27 Years of Building IT That Actually Works

I started in IT the way a lot of people did — on the help desk, solving problems one ticket at a time. Over 27 years, I worked my way through systems administration, virtualization engineering, IT management, and into IT Director roles. Every step taught me something different about how technology serves (or fails) the people who depend on it.

The thread that runs through my entire career is this: I've always been the person who sees a broken process and builds the solution. Not theoretically — actually builds it. When a ServiceNow rollout was failing, I stepped in and delivered it in 2.5 months. When a global pharmaceutical company needed IT support built from zero, I hired the team, designed the processes, and stood it up. When I saw that my own organization needed tools that didn't exist, I taught myself AI-assisted development and built them.

For the last decade, I've worked exclusively in pharmaceutical and biotech — an industry where IT doesn't just support the business, it enables patient outcomes. I understand GxP compliance, FDA audit readiness, commercial launch preparation, and the unique pressures of operating in a regulated environment with global teams and tight timelines.

Today, through DT Advanced, I bring that same hands-on, results-driven approach to pharma and biotech companies that need strategic IT leadership and modern solutions without the overhead of a full-time executive hire.

Career Highlights

Director, Information Technology

Outlook Therapeutics, Inc. (Remote / HQ: Iselin, NJ) — Jun 2022–Present

Sole IT leader for a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company with operations across US, EU, and UK. Oversaw all end-to-end IT operations including infrastructure, security, compliance, application development, and vendor management. Led ERP migration to Oracle NetSuite, deployed Okta identity platform with SAML SSO and MFA, and designed Entra ID Conditional Access policies. Built 5 production-grade internal applications using AI-assisted development (Claude Code, React, Azure Static Web Apps, Microsoft Graph API), including a regulatory compliance mailbox monitor, internal recruiting portal, and custom HRIS system.

Senior Manager, Global Help Desk

GW Pharmaceuticals / Jazz Pharmaceuticals — Carlsbad, CA — Jan 2017–Jun 2022

Built the entire US IT support operation from the ground up — 4 onsite technicians and 6 remote agents supporting 375+ employees across 4 time zones. Promoted to lead Global IT Help Desk: 18 agents and 2 managers across 4 sites on 2 continents. Achieved 4.91/5.0 CSAT rating. Migrated 600+ mailboxes to Microsoft 365 in 90 days. Rescued a failing ServiceNow implementation and delivered it in under 10 weeks. Remotely onboarded 420+ employees during COVID.

IT Manager

Thomson Reuters — Denver, CO — Mar 2013–Jan 2017

Led a team supporting 120 software developers and QA engineers. Built and managed internal cloud infrastructure with 250+ servers on VMware Cloud Director. Automated system builds reducing developer downtime from 2 days to under 4 hours. Implemented 24/7 monitoring for customer-facing production products.

Senior Virtualization Engineer

CSG Systems — Englewood, CO — Mar 2012–Mar 2013

Managed 120+ production VMware ESXi servers for a SaaS billing platform. Reduced disaster recovery time from 48 hours to under 5 hours. Closed a 5-month security patching gap with automated deployment procedures.

Senior Systems Engineer

CH2M / Jacobs Engineering — Englewood, CO — Sep 2006–Mar 2012

Designed high-availability VMware infrastructure for the Panama Canal widening project and supported London 2012 Olympics IT in a global joint venture. Built CH2M's entire virtual infrastructure, virtualized 70% of the data center, and designed the parallel DR facility with automated failover.

Earlier Career

1999–2006

Systems Engineer III at Argent Mortgage (Denver, CO). Network Administrator III at Thomson Reuters / Thomson Financial & Healthcare (Jun 1999–Sep 2005).

What Sets Me Apart

I build, not just advise

I don't deliver PowerPoints — I deliver working solutions. When your team needs a compliance dashboard or an HR system, I build it. When you need a ServiceNow rollout, I lead the implementation.

I know pharma

A decade in pharmaceutical and biotech means I don't need a crash course on your industry. I understand the compliance landscape, the vendor ecosystem, and the operational realities from day one.

I leverage AI practically

I use AI daily to build applications, automate workflows, create content, and accelerate delivery. I bring that practical experience to my clients, helping them adopt AI tools that produce real results.

I scale to your needs

Fractional means flexible. Ramp up during critical periods like a commercial launch or ERP migration, scale back during steady-state. You pay for outcomes, not overhead.

Technical Expertise

Platforms & Infrastructure

Microsoft 365, Microsoft Azure, Entra ID (Azure AD), SharePoint Online, Oracle NetSuite, VMware

Security & Identity

Okta (MFA/SSO/SAML), Microsoft Defender, Conditional Access, Incident Response Planning

Development

React, Azure Static Web Apps, Azure Functions, Microsoft Graph API, PowerShell, Power Platform

AI & Automation

Claude (Anthropic), ChatGPT, Gemini, ElevenLabs, AI-accelerated software development, prompt engineering

Methodologies

ITIL/ITSM, Service Transition, Change/Problem/Incident Management, Vendor Management

Education

B.S. Finance/Economics — Vocational Commercial College I, Düsseldorf, Germany

Beyond the Day Job

When I'm not building IT solutions, I'm building something else — literally. I'm an avid overlander and expedition vehicle enthusiast, documenting builds and adventures on my YouTube channel, DT Adventure 4×4. I also run the IT Career Guide channel, where I help people navigate careers in information technology, from getting started to reaching director-level roles.

I believe in continuous learning, practical problem-solving, and the idea that technology should make people's work lives easier, not harder.

Let's Connect

Whether you have a project in mind or just want to explore what fractional IT leadership could look like — the first conversation is free.

Schedule a Discovery Call