Leadership Progression

Select Achievements

  • Member of the executive leadership team that fueled media company's organic and M&A growth from $3.4B to +$11.1B annual revenue over 11 years. Put the right multinational teams, commercial and enterprise systems, operations, and culture in place to enable expansion from 170 to 220 countries and from 35 to 50 content languages.

  • Leveraged worldwide relationships and empowered teams to migrate +98% of a +17,000-employee workforce in 220 countries and territories to a work-from-home environment in <2 months in the midst of COVID-19.

  • Navigated teams, colleagues, vendors, and strategic partners through ongoing change, including integration following +10 M&A transactions, leadership transitions, shifts in corporate strategy, and the emergence of new tech-driven tools and platforms.

  • Transformed a global corporate infrastructure service organization into an award-winning destination supporting thousands of assets and +400 tech-driven applications. Built the business case for change, launched a walk-up service model, rationalized inventory, consolidated centers, achieved +98% first-pass ticket resolution, and delivered multimillion-dollar savings.

  • Thought leader invited to present as a keynote speaker and panelist in the areas of transformation in a pandemic, successful large-scale M&A migration, best-of-breed application strategy, and delivering customer change.

Founder, President, Strategic Advisor, Knoxville, TN / Worldwide

Launched and leads this advisory firm to help organizations and executives embrace change as an opportunity to create products and services that generate value and transform lives.

Group Vice President/Senior Vice President, Technical Workforce, Knoxville, TN, 2018 -2020

Following Discovery's acquisition of Scripps Interactive Networks, promoted to lead CIO's network, infrastructure, and technical workforce divisions. Managed +300 people in 32 countries as well as $145M opex and $20M capex budgets across 130 cost centers.

  • Delivered $2.5M annual savings by restructuring the organization and operationalizing efficiencies worldwide.

  • Migrated +98% of +18,000 employees to a work-from-home environment in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic while maintaining +96% approval rating for services. Led team in creating a kit-driven procurement portal for all employees.

  • Positioned team as the audio / video leaders for company town halls featuring talent like Oprah, Madeleine Albright, Mike

  • Rowe, Guy Fieri, Chris Evert, Bobby Flay and Chip and Joanna Gaines

  • Averted $2M in annual licensing fees by proactively negotiating a deal (2019) to migrate the organization to cloud-based

  • Zoom and Zoom Phone platforms with translation services for each market.

  • From 2018 to 2019, the company grew from $10.5B to +$11.1B in annual revenue

Vice President, Global Customer Service, Silver Spring, MD, 2015 – 2018

As the company grew rapidly through acquisition, promoted into a Director role. Promoted again in 6 months to lead a +150-member team in 23 countries responsible for the global service desk, hardware procurement and asset management, messaging / UC, telephony, ITSM, technical operations center, and enterprise identity. Managed $61M opex and $16M capex budgets for 33 cost centers. Reported to the SVP of Infrastructure & Support Services.

  • Evaluated the existing corporate infrastructure service organization. Consolidated U.K. center into the U.S., rationalized equipment, restructured team from 23 to 7, and delivered a walk-up TechKnow Bar model that was recognized with a Discovery Innovation Award. In 2018, named one of Discovery's Technology Future Leaders.

  • Guided team in the integration of disparate systems and vendor contracts following 7 global acquisitions, including

  • Discovery's purchase of Scripps Networks Interactive (a $14.6B transaction). Relocated service team to Knoxville, TN.

  • Leveraged teams for the 2018 Olympics in South Korea; scanned and distributed +1,000 pieces of gear on-site to enable

  • 24/7 in-country coverage as well as remote broadcasting in 10 locations worldwide.

  • Architect of a fail-fast methodology for the incubation and vetting of breakthrough service concepts.

  • Strengthened Discovery's corporate responsibility efforts by creating robust donation and employee-purchase programs.

  • Partnered with the BroadFutures nonprofit to give young adults with disabilities opportunities to learn about Discovery.

  • During these years, the company grew from $6.3B to +$10.5B in annual revenue.

Manager/Director, IT Content & Ad Sales System Operations, Silver Spring, MD, 2008 – 2015

Recruited to develop and maintain systems supporting all company brands—including Discovery Channel, TLC, Animal Planet, Investigation Discovery, Science Channel, Velocity, and their digital extensions. Hand-picked in 2010 for a content and ad sales systems operations role. Managed a 20-member global team. Reported to the VP of Ad Sales & Content Operations.

  • Elevated organization's role as a trusted business partner by creating a culture of continuous process improvement.

  • Implemented software development life cycle (SDLC) and SOX best practices. Implemented 24/7 on-call structure to address escalations in a timely manner for all cross-functional and global clients internally.

  • Scaled capabilities and capacity by building an offshore team that is still in place today. Flew this team to the U.S. annually (2 to 3 weeks), providing ongoing training and business insights while including them in team-building activities.

  • Inherited stalled Citrix virtual desktop rollout. Accelerated adoption by gaining an immersive understanding of the user experience, guiding leaders through a presentation of critical issues, and driving resolution without budget increases.

  • During these years, the company grew from $3.4B to +$6.3B annual revenue.

Senior Manager, IT Software Development & Operations, Verizon Business, Ashburn, VA, 2006 – 2008

Following Verizon's acquisition of WorldCom, selected to join the newly merged company. Led DevOps, testing, and implementation for the enterprise service bus (ESB) and middleware supporting the Verizon Business sector. Integrated and directed a 150-member FTE, contract, and offshore workforce. Managed multimillion-dollar operating / capital budgets and governance.

  • Turned around an at-risk implementation by leveraging data to demystify the user experience.

  • Strategic advisor to executive leaders in the areas of IT releases, SOX standards, and multinational cost savings.

  • Reduced system downtime and strengthened data enablement by bridging the gap between IT and business units.

  • During these years, the Verizon Business division grew from $20.5B to +$21.1B annual revenue and represented 94% of all Fortune 500 companies.

Manager, IT Services & Operations, MCI WorldCom Business, Ashburn, VA, 1997 – 2006

Led 24/7 service desk and operations to support this newly merged company's launch into the business sector. Rapidly promoted from the service desk to IT within this changing environment.

  • Ushered company into a new phase of user acceptance testing (UAT), training, and communications for all local order-entry and workflow platform deployments. Created a user-focused rollout process with impact on 40,000 employees.

  • Accelerated the integration of enterprise systems following the WorldCom-MCI merger.

  • One of 16 retained within a 200-person organization to sustain operations through WorldCom's 2002 bankruptcy.