of open vs closed tickets, and agent utilization.- Developed SLA breach notification process to alert on upcoming breaches or tickets already breached to increase transparency and allow for quicker reprioritization of work.- Managed the full end user computing environment, including the asset lifecycle, M365 services, endpoint management, and user account management.

Downers Grove, Il, Us

- Managed the end-to-end establishment of a 24/7 Help Desk with a third-party provider, achieving an initial first contact resolution rate of over 50% in the first month, significantly improving customer satisfaction scores.- Orchestrated the migration to Microsoft 365 services, migrating data from on-prem servers across 10 remote sites to SharePoint Online and transitioning 800+ employee accounts from Exchange on-prem to M365, enhancing data accessibility and collaboration.- Coordinated implementation of Cisco Advanced Phishing Protection and Arctic Wolf Managed Detection and Response solutions, improving cyber incident response times.- Instituted a cybersecurity awareness program featuring monthly KnowBe4 phishing campaigns, raising employee awareness and reducing susceptibility to cyber threats.- Redesigned AD environment and Implemented AD delegation, providing the support team with the access required for daily tasks while maintaining overall system security.- Created, maintained, and streamlined all Group Policy objects, resulting in faster PC policy load times.

Vaduz, Li

- Led IT operations for the entire US market, including; recruitment, training, and leadership of the IT team. Managed all facets of IT infrastructure and services, ensuring alignment with strategic directives from US Executive Leadership and Senior IT Management. Drove operational excellence, optimized team performance, and fostered cross-functional collaboration. - Contributed as a member of the COVID-19 response team, defining Business Continuity plans that maintained 99.99% uptime and a seamless transition to remote work, ensuring operational stability. - Project Manager for the global IT Operations team, driving the IT operations roadmap and delivering over 60 successful projects in six months. - Played a pivotal role on the team responsible for the closure of US operations, overseeing all IT activities during the run-off phase, ensuring the seamless transition and continued support for clients.

Vaduz, Li

- Pioneered elipsLife's US market entry as the first IT hire, managing all technical and operational aspects critical to establishing a presence, including; vendor management, business partner integration, infrastructure management, end-user support, and Jira/ServiceNow adoption. - Sole administrator for global IT infrastructure and operations during US business hours, including; VMware, Active Directory, Windows\Linux servers, Microsoft Skype\Teams, Microsoft Azure, Citrix VDI, Fortinet firewalls and access points, and HP switches. Resolved issues promptly and supported seamless operations across multiple countries. - Spearheaded all US IT recruitment initiatives and supervised the US IT Support Specialist. - Implemented comprehensive IT training programs and on/offboarding procedures specific to the US. - Interfaced with US Executive Leadership to understand local business requirements. Advised and influenced Senior IT Management on developing or enhancing solutions that solved the local US need and allowed for global use or expansion.- Provided budget support to Senior IT Management to help ensure an overall cost ratio of under 15%.- Led the redesign and implementation of a new hybrid Exchange environment, increasing system stability and preparing for migration to Microsoft 365 services.

Houston, Tx, Us

- Led a team consisting of 35 technicians to deliver support for 1000+ users globally across four business units.- Introduced time to respond and time to resolve SLA's for both the Help Desk partner and internal teams. - Created and managed towards first call resolution rate, average resolution time, and ticket backlog KPI's.- Tracked technician utilization and identified gaps. Recommended staffing adjustments a required.- Established an IT knowledgebase and published over 100 articles within the first year, leading to increased adoption of self-service initiatives and higher first call resolution rates from the Help Desk.- Engineered a complex endpoint management and security solution consisting of SCCM, Malwarebytes Enterprise, Bit9, CarbonBlack, CrashPlan Cloud Backup, and third-party patching via Ninite Pro, decreasing malicious activity by over 50%.- Sole administrator of the day-to-day IT infrastructure, operations, and support of two business units.- Managed all IT activities related to the merger, acquisition, and divestiture of various business units.

Houston, Tx, Us

- Orchestrated the transition to an outsourced 24/7 Help Desk partner, managing a team of 30 remote agents.- Led integration efforts of a new corporate acquisition, including; account access, network rebuild, and workstation upgrades.- Oversaw the divestiture of a struggling business unit, handing off all IT functions to the new buyer.

Houston, Tx, Us

- Managed network access and security through oversight of Cisco ASA firewalls and IDS modules.- Architected and supervised the installation of a comprehensive network solution consisting of satellite communications, VPN connectivity, physical and virtual servers, WAN optimizers, and thin clients for the entire fleet of 20+ vessels.- Led the design, implementation, and management of SCCM to support over 500 workstations globally.- Coordinated transition to an off-site data center, implemented all new infrastructure and created a true Disaster Recovery site. Installed Cisco stacked switches and fiber connections back to corporate office. Planned and participated in yearly DR testing activities.- Administered global infrastructure consisting of over 100 network devices, 200 servers, and 500 endpoints.

Houston, Tx, Us

- Managed the entire network infrastructure of Cisco devices for the corporate office and remote sites.- Developed and configured Remote Office Connection Kits (ROCKs) that consisted of a portable ruggedized server rack with Cisco devices pre-configured for fast, plug'n'play VPN connectivity at remote office locations.- Oversaw the onsite Help Desk team, managed the HelpSTAR ticketing system, and handled user escalations.- Designed and implemented various endpoint initiatives, including WSUS and Symantec AV patching.- Administered the SEIM tool in accordance with SOX compliance, handling report generation and alert management.

- Responded to incoming phone, email, and fax requests for support on workstations, servers, databases, and various other PC/LAN related issues while logging the issues into the BMC Remedy Service Desk system.- Frequently maintained a First Call Resolution rate above the department average.- Assisted local hotel IT Managers in OS deployments and the configuration and distribution of automated software installations to all workstations and servers within the Hyatt domain.- Provided vendor management and acted as the point of escalation between Hyatt and their vendors.- Responsible for creating and maintaining knowledgebase documents.