Selected by VP Infrastructure to manage large-scale data center initiatives, working cross-functionally on requirements, design, priorities, implementation strategies, transformation and process optimization. Analyzed and drew insights from data to make performance-based recommendations for KPI / metric improvement. Designed and built dashboards for the managed hosting business unit globally to provide insight into overall business unit health. Managed $15M annual budget. * Reduced space, power, cross-connect and remote labor costs by more than $75M serving as lead architect / strategist for transformation & process improvement efforts across 3rd party data centers. * Increased infrastructure deployment velocity by over 300% by analyzing and redesigning business processes to improve collaboration with data centers, vendors, procurement, inventory control and product management teams. * Performed best practice scenario modeling & led multiple projects to increase infrastructure density by 40%. * Increased sales margin 18% through data-driven metrics and focused cross-functional project prioritization.*** UPDATE *** In November 2023, Lumen's executive team began a radical restructuring effort that included the reduction in force of roughly 1,200 employees. My position was eliminated, and I am now exploring options for my next great career move. If you or someone you know has a need for someone with my skills, let's connect and explore how I can help you!

Hired into this role by the Senior VP of Operations to rebuild a global cloud operations team while addressing catastrophic issues with CenturyLink’s legacy cloud products. Addressed strategic and tactical staff requirements along with their hiring, development, review & evaluation efforts. Deployed and owned key systems of record for physical assets. * Stabilized failing multi-site cloud deployments (SavvisDirect, Cloud Data Center, Virtual Private Data Center) to improve customer experiences and drive revenue forward. Increased uptime from 96.4% to 99.998%. * Reorganized support teams globally (Americas, EMEA, APAC) to rebuild customer relationships and focus on specific platform issues; increased “ownership” and quality levels 68% through accountability and personal pride. * Leveraged Pareto analysis and data-driven metrics to guide engineering, development and operational support teams on priorities and actions required to stabilize cloud products. Resulted in 3X capacity increase, restoration of customer confidence and sales growth of 4X globally.

Engaged by the VP of Cloud Operations to address ongoing challenges with complex multi-site deployments, supply chain issues, data center infrastructure scalability and the development of repeatable deployment processes. Performed root cause analysis on a number of issues, established corrective roadmaps, and led projects to move initiatives forward. * Directed cross-team efforts to secure, build, test and launch international cloud sites for shared and dedicated cloud server grid infrastructure months ahead of schedule at a 7% budget savings. * Established plans to build cloud storage, server and web hosting infrastructure “by the rack” in a repeatable, scalable manner at a 20% cost reduction, reducing time to market by 75%.

Recruited by the CEO to transform the business web presence for clients of this privately held SaaS scientific reference service. Oversaw distributed staff of 30, plus offshore contract personnel. Managed $5.3M operational budget. Developed and implemented IT strategy, governance processes, customer service programs, and supplier relationships. Partnered with customers, sales, marketing and product managers to enhance product offerings using SDLC practices. * Achieved unprecedented 96% customer renewal levels against an industry norm of 85% by sponsoring the development of innovative product feature sets to enhance the customer experience. * Enabled 16% (>$3M) YOY revenue growth during stressful economic conditions by implementing customer centric product development practices. * Reduced product load time from >8 sec/page to <1 sec/page globally by sponsoring rollout of Akamai’s content delivery network (CDN) and leading optimization efforts to custom applications and databases.

Recruited by the CTO to lead product engineering, operations, project management and database service groups for this $250M unit of Reed Elsevier’s group of publishing companies. Administered $6M operating budget and a team of 22. Heavily influenced $25M/yr capital budget. Oversaw onshore and offshore personnel. Devised and implemented data center standards, cost reduction strategies, and platform improvement projects. Managed project portfolio and negotiated contracts with key partners including LexisNexis, IBM, Sun, HP and Oracle. * Spearheaded engineering and implementation efforts of groundbreaking SaaS $40M high-stakes assessment platform. Supported millions of students taking assessments in real time achieving a 99.997% SLA. * Delivered $1.8M in annual savings on software maintenance by re-negotiating supplier agreements. * Established leadership and staff development programs utilizing the Golden Personality Type Profiler followed by coaching, Skillsoft training and performance management techniques. * Reduced annual infrastructure costs $1.3M by implementing VMWare hardware virtualization technology. * Delivered Harcourt’s Unison platform at a $4M savings through offshore partnerships.

Recruited by the Chief Architect of IBM's National Architecture Practice Center of Excellence. Consulted with customers and service delivery teams to achieve project implementation success stories. Directed actions on contracts with a combined value over $300M. Influenced industry reference architectures for e-Marketplaces and their integration to B2B messaging hubs. * Grew the IT Architecture Center of Excellence from 22 to 112 members (409%) while simultaneously overseeing major service delivery activities at Wal-Mart, American Airlines, Intel and Sysco. * Contributed over $1M in reusable assets to IBM’s corporate intellectual capital management system. * Signed $15M+ of new business following corrective efforts to restore relationships in troubled accounts. * Provided 100+ team members career and service mentoring following their induction to the company. * Forged partnerships with Ariba, Retek, Oracle and Kana to deliver the world’s largest e-Marketplace.

Recruited by the VP of IT to manage diverse e-business strategic initiatives. Scope included information systems architecture, planning, development, financial responsibility, release management, disaster recovery planning, vendor relationship management, staff development and operations management. * Launched first e-business venture for the business using IBM WebSphere to build Internet-based brand recognition. * Redesigned production systems to shorten time to market by 60% for still imagery products. Decreased internal product release cycles 50% and improved product quality by implementing focus groups and user testing within the software development life cycle. * Cited by the VP of Strategy as the key catalyst in acquisition and integration of three subsidiaries, reducing combined operational costs 40+%.

Recruited by VP of Sales to oversee pre / post sales support for Integrated Learning Systems. Managed capital assets, technical training, vendor relations, national service budgets, network specialists, and corporate connectivity to field offices throughout the U.S. Trained and directed activities for team of 150 engineers. Quality-controlled customer support functions of service organization. Travelled 90+%. * Reduced pre-sales expenses 40% and increased revenues by maintaining high satisfaction levels for 170+ critical accounts nationwide (valued at $200+ million) through project initiatives in pre-sales, proposals, and post-sale management. * Built SWAT engagement teams to address troubled accounts and apply proven implementation methodologies; ensured customer satisfaction and student engagement in complex, highly integrated school networks.

Recruited by the Superintendent of Schools to oversee all IT services to the Copperas Cove Independent School District, serving more than 8,000 students and 1,200 staff on over 2,000 workstations. Established the first IT department within the district. Services included local and wide area networking, staff development, strategic planning, system maintenance services, software evaluation and vendor relationship management. Hired, trained, mentored, and evaluated team of 15 network engineers, administrators, trainers, specialists and maintenance crews. Worked extensively with School Board on technology initiatives. * Successfully exceeded expectations on yearly budgets in excess of $2 million through planning and bidding projects. * Responsible for technology visioning and implementation missions to educate more than 1,000 staff members on the proper use of new technology. * Spearheaded efforts in strengthening technology function district-wide by leading growth from 60 to 2,000+ computers and building district’s image as model for technology.

Requested to develop and deliver curriculum in Computer Networking by the Computer Science Department Chairman when Novell NetWare and Banyan Vines were becoming hot industry commodities. * Developed curriculum, selected textbook and created required lab exercises for the course. * Presented the course over two years, teaching a diverse group of adult students from Fort Hood Army Base and students that travelled from as far as Houston and Dallas to participate and learn. * Student course evaluations rated the classes with near perfect favorability due to the fact that real world working scenarios were taught during lectures and labs.