Nick Sanders

Information Technology Strategist & Consultant

Email: nick@nicksanders.info
Phone: (214) 796-NICK (6425)
Web: www.nicksanders.info
Blog: www.wiredchristianity.com

Introduction

I am actively seeking a new opportunity to bring my twenty-five years of technology experience to the benefit of an organization in need of leadership, creativity and vision.

Military Experience

Texas State Guard
2013-Present

Missing the pride of wearing the uniform and the satisfaction in serving my community, my state, and my nation, I volunteered to serve in the Texas State Guard with the 2nd Battalion, 19th Regiment — a unit whose mission is Civil Affairs. Our primary mission is to deploy immediately following (or just ahead of) a large-scale disaster, in order to establish and maintain shelters for evacuees, as well as to coordinate with other agencies, such as FEMA, the American Red Cross, DHS, and state/local/tribal leaders and emergency services organizations. I am certified in First Aid and CPR, am a licensed Ham Radio operator (since 1997), and have completed more than forty FEMA and/or DHS courses in Emergency Management to date, earning the Senior Military Emergency Management Services (MEMS) qualification badge. I am a certified CHL instructor, Texas Military Forces firearms instructor, and serve as the Operations NCO for the 19th Regiment.  I presently hold the rank of Staff Sergeant (E-6).

United States Air Force
1991-1992

I am proud to have served in support of Operation Desert Shield and Operation Desert Storm as an Air Force Security Policeman (Law Enforcement Specialist).  I was named honor graduate of Air Base Ground Defense combat school for airmen at Fort Dix, NJ. Later at Gila Bend AFAF, AZ, I partnered with local and federal authorities to support counter-drug and immigration missions, and I served as a first responder to numerous aircraft incidents.

Recent Jobs

2014 – Present

Director of Product Development

Interface Security Systems

Managed P&L across portfolio of diversified services in the physical security, WAN connectivity, and IP telephony spaces. Introduced new BLE-based proximity solutions for retail metrics collection. Implemented ITIL standards for product management and interoperating agreements across multiple departments. Developed scripted solution, based on Raspberry Pi, for network monitoring, remote access and compliance needs, scalable to tens of thousands of retail locations. Proposed new security, surveillance and inspection services based on UAV platforms.

Masergy Communications

I was responsible for product planning and execution throughout the product lifecycle, including: gathering and prioritizing product and customer requirements, defining the product vision, and then working closely with engineering, sales, marketing and support to ensure revenue and customer satisfaction goals are met, and managing the integration of network products and services into the operational processes of the company, all the while, ensuring the the product strategy is in line with the company’s overall strategic objectives. My product scope included all network services, analytics and portal services, cloud services, managed solutions (premise, virtual and cloud) for network connectivity and security, and all software defined networking/network function virtualization initiatives (representative of approximately $250m in annual revenues). I developed what industry analysts recognized as the first available managed NFV solution for client connectivity, offering VNF options for routers and firewalls, and available for order and provisioning via a customer self-servicing portal interface.

I delivered product specifications with prioritized features and corresponding justification, coordinate cross-functional teams to design, develop and deliver leading edge network products and services, and looked to as an “expert” with respect to the competition, assigned products and technologies, and company interworking. This, of course, involved analysis on competitive data including pricing, market sizing and forecast.

Finally, I managed data files and databases compiling metrics on company products and services as well as competitors and the marketplace, and compiled this data to brief and train the sales force.

I reported to the Chief Technology Officer.

2010 – 2014

Sales Engineering

tw telecom, inc. (now Level3 Communications)

Senior sales engineer for Dallas, company’s second largest US market, for the third largest metro-ethernet provider in the country, directing eight account managers in opportunity development and solutions architecture for wholesale carrier accounts and named retail customers. Define scope of work and critical milestones for large-scale implementation project plans for domestic and international network and colocation projects. Liaison to product management for new projects and services, including establishment of NNI’s with partner carriers and market capacity reporting, as well as developing strategic partnerships with local colocation and hosting facilities.

  • Designed and implemented a collaboration forum and experiential knowledge repository for use by all sales engineers within the company, as well as interfacing with key departments, such as Architecture & Technology and Product Management.
  • Led IPv6 product development initiatives, developed corporate training content and guidelines, and consulted on managed services offer development.
  • Served on Managed Security Services consultative team with product management to help shape service enhancements, ordering process improvements, and funnel customer feedback and competitive intel to help prioritize future features.
  • Recognized nationally for out-of-job-scope response to corporate security events that threatened the integrity of proprietary product and service information in the wake of a competitors attempt at corporate espionage.
  • Developed digital signage for marketing in customer-facing lobby areas, as well as for internal areas where appropriate and pertinent employee-data could be displayed, from local news, weather, traffic and events, to service anniversaries and important announcements, as well as live video news feeds.

2003 – 2010

IT Consulting, Strategy & Service

As a self-employed consultant, I provided strategic planning, vendor and contract analysis, consulting and technical services, supporting legacy and new clients in the areas of network design, information security, business analysis, telephony, compliance (ITIL, PCI, HIPAA, SOX), and operational support. Clients include Capital One Finance, Texas Healthcare Resources, Neiman-Marcus, Texas A&M, Chattanooga State University, University of Memphis, MetLife, and First Horizon Bank. Regular engagements involved large-scale project management, such as AD migrations, network conversions, software implementations (CRM, ERP), telephony and network upgrades.

  • Designed and managed implementation of all facets of network infrastructure for new, 300-seat call center
  • Managed build-out of geographically-diverse backup data center
  • Project management for business divestiture encompassing over 350 SQL and Sharepoint applications on over 200 Windows servers

For my exclusive client of eighteen months, Capital One Finance, I supported global WAN/LAN infrastructure, including design, implementation and troubleshooting on Cisco 7200/6500/IGX platforms on Ethernet, IMA, ATM and MPLS. Network management using NetMRI, Concord, AirMagnet and CiscoWorks. I planned and implemented network projects, and diagnosis/repair of connectivity and routing issues. I developed standards for network change controls and documentation of processes. I was responsible for the design and implementation of NetMRI for event management and policy compliance/analysis solution support PCI requirements. Finally, I developed standards for process automation and network compliance analysis and remediation.

Skills

Specialized and extensive experience in local- and wide-area networking, telecommunications (IP and TDM), hybrid networking, security (firewalls, IPS/IDS, VPN), and wireless.  Experienced in network automation and scripted services, cloud computing (Amazon AWS, Microsoft Azure), process standardization (ITIL), workflow management (Agile), and compliance (PCI-DSS, HIPAA, SOX).

LAN/WAN Design
Information Security
Compliance & Standardization
Product Management
Wireless & Telephony

Education

2012-2015

Liberty University

Bachelors of Science in Interdisciplinary Studies, emphasizing the cognates of Criminal Justice, Natural Sciences & Biblical Studies.

1987-1990

Wooddale High School, Memphis, Tennessee

Advanced Placement studies in mathematics, science and literature.  Lettered in choir, soccer and swimming.  Academic and music scholarships.

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