SUMMARY
Customer-focused and detail-oriented IT professional with 26+ years of experience designing, building, supporting, and selling complex systems across corporate and consumer sectors. Skilled in IT, voice and data communications, and troubleshooting, I excel at creating integrated systems from diverse technologies and engaging with clients to deliver effective solutions.
Find me on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/storagesavvy/
OBJECTIVE
Looking for roles where I can use my unique combination of relationship, business, and technical ability to add value.
CURRENT EXPERIENCE
Sea-Tech Systems | Owner | 2018-Current
Business Management
- Sole responsibility for the business including accounting, sales, vendor management, customer service, technical support, solutions design, and fulfillment.
- Ongoing management of WordPress/WooCommerce, Xero Accounting, Card Payment Processors, DEAR/Cin7 Inventory, Maxio/Chargify Billing, Shipstation. Zoho Desk, VoIP.ms services.
- Built a custom PHP plug in for WordPress to integrate Maxio/Chargify billing with website for customer portal.
- Automated business processes with servers, scripts, and services such as Zapier.
- Inventory management, purchasing, sales, and shipping.
- Grew business from $50K pre-acquisition annual revenue to >$550K annual revenue from 2018 to 2020.
- Widely regarded as the most knowledgeable professional in the field of private leisure yacht communications.
Knowledge / Customer Service / Technical Consulting
- Direct customer facing education, consulting, and sales.
- Architectural design from application layer down to physical infrastructure including but not limited to HF/VHF radio, Wi-Fi CPE, Access Points, Multi-WAN routers, 3G/4G/5G cellular routers and modems, and satellite data/voice terminals, VPN and bonding technologies, cloud VM infrastructure to create turn-key user-friendly onboard networks for business-critical Internet access anywhere the vessel desires to travel.
- Extensive knowledge and experience with all types of satellite communications services including Iridium/Inmarsat L-Band, Push-to-Talk, VSAT, Starlink, OneWeb, Viasat, and related voice and data services.
- Extensive experience in data management techniques to control costs on slow and/or expensive data connections including optimization of Zoom/Teams, VoIP, standard web, and streaming video.
- Wireless and Satellite airtime sales, provisioning, support, and billing for >100 users.
- Remote management and support for truly mobile client networks (i.e.: vessels crossing oceans).
- Deep understanding of unique challenges related to remote and mobile work due to remote and mobile operation and support of three businesses directly, as well as through dozens of client experiences.
Educational
- Create and present live educational seminars on communications technology to vessel owners at private functions, through online scheduled video conference, and in-person at national boat shows such as Seattle, Miami, and Annapolis.
- Compose and post educational articles in customer service KB (Zoho Desk) and as blog posts on customer facing website.
- Private remote and on-site education to customers related to how to use their own products and services.
PREVIOUS EXPERIENCE
S/V Mobert | Owner/Captain | 2017-2018
- 45ft Offshore Cruising Sailboat
- 2-Year North America and Central America family sailing sabbatical
- Responsible for all aspects of planning, maintenance, weather forecasting, communications, safety, logistics, homeschooling, and anything else that was required.
- Operated Sea-Tech Systems remotely from the boat, via Wi-Fi/cell/satellite during second half of trip
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EMC Corporation/Dell Technologies | Senior Systems Engineer | 2010-2017
Senior Pre-Sales Specialist SE for Hardware and Software Defined Storage solutions including web-scale object and software defined block storage, reporting, integration, virtualization and many other products and services.
- Led online and in-person technical presentations as well as technical engineering, deep-dive whiteboard discussions, demos, and proofs of concept for EMC software and hardware solutions including Software Server SAN (ScaleIO), Object Storage (Atmos and ECS), Infrastructure Automation (ViPR), Resource Management (SRM), and Operational Monitoring (SAS) products. These solutions were generally combined with other EMC and non-EMC hardware and software solutions including SAN fabrics, storage arrays, storage and server virtualization, IP networks, ITSM, CMDB, databases, web-scale applications and Agile DevOps processes, and other EMC Advanced Software products primarily focused on Infrastructure Automation, Monitoring, and Reporting.
- Direct experience with customers across verticals including Government, Education, Aerospace, Travel, Retail, Software, Healthcare, and Utilities. Primarily focused on Global accounts and web-scale customers.
- Maintained Expert level technical knowledge in a variety of areas including Object and Cloud Storage, Geo-Distributed active/active applications, Software SAN, Automation, Server and Storage Virtualization, Networking fundamentals, and Disaster Recovery.
- Daily activities included customer facing meetings, local and regional travel, SalesForce activity tracking, regular internal and 3rd party education, peer mentoring and training, solution engineering, system configuration, advanced troubleshooting, coordinating and leading WebEx/Lync conferences, as well as contributing to internal and external online communities.
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Nintendo of America | Senior Systems Architect | 2005-2010
Provided overall support for server-based applications and network servers for Nintendo of America including Netware, Windows, Linux, MacOS X, VMWare ESX, proxy, dns/dhcp, Active Directory, Novell eDirectory, LDAP, Identity Manager, Documentum, etc.
Significant Contributions:
- Designed and built EMC and NetApp SAN infrastructure including mission-critical customer facing systems with storage replication for Business Continuity.
- Designed and implemented Netbackup, PureDisk, and DataDomain backup infrastructure.
- Implemented EMC Documentum for Digital Asset Management.
- Deployed BlueCoat web proxy systems in multiple locations and migrated all policy and users from Novell BorderManager to provide faster and more secure Internet access for the company.
- Implemented highly available storage for 24×7 global consumer facing CRM systems.
Overall Responsibilities:
- Built, tested, deployed, and maintained open systems servers and applications for Nintendo of America.
- Built and maintained all SAN (storage area network) infrastructure in multiple locations with replication of email, databases, and files for Business Continuity/Disaster Recovery.
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Microsoft Game Studios | Infrastructure Systems Engineer (contract) | 2004-2005
Facilitated projects for customers including creating custom network environments, building large groups of servers on short timelines, and leading the infrastructure team in the completion of large multi-faceted projects.
Significant Contributions:
- Managed the testing, implementation, and maintenance of Microsoft Operations Manager 2005 in the datacenter environments to facilitate proactive monitoring of customer facing Xbox Live systems.
- Managed Xbox Live TV systems implementation.
Overall Responsibilities:
- Managed Active Directory, DNS, DHCP, network infrastructure, Internet connectivity, internal and customer facing VPN, server imaging, and all other lab processes.
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Microsoft Corporate IT | Network Analyst | 2003-2004
Monitored and responded to problems with Microsoft’s global backup servers across EMEA region, including remote triage and problem resolution from halfway around the world.
Overall Responsibilities:
- Troubleshot and resolved performance issues with Windows servers pertaining to backup jobs. Identified and resolved problems caused by network configuration, software bugs, and hardware failures pertaining to network backups.
- Installed and configured Windows 2003 Server and Veritas Backup Exec on servers remotely over the WAN.
- Trained 3rd party outsourcing partners on troubleshooting and problem resolution techniques.
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AT&T Wireless Services | Network Analyst | 2000-2002
Monitored and maintained AT&T Wireless’ national local and wide area network equipment in support of cell tower out-of-band management, retail store operations, and customer contact center connectivity.
Significant Contributions:
- Became subject matter expert on Nortel Passport ATM switches and BlackBerry Enterprise Server and provided technical training to my team members on those systems.
Overall Responsibilities:
- Troubleshot and configured corporate network equipment including routers, switches, ATM switches, CSU/DSUs, firewalls, and VPN concentrators for more than 1200 retail stores, call centers, business offices, and datacenters.
- Coordinated the repair of DS1, DS3, OC3, ATM, Frame-Relay, and ISDN lines with multiple Telecom providers (often coordinating with multiple providers handling a single connection) and field technicians across more than 1200 locations in the U.S.
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QualMed Health Plan / HealthNet / Molina Healthcare | 1997-2000
Managed QualMed’s multi-state Pacific Northwest networks — consisting of three primary locations and hundreds of users with multiple operating systems — providing file, print, groupware, and Internet services to all users.
Significant Contributions:
- Managed the conversion from Novell to NT network including a GroupWise to Exchange e-mail migration as part of the acquisition of QualMed by Molina. Consolidated servers and network equipment, removing excess equipment and improving reliability.
- Replaced the old copper phone lines and dedicated fax/modem lines with T1/PRI digital lines to improve phone line utilization and reduce costs.
OTHER EXPERIENCE
Ascendus Legal Accounting | CTO | 2010-Present
Bookkeeping and Accounting for Law Firms
- Responsible for technology supporting the business including remote work and collaboration tools for owners and employees across multiple countries.
- Technology-related consulting and services for bookkeeping clients.
Skepsis Legal Solutions PLLC | CTO | 2018-Present
Legal Services for Small Businesses and Construction Industry
- Responsible for technology supporting the business including remote work and collaboration tools for owners and employees across multiple countries.
KISS-SSB RF Counterpoise for HF Radios | Manufacturer | 2024-Present
- Acquired Patent and Manufacturing for KISS SSB Counterpoise product in January 2024.
- Responsible for BOM, manufacturing, sales, and marketing for the KISS product.
COMMUNITY INVOLVEMENT
Civil Air Patrol | 2nd.Lt Senior Member | 2023-Present
Search and Rescue Organization, Coeur D’Alene Composite Squadron, Idaho Wing, Air Force Auxiliary
- CyberPatriot/CyberEducation Officer, Finance Officer,
- Support Cadet programs as a STEM/Cyber Education Officer, Support in-air Search and Rescue Missions as a Mission Observer, Mission Scanner, and Mission Radio Operator.
Charity Through Youthful Living | President | 2004-2013
Non-Profit Charitable Corporation
- Responsible for outreach, charitable programs, and fundraising events.
INTERESTS
- Technology
- Flying small airplanes
- Sailing
- Aerospace
- Travel
- Learning
- Environmental responsibility
- Workforce housing initiatives