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RICH WATTS
Vice President of Information Security at Becklar
Layton, UT, United States
Details
Education:
Bachelor of Science (B.S.)
Mathematics
Weber State University
1991 : 1996
Mathematics
Weber State University
1991 : 1996
Experience:
Rich has a documented background in managing innovative Technology and Security teams that engineer, implement, support and secure solutions to growing businesses. As a detail-oriented self-starter, with a clear track record of success, Rich comfortably engages with business leaders and end users alike to understand the current and future needs of the businesses his teams support.
2021 : Present
Becklar
VP of Information Security
2015 : 2021
AvantGuard Monitoring Centers
Vice President of Information Technology
⋅ Using leadership experience to meet enterprise challenges and opportunities.
⋅ Focusing on security, infrastructure, and operational process improvements
2015 : 2015
RAW Talent Consulting
Managing Director
Major Contributions
* Directed the closure of two data centers as part of the corporate wide datacenter consolidation project.
* Fostered collaboration between the Network Engineering and Operations teams by identifying a lead from each group to work directly on all projects. Ensured redundancy in knowledge and smooth handoff to operations team.
* Headed the network responsibilities for critical system readiness tests including Load and Performance, Failover, and DDoS tests.
* Liaised with H&R Block international teams to provide resources to grow the business, increase security, stabilize network infrastructure, and more closely align policies and procedures.
* Led the team responsible for the redesign, implementation, and daily operational support of the corporate wireless solution including multiple sites in the US and Europe.
* Created a service catalog and identified SLAs for these services to better serve our customer
* Directed efforts to enhance monitoring of critical systems to identify problems before customer impact
* Responsible for remediation of vulnerabilities found in PCI and other internal scans
Responsibilities
* Direct an international team responsible for the daily operational support and uptime of the H&R Block corporate network including headquarters, data centers, satellite offices, tax offices and disaster recovery sites.
* Manage all activities for the network operations team including configuration standardization, upgrades, hardening, monitoring, and daily operational support (incidents, requests, and production changes including documentation)
* Incident manager responsible for coordinating all efforts on Sev 1 issues impacting the entire corporation. Directed all fix agents, testing, communication, and root cause analysis for these incidents.
* Manage talent selection, recruiting, career planning, retention, performance review, disciplinary and promotion aspects of human resource responsibilities in building high performing teams
2013 : 2015
H&R Block
Manager of Technology - Network Operations
Major Contributions
* Designed and architected a VMWare solution reducing infrastructure costs by 75% and decreasing the server build process by 90%.
* Directed research and development efforts to migrate products to the cloud (Microsoft Azure)
* Instituted the Kanban agile development process producing greater teamwork and communication across the organization from my teams. These processes were adopted by all development and QA teams.
* Implemented code review sessions with developers across multiple sites to standardize coding best practices, increasing collaboration, and reducing bugs prior to production release
* Planned and carried out the objectives to integrate users, systems, servers, and infrastructure into the H&R Block environment.
* Led MS-SQL Database implementation of a clustered environment on an EMC SAN
* Created the Global Security Policy for RedGear including identifying the appropriate controls and then internal testing of those controls to ensure compliance
Responsibilities
* Led multiple development teams in the development and deployment of thick client and online tax preparation software and internal business tools
* Directed enterprise infrastructure for servers, workstations and telecommunications equipment
* Managed in-house and remote network infrastructures ensuring operational integrity and security
* Negotiated contracts for critical services with telecom and data providers
* Led the database and report writing teams to build business critical metrics which guided decision making and strategic direction activities year over year
* Managed annual IT budget in excess of 1 million dollars
2009 : 2013
RedGear Technologies (An H&R Block company)
Manager IT/Development
2021 : Present
Becklar
VP of Information Security
2015 : 2021
AvantGuard Monitoring Centers
Vice President of Information Technology
⋅ Using leadership experience to meet enterprise challenges and opportunities.
⋅ Focusing on security, infrastructure, and operational process improvements
2015 : 2015
RAW Talent Consulting
Managing Director
Major Contributions
* Directed the closure of two data centers as part of the corporate wide datacenter consolidation project.
* Fostered collaboration between the Network Engineering and Operations teams by identifying a lead from each group to work directly on all projects. Ensured redundancy in knowledge and smooth handoff to operations team.
* Headed the network responsibilities for critical system readiness tests including Load and Performance, Failover, and DDoS tests.
* Liaised with H&R Block international teams to provide resources to grow the business, increase security, stabilize network infrastructure, and more closely align policies and procedures.
* Led the team responsible for the redesign, implementation, and daily operational support of the corporate wireless solution including multiple sites in the US and Europe.
* Created a service catalog and identified SLAs for these services to better serve our customer
* Directed efforts to enhance monitoring of critical systems to identify problems before customer impact
* Responsible for remediation of vulnerabilities found in PCI and other internal scans
Responsibilities
* Direct an international team responsible for the daily operational support and uptime of the H&R Block corporate network including headquarters, data centers, satellite offices, tax offices and disaster recovery sites.
* Manage all activities for the network operations team including configuration standardization, upgrades, hardening, monitoring, and daily operational support (incidents, requests, and production changes including documentation)
* Incident manager responsible for coordinating all efforts on Sev 1 issues impacting the entire corporation. Directed all fix agents, testing, communication, and root cause analysis for these incidents.
* Manage talent selection, recruiting, career planning, retention, performance review, disciplinary and promotion aspects of human resource responsibilities in building high performing teams
2013 : 2015
H&R Block
Manager of Technology - Network Operations
Major Contributions
* Designed and architected a VMWare solution reducing infrastructure costs by 75% and decreasing the server build process by 90%.
* Directed research and development efforts to migrate products to the cloud (Microsoft Azure)
* Instituted the Kanban agile development process producing greater teamwork and communication across the organization from my teams. These processes were adopted by all development and QA teams.
* Implemented code review sessions with developers across multiple sites to standardize coding best practices, increasing collaboration, and reducing bugs prior to production release
* Planned and carried out the objectives to integrate users, systems, servers, and infrastructure into the H&R Block environment.
* Led MS-SQL Database implementation of a clustered environment on an EMC SAN
* Created the Global Security Policy for RedGear including identifying the appropriate controls and then internal testing of those controls to ensure compliance
Responsibilities
* Led multiple development teams in the development and deployment of thick client and online tax preparation software and internal business tools
* Directed enterprise infrastructure for servers, workstations and telecommunications equipment
* Managed in-house and remote network infrastructures ensuring operational integrity and security
* Negotiated contracts for critical services with telecom and data providers
* Led the database and report writing teams to build business critical metrics which guided decision making and strategic direction activities year over year
* Managed annual IT budget in excess of 1 million dollars
2009 : 2013
RedGear Technologies (An H&R Block company)
Manager IT/Development
Company:
Becklar
Years of Experience:
20
Skills
Active Directory, Agile Methodologies, Business Analysis, Cisco Technologies, Cross-functional Team Leadership, Customer Service, Leadership, Management, Microsoft Exchange, Microsoft Office, Microsoft SQL Server, Networking, Process Improvement, Product Management, Program Management, Quality Assurance, Scrum, Software Development, Software Documentation, SQL, Team Building, Testing, Training, Troubleshooting, VB.NET, Vendor Management, Visio, Visual Studio, Windows Server
About
Strong background in designing, implementing, supporting, and securing global networks through successfully empowering, developing and managing teams that make technology work. Detail oriented self-starter with a clear track record of success by juggling complex projects, facilitating new ideas, honoring individuals for positive results, and communicating technical solutions to all levels of management. Drive goal of providing industry standard IT solutions and fanatical service.
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