Robert J.

Vaden
Home (423) 238-9326
Cell (423) 304-7932
*
- 8866 Windhaven Rd. Ooltewah, TN 37363
Objective: Actively seeking a position as a Director of IT Operations or Data Ce
nter Director with an organization which needs an individual with extensive tech
nical experience and who knows how to meet business objectives by providing exce
llent leadership and driving excellent performance in the teams, projects, and s
ervices he manages. This position should be challenging, provide leadership expe
rience, additional opportunities for growth, and be recognized as making a vital
contribution to the organization.
Career
Summary: Eighteen years experience in the information technology industry provid
ing corporations with technical expertise and solutions in support of business g
oals. I have a proven track record of accomplishments which results in positive
financial outcomes and increased customer satisfaction. I often handle multiple
projects simultaneously, delivering on time and within budget. I have developed
mentored, and led many diverse teams in projects that others deemed as lost caus
es. I have the ability to communicate with individuals on all levels resulting i
n understanding and the ability to drive consensus towards a common goal.
Education: B.S. in Computer Information Systems, Lee University, Cleveland, TN.
Curriculum included an assortment of computer and business courses.
Graduated Cum Laude.
Business
Skills:
* Excellent oral/written communication skills
* Employee management
* Project management
* Schedule/Resource management
* Finance/budget management
* Developing/Managing vendor relationships
* Mentoring
Technical
Skills:
* Complex network/system architecture and implementation across multiple data c
enters
* Data center design, implementation and operation
* Security administration and intrusion prevention/detection using a broad set
of tools in a mixed environment,
* SAN design, implementation and administration
* Virtual storage and virtual server architecture, implementation and administr
ation
* Clustering using Microsoft, Oracle, and VMware products
* Client/server implementation, database design, LAN & WAN design, network inst
allation & administration, and PC troubleshooting & repair.
Specific systems/products:
Windows 2000/XP/Vista/7 Workstation & 2000/2003/2008 Server, Linux (Red Hat & Su
se), Vmware ESX & Vsphere, Virtual Center, and workstation, IBM xSeries servers
and BladeCenters, IBM Enterprise Storage Arrays and SAN Volume Controller, McDat
a/Brocade directors and switches, Nortel routers, switches, wireless and VPN dev
ices, Cisco firewalls and load balancers, Nokia and Checkpoint firewalls, Cisco
Ironport e-mail encryption, Checkpoint Pointsec whole disk encryption, Exchange
2003, 2007 & 2010, SharePoint 2007 & 2010, IBM Rational Team Concert, Websense M
anager, Blackberry Server, MSCS, IIS, terminal services, SQL 2000/2005/2008, Ora
cle 10g, 11g, e-business suite, and RAC, Apache, JBoss, Ping Identity, Citrix, N
ovell NetWare 2.x-4.x, McAfee AV, IBM Tivoli Storage Manager, IBM Director and R
DM, NetIQ DRA/FSA, NetIQ Appmanager, NetIQ Security Manager, and Idera SQL Diagn
ostic Manager & Compliance Manager, Microsoft Active Directory, DNS, DHCP, WINS,
IAS, SMTP and SNMP.
Professional
Experience: Shared Health, Inc., Chattanooga, TN
January 2010 - present
Manager of Data Center & Infrastructure Services
I was "officially" promoted to the role of manager even though I have been perfo
rming the duties since arriving at Shared Health. I am responsible for our state
-of-the-art multi-million dollar data center and its support of the company's mi
ssion and SaaS model. Some of my job duties are as follows:
* Manage Infrastructure Engineering services teams, including hiring, assignmen
t of work, performance evaluations, and employee coaching and development.
* Provide leadership and coordination in the strategic and tactical planning, d
esign, implementation and support of department services across multiple locatio
ns.
* Develops and implements comprehensive data center infrastructure monitoring a
nd measurement mechanisms.
* Plans, organizes, directs, and controls all aspects of the operation, includi
ng equipment installs, equipment maintenance, infrastructure maintenance, and on
going monitoring and planning efforts.
* Responsible for the management of the Data Center, including security, wiring
, communications, electrical, HVAC, fire suppression, etc.
* Maintains comprehensive inventories of all data center equipment.
* Responsible for developing and managing vendor relationships with all third p
arty vendors.
* Participates in and supports disaster recovery or business continuity plans a
nd tests.
* Participates in all planning activities related to data center requirements,
including items related to new software and hardware systems, system changes or
upgrades, and operational schedules.
* Develop and coordinate project directions and schedules.
* Oversee the department budget while balancing the demands of financial, techn
ological and political considerations in all decision-making processes.
* Ensure standards, policies and procedures are developed and maintained to con
form to regulatory compliance.
* Build and maintain harmonious working relationships with personnel throughout
Shared Health.
* Responsible for working with teams to develop and implement process improveme
nts to improve overall business and departmental efficiencies. This includes ide
ntifying Risks & Exposures and developing mitigation plans.
* Responsible for leading team to develop and maintain a strong customer servic
e ethic for internal and external customers across multiple locations.
* Manages strategic relationships with key IT suppliers
February 2009 - January 2010
Principal Engineer
Due to my broad business background and vast technical experience, I serve as th
e lead technical consultant on any new project or initiative. I am also a key me
mber of our business continuity team. My role on this team is to understand the
business requirements and match them to the technical capabilities of our system
s. I am the team lead over network, servers, SAN, virtualization, and applicatio
ns. I manage a team of technical professionals with the purpose of meeting busin
ess objectives such as regulatory requirements, customer satisfaction, and syste
m availability guarantees.
April 2008 - February 2009
Systems Engineer III
I successfully architected and implemented several integration efforts between S
hared Health and other companies. I was often asked to handle the project manage
ment duties for large technical projects. One of my biggest accomplishments was
researching, selecting, and designing a new data center for Shared Health. I led
a team of five individuals in moving our computer systems and network between t
wo data centers in under two months with minimal down time. This data center wil
l allow Shared Health to save over 3 million dollars per year in hosting costs a
lone.
December 2006 - April 2008
Systems Engineer II
I was handpicked by the CTO of Shared Health to lead the effort of separating ou
r computer systems and network from our parent company, BCBST. I accomplished th
is task in under three months. During this time I oversaw a team of individuals
who maintained Shared Health's computer infrastructure. Shared Health grew from
14 servers to over 50 servers during this time.
BlueCross BlueShield of TN, Chattanooga, TN.
October 2002 - December 2006
Systems Engineer II
I was a lead engineer overseeing 600+ servers. In this position one of my main r
esponsibilities was to be the Windows technical representative of my department
for any new enterprise system rollouts and the liaison between the mainframe and
UNIX platforms. In doing so, I represented the Windows platform on the inter-de
partment SAN team and the corporate systems team. One major initiative that I in
troduced, engineered and administrated was server virtualization using VMware. D
uring this time this project alone had saved BCBST over 3 million dollars and ha
d prevented the need to build a new data center. I was also on the SAN team that
took the concept of virtualization to storage using IBM San Volume Controller.
I moved hundreds of servers behind SVC. Another one of my responsibilities was t
o be level 3 engineering support for all Window systems which included SMS, Exch
ange, SQL 2000/2005, management/security tools, remote control systems, and rela
ted hardware.
December, 1999 - October 2002
Sr. Network Engineer
I was the technical team lead of our Windows 2000 deployment. This project consi
sts of upgrading over 5200 workstations and 120 servers. A main goal of this pro
ject is to integrate our legacy systems (i.e. PeopleSoft & FACETS) into the Wind
ows 2000 infrastructure.
April, 1997 - December, 1999.
Network Engineer
I was the team/project leader of a server conversion project. The project consis
ted of converting 27 NetWare servers to Windows NT cluster servers and migrating
5000 users to the new system. The focus of this project was to implement a corp
orate-wide system that would facilitate internal and external data sharing in a
highly secured environment.
Church of God International Offices, Cleveland, TN.
January, 1996 - April, 1997.
Systems Administrator
I installed a company wide NetWare 4.11 network that consisted of six file serve
rs, four database servers, one fax server and over 150 clients. The clients cons
isted of Windows 3.x, Windows 95 and Windows NT workstations. I was also the DBA
for a client/server system.
September, 1994 - January, 1996.
Network Manager
During this time I accomplished the following: I analyzed the current network en
vironment and made recommendations to upper management in regards to implementin
g a client/server system to replace a mainframe computer. This consisted of upgr
ading the old network infrastructure with the latest network wiring, 10Base-T sw
itches, and 100Base-T hubs/switches.
April, 1993 - September, 1994.
Computer/Network Specialist
In this position I worked closely with the end user. I supported the end user's
software and hardware. I held training sessions on using different software pack
ages as well as how to use a notebook computer. I was also responsible for maint
aining the connectivity of the network to a mainframe computer. Some of my dutie
s included routine backups, network improvements, computer repair, and user acco
unt management.
Lee University, Cleveland, TN.
January, 1993 - May, 1993.
Network Supervisor
I was in charge of a five member support team. I was responsible for the overall
administration of the network that consisted of over 300 users and 51 workstati
ons. I also submitted a budget, set up work schedules, and upgraded the network
from NetWare 2.2 to NetWare 3.11.
July, 1990 - December, 1992.
Network Technician
My duties included the security, administration, and maintenance of the network.
Some of my accomplishments were as follows: Upgraded the network from NetWare 2
.15 to NetWare 2.2, integrated a Windows environment over the network, hooked up
the Business department and Language Arts department to the academic network.
January, 1990 - June, 1990.
Lab Assistant
I was in charge of the administration of an IBM S/36 with 10 workstations that w
ere connected using PC Support/5250. One of my achievements was the installation
of the first academic network.
AGC Corporation, Cleveland, TN.
October, 1992 - March, 1993.
Technical Support Engineer
During this time period one of my duties was to find a help-desk package for the
customer support department. This project included evaluating the current syste
m, determining the needs of the customer support and marketing departments, revi
ewing current help-desk products, a written and oral recommendation of a package
to upper management.
March, 1992 - October, 1992.
Customer Support Representative
I answered highly technical phone calls concerning the operation of our software
. I was also responsible for the maintenance of the customer support department'
s computers.
Traits: I am a team player who is highly motivated, not afraid to take chances,
self-taught in many technical and business areas, always willing to learn more f
rom those around me, and able to look beyond the problem and focus on the soluti
ons both near and long term. I embrace leadership roles as a chance to mentor an
d lead by example,
Activities: Member of several local VMware users groups
Member of local Sharepoint users group
Member of VMware customer advisory council (2005-2006)
Member of Network Professionals Association
President of Lee University's DPMA (1992-1993)
Member of Phi Beta Lambda (1991-1993)
Interests: Flying, white water rafting, skiing, racquetball, golf, and hiking.
References: Will be provided upon request