Kent Blake

8240 Pine Creek E.

Germantown, TN 38138
Cell (901) 569-6527
kbdffe14@westpost.net
SUMMARY
Experienced technical support specialist, trainer and writer ready to assist you
r end users or customers increase productivity. Proven skills in addition to te
ch support include business analysis, technical training and project management.

CORE COMPETENCIES
- Extensive Technical Support
- Train the Trainer
- Published Writer (Publications listed below)
- Incident Management
- Project Management
- ITIL Familiarity
- Business Analyst
- O/S: Win2000, XP
- Software/HW
- BES Server
- Active Directory
- Comm Vault
- Departmental Consultant
- Video Conferencing
- Root Cause Analysis

PROFESSIONAL EXPERIENCE
Incident Manager / Technical Support August 2007 - October 20
10
First Horizon
*Managed escalated critical incidents defined as outages affecting multiple bran
ches, online banking systems, ATM's, check processing and other services with wi
despread customer impact.
*Opened bridge calls pulling in relevant IT groups such as Network Engineering,
Mainframe, Business Systems, Telecom, Client Services, and vendors; IBM and ATT.
*Working as a Critical Incident Response Team, (CIRT), we defined the problem an
d implemented the solution(s) to return systems to an operational status.
*Ran a conference call with managers of 15 departments at 8 AM and produced a mo
rning checkpoint report on IT status across the enterprise.
*Extensive documentation and reporting on all aspects of priority 1 incidents ea
ch week including root cause analysis. This is an ITIL-influenced environment. T
racking software is HP/Peregrine Service Center, utilizing most modules.
*Promoted from FTN Bond Division where I supported Sales operations on the tradi
ng floor.
Customer Support Manager July 2006 - June 2007
Interactive Solutions, Inc
Managed the activities of a help desk, service department and the Managed Servic
es Group.
*Help Desk: Introduced a ticketing system to track problems and new installation
s. Researched a product, aggressively negotiated with the vendor on pricing, con
figured the software and trained our users on TechExcel CRM 6.1 Project complete
d months ahead of schedule and on budget.
*Service Department: Dispatched technicians. Evaluated service requests from our
five-state coverage area and paired the request with a technician. Communicated
directly with the customer following complex service issues to ensure satisfact
ion.
*Managed Services: Supervised several employees who worked full time at customer
sites running unusually complex video conferencing, bridging and full-room A/V
integrated conference centers.
Hartford Steam Boiler Inspection and Insurance - Hartford, CT
August 1997 - June 2006
Software: Windows XP/2000, MSOffice, Lotus Notes 6, IE, VPN, WebEx/Interwise, N
orton Ghost, Outlook, Peregrine and Heat, VNC.
Hardware: Dell Desktops and Laptops, Routers/Switches, Scanners/Fax/Copiers, Bro
adband Routers.
Level 2 help desk support. I logged the most calls seven out of eight years.
EDUCATION
University of Mississippi, BA. Oxford, MS
Certifications
Microsoft: MCP XP, CompTia A+; Dell Warranty Parts Direct - Servers, Laptops
and Desktops.
Dell Premier Technician authorized to order Dell warranty parts without Dell inv
olvement
Documentation and Training
Authored hundreds of pages of technical documentation and technical journal piec
es for the following magazines and web sites:
SupportWorld HR Magazine
Tech Republic Law Practice Management
Redmond Magazine Managing Office Technology