Ruben Soto, Cissp Email & Phone Number

Easton, Pa, Us

Fort Lauderdale, Florida, United States

In my current leadership role, I function as the Chief Information (CIO) and Security officer (CISO) for PolarisRX, a technology-based solutions provider designed to keep you connected, and up to date on important pharmacy information and clinical services while seamlessly incorporating pharmacy functions into your daily routine.I was recruited to PolarisRX with a daunting challenge, which I perceived to be an incredible opportunity—revamping and leading IT and security operations for the $1.2B pharmacy and long-term care provider with 25 unique locations and over 2K employees nationwide.This opportunity has proved incredibly rewarding as I also manage a talented IT department filled with 30+ team members, including the oversight and management of an annual budget in excess of $20M.More specifically, I moved the company from being an industry laggard to an industry leader in less than 18 months—starting with a critical decision to change our managed service provider. Additional leadership decisions involved upgrading the network infrastructure, migrating from an on-premise data center to one based in the cloud (Microsoft Azure), and transitioning from a legacy phone system to a cloud-based model while strengthening overall IT security with a SOC and additional applications.➤Reduced IT expenses by $2M—achieving budget neutrality in year 2 by reviewing and evaluating all vendor relationships, existing infrastructure systems, and security approaches.➤Implemented large-scale digital transformation and effective change management initiatives designed to replace on-site legacy systems with newer, more efficient, and cost-effective cloud-based and hybrid solutions.➤Created and implemented a highly effective communication strategy designed to build trust and foster transparency and collaboration among team members, including the organization of regular team meetings and training sessions to support and empower employees while ensuring alignment with company goals.

Fort Lee, New Jersey, United States

Before being promoted to Chief Information Officer (CIO) and Chief Information Security Officer (CISO) for CareOne, an organization with $4.1B in revenue and over 10K employees, I was the Senior IT Director at Partners Pharmacy (a CareOne affiliate).It was in this role that I led and managed the Partners Pharmacy IT team, along with Ascend Health, a $90M a year hospice care facility, and TPS, a $50M a year manufacturing company that built robotic pharmacological dispensing systems for hospice and elder care facilities all around the world.To support these organizations, I led a team of 60+ dedicated and talented IT team members across 110 different sites, while overseeing and administering an IT budget of $60M a year for all four companies.Notable accomplishments:➤Streamlined and built a highly efficient and effective IT department for four separate entities under one common corporate umbrella. This proved intensely challenging and quite complex having to overcome numerous security, network, and alignment issues, including the rigorous compliance standards in the healthcare and pharmaceutical industries.➤Achieved $4M in annual IT savings by consolidating 5 disparate data centers into one, merging and outsourcing internet circuits and phone systems to one vendor and passing a daunting Optical Character Recognition (OCR) audit—a technology that ensures computers can recognize and extract text from scanned documents, images, and other digital files, not to mention defeating an all-out ransomware attack.➤Led a digital transformation effort aimed at solving numerous complex business problems quickly and efficiently, including but not limited to several moves to new facilities, improving and fulfilling order backlogs, adding new locations, and installing new technology and software tools to improve efficiency and enhance performance.

Fort Lee, New Jersey, United States

Prior to being promoted as the Chief Information Officer (CIO) and Chief Information Security Officer (CISO), I was originally hired as Senior IT Director for Partners Pharmacy and served in a dual capacity of also being the right hand to the then existing CIO.Charged with a $6M annual IT budget, I built, managed, and led and dynamic team of highly skilled IT professionals, 7 of whom were direct reports with an additional 30 team members who were indirect reports.To enhance IT performance and operational efficiency, I implemented specific programs designed to cross-train team members and foster a culture of collaboration and technical versatility to help with staff retention, shifting business needs and complex IT challenges.These specific programs and cross-training initiatives also included the use of Information Technology Infrastructure Libraries (ITIL), a widely used IT service management framework (methodology) that provides a clear and concise set of best practices and guidelines for managing IT services.Notable wins and project successes:➤Led the successful effort to address, remediate and resolve an Office of Civil Rights audit for Partners Pharmacy in less than 6 months with zero penalties.➤During the above audit, I also earned a CISSP designation to help enhance the credibility of the company’s overall security posture.➤Evaluated, revised, and rebuilt the organization’s SOPs to improve efficiency and increase performance while ensuring strict regulatory compliance with any and all Federal agency requirements, including OCR and DEA.

Berkeley Heights, Nj

As the Senior Network Manager at Allscripts, (now Veradigm, Inc.), an integrated data system and services company that combines data-driven clinical insights with actionable to help healthcare stakeholders improve the quality, efficiency, and value of healthcare delivery. The network I managed for Allscripts was the backbone for all the services they provided to their clients, so it’s capability, scalability and reliability were “mission-critical” to the value and overall success of the company.➤Led and actively managed numerous projects specifically related to the oversight and maintenance of a complex IT system of network engineering management.➤Responsible for all network related projects, including budget, equipment, delivery, installation, execution, and efficiency—ensuring optimal ROI aligned with business goals and objectives through the implementation of new technology.

New Jersey, United States

➤Manage Active Director, DHCP, Exchange, and DNS and work closely with the hospital’s executives➤Facilitate hardware and software installations and upgrades and ensure all projects met procedures➤Manage, motivate, coach, and evaluate a team of 5 technical employees and monitor company budgets➤Recommend resolutions to complex matters and coordinate the implementation of the course of action➤Backup servers on a daily basis and provide off-hour and remote support to clients and employees➤Deploy and support desktop computers running on Windows XP/Vista and Microsoft Office ‘03/’07➤Respond to and resolve Blackberry device issues; identify problems and troubleshoot and resolve issuesKey Accomplishments and Contributions as a Network Administrator at Bayshore Hospital:➤Consolidated three VPN equipment (Netscreen, Nortel Contivity, and Fortinet) all into Fortinet, streamlining VPN tunnels and resulting in a significant decrease of maintenance fees ($5,000)

➤Managed two employees, responsible for supporting over 300 users across the United States of America➤Facilitated and conducted training programs for new users and deployed Windows Desktops to them➤Managed site infrastructure, including Exchange, Blackberry, Enterprise Server (BES), Mobile Devices, and Warehouse Operations (UPS, Wireless Devices, Zebra Printers, Blackberries, and Apple iPhone’s)➤Recommended hardware & software purchases & facilitated & conducted vendor contract negotiations➤Served as a direct liaison between on-site staff & Information Technology Management companywide➤Assisted software developers and outside firms in the design and improvement of internal web applications and deployed and supported desktops running on Windows XP/Vista, Office, and Mac OS XKey Accomplishments and Contributions as the Desktop Support Manager at Fashion DSL:➤Instrumental in the migration of software and hardware to various new and existing platforms

➤Repaired, maintained, and configured IT equipment, including monitors, laptops, servers, desktops, etc➤Served as the single point-of-contact for depot operations, including shipping and records maintenanceKey Accomplishments and Contributions as the Desktop Support Manager at Rite Aid Rx:➤Worked closely with field technicians to develop more efficient processes for store equipment

➤Repaired computers, printers, laptops, and servers and facilitated and conducted staff training sessionsKey Accomplishments and Contributions as the Desktop Computer Bench Tech at Hesstech:➤Instrumental in the development and implementation of inventory tracking systems/processes

➤Created staff schedules while staying on budget and ensuring proper staffing for the average volume➤Built an environment of teamwork that fostered positive dialogue throughout the organization➤Implemented innovative and enhanced training programs that increased customer service quality➤Supervised, motivated, evaluated, and coached a team of call center representatives and managers➤Responded to and effectively resolved customer complaints in a timely manner to ensure satisfaction➤Enforced and implemented policies and procedures and communicated procedural updates as needed➤Established, implemented, and enforced goals and expectations and worked with staff to achieve goals➤Monitored and evaluated calls of call center employees to identify training needs and ensure quality

Master Of Business Administration - Mba, Business Administration And Management, General, 3.7

Bachelor Of Science Degree, Business Administration / Management

Network Technician, Network Technician