HELLO!
I’M HOWARD

Welcome to My Site

My Elevator Pitch

I'm a tech-savvy leader who loves bringing people together to create amazing systems. I have a knack for connecting with all kinds of stakeholders, both inside and outside the company, to make sure we're all on the same page and delivering great results quickly.

My teams often tell me I'm a forward-thinking leader who pushes them to exceed expectations while still playing by the rules. I'm always on the lookout for creative solutions to tricky problems, whether it's improving how we communicate, making better use of our tech, or finding ways to work more efficiently.

At the end of the day, what really drives me is making our clients happy and helping the company grow. I'm all about continuous improvement and finding ways to boost our bottom line.

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MY EXPERIENCE

Roles & Responsibilities

Head of IT Security, Infrastructure and End User Computing/Support

June 2023 - August 2024

Developed a detailed, three-year target model to support the long-term goals for organization design, run process optimization, and infrastructure technology modernization.
Planned, implemented, and operate several outsourcing agreements in support of business goals while helping improve IT service delivery and driving efficiency. (Level 1 SOC, Field Support, Printers)
Established and govern the IT team and Review Board to ensure technology solutions aligned with the organization’s target operating model and priorities.
Championed IT infrastructure strategy and operations across US manufacturing sites, aligning technology initiatives with business goals to enhance infrastructure and service delivery, including cloud platforms and cybersecurity (NIST).
Cultivated executive-level partnerships, mentoring IT team and driving enterprise-wide change, significantly impacting operational excellence and cost reduction.
Manage and Lead organizational IT Architects, Azure Cloud, Power BI/Data/Reporting, IT Security, IT Operations, IT Infrastructure and IT Client Support. Current team of 9 direct reports.
Developed and administer $15M+ annual IT operating budget via strategic planning and expert allocation of resources.
Management of teams stationed across the U.S. and India ensuring effective coordination and collaboration.

Sr. Director of IT Strategy & Architecture

May 2021 - May 2023

Developed a culture of continuous improvement.
Managed and led organizational IT Architects in areas such as Azure Cloud, Power BI/Data/Reporting, Enterprise Solutions, IT Security, Identity Access, IT Operations, IT Infrastructure, and IT Client Support.
Oversaw a team of 9 direct reports and 14 indirect reports.
Developed strategic IT planning, technology roadmaps, disaster recovery, technical architecture design, and policy procedures.
Executed data center consolidation and data center migrations to the cloud.
Built relationships with vendors, managed contract negotiations, budgeting, and established KPIs.
Defined and provided vision, problem anticipation, and problem-solving abilities.
Reviewed and audited architectural deliverables.
Maintained architectural standards and principles.
Provided architectural support to significant projects.
Developed, reviewed, and approved installation requirements for LAN, WAN, VPN, firewalls, routers, and related network devices.
Determined security protocols by evaluating business strategies and requirements.
Responded to and investigated security incidents, providing thorough post-event analysis.
Managed a budget of $12M in planned OPEX/CAPEX.

Director of IT Operations & Enterprise Solutions

May 2014-May 2021

Developed culture of continuous improvement, driving financial performance, employee engagement, and customer satisfaction
Co-lead efforts to create cross-departmental architecture capabilities and roles.
Instituted ITIL-based incident, request, and change management procedures.
Renovated corporate data center and worked on corporate strategy including Disaster Recovery facility.
Designed a new organizational structure of operation teams supporting 75+ locations across 24 different businesses.
Migration from on-prem technology to cloud services. (Azure, SaaS, PaaS)
Instituted a new branch technology model for excellent resiliency, including wireless, infrastructure, and VoIP.
Directed the acquisition and mergers with system integrations/migrations with Companies: Best Flow, Carbo, Profrac.
Directed divestitures with Equify Insurance, Equify Risk Services, Wilks Masonry
Reduced over $3.5M in annual spend with changes to telecom, mobility, WAN technology, Microsoft EA, vendor contracts, and IT department restructure.
Manage a team of 3 direct and 25 indirect reports in a fast-paced and flexible environment while being strategic and hands-on with the deployment and support technologies.
Overhauled the preexisting Service Desk and Application Support teams to streamline processes, increase efficiency, and better position the teams for future growth.
Created Field Support, Service Desk, Server Operations, Network Operations, and Application teams to differentiate IT responsibilities to make a support structure in line with larger IT organizations.
Improved inherited environment prone to near-daily outages of critical systems to 99% uptime.
Increased current software usage while decreasing duplicate systems in the enterprise, which realized reduced annual of software maintenance cost and enhanced user experience.
Reduced year over year budget spend. Realized 21% under budget in FY2020.
Provide leadership, handle employee relations and performance management. Write/provide quarterly reviews.
Develop strategic IT plans, technology roadmaps, disaster recovery, technical architecture design, as well as and policy procedures.
Established and continue to monitor/evolve multiple Service Management disciplines, including Incident, Problem, Change.
Led IT Career Development initiative to aid in employee retention. (turnover is below 7%)

Manager of IT Client Services

November 2011 - May /2014

Management of Client Technology and Executive IT Support Team staff. Teams both local and remote. Support 3 large administrative offices (Fort Worth, Cisco, and Houston, Texas) along with all remote company offices, man camps, and mobile units on the drill sites.
Responsible for a budget of $1.6M planned OPEX/CAPEX.
Developed and continually evolve the consumer-facing, multi-channel roadmap for Client
Monitor response time for request fulfillment and incident response by Client Technology and Executive Support Teams. Implement continual process improvement to increase resolution times while maintaining superior quality in customer satisfaction.
Mentor, coach, and promote growth of support team members both professionally and technically.
Introduced formal goals and objectives. Conducted performance reviews on a consistent basis.
Provide support to project teams for delivery of project goal; participation as a team member or
management of activities to be performed by Client Technology and Executive IT support teams.
Project owner for various projects, including:
- Mobile Device Management from development of RFP, Vendor Demos
- Windows 7 migration,
- Business divestiture,
- Business acquisition domain migration,
- PC Refresh over 700 devices with only in-house staff.
Provide direction to image team to create optimal image process for efficient and quality installations.
Standardized hardware approval and adherence.