David Armato
Irving, TX *****
214-***-**** ******@*******.*** https://www.linkedin.com/in/davidarmato/
Celebrated Global Director of IT Infrastructure
Technology Leader Directing Cutting-Edge, Cost-Effective Innovations, and Solutions
Strategic director skilled in establishing and communicating an IT vision, obtaining stakeholder and organizational buy-in while leading cross-functional efforts to achieve the organization’s milestones. Talented collaborator with a solid track record responsible for managing the organization’s service delivery efforts delivered through enterprise architectural network/security design, server/storage/desktop infrastructure, telecommunications, end user support and datacenter/BCP management. Proven leader successful in partnering with business leaders to deliver customer-focused transformational solutions with an emphasis on cost containment and risk mitigation.
Highlights of Expertise
Organizational Management
Development, Security, and Service
Executive Disposition
Cybersecurity Focused - CISSP
Mergers and Acquisitions Integration
SOX, HIPAA, PCI-DSS, COBIT, NIST
Cross-Functional Team Management
ITIL/ITSM Framework for Service Delivery
Disaster Recovery Planning
Continuous Improvement – KPIs/SLOs
Business Continuity Planning
Change Management
Emotional Intelligence (EI)
Software Licensing
Datacenter Management
Cloud Solutions (IaaS, SaaS, Azure, and O365)
Project and Vendor Management
Metrics-Driven Mindset
Highlights
Network Engineering
Conducted business continuity planning, improved and ensured reliable disaster recovery. Managed two datacenters operating in a hot-hot configuration. Oversaw network design, implementation and support of Ethernet and wifi infrastructure, firewalls, intrusion detection and prevention, load balancers, network taps, MPLS WAN/LAN/VPN, DMZ/extranet connectivity, DDoS, packet analysis including SSL decryption, and ARIN IP/SSL Cert administration. Responded to quarterly PEN tests and annual FINRA-regulated DR tests.
System Administration
Supported approximately 500 Microsoft servers with 1Pb of raw storage. The environment was 80%
virtualized with a 40:1 server to host ratio, moving from 500 physical servers to 100. Maintained Active Directory, SharePoint, VMWare, MS Exchange Email with Regulatory Email Archiving, Ethernet and fiber SANs, data replication, fax servers, mobile device management, virus protection, server/desktop patching, ERP system, advanced threat protection tools, DLP and web application firewall systems. Supported cloud-based services, included HRIS, email archiving, and spam filtering. Created implementation plan for Microsoft Office 365 and Azure. Achieved a significant reduction in Microsoft licensing, data center space, and operational costs, including power and cooling.
Voice Communications
Supported and successfully maintained 70 diverse telephone systems with approximately 1500 endpoint devices, including specialized trading floor telephony systems. Significantly reduced costs by replacing carriers and SIP integration.
Service/Desktop Support
Managed team that supported 900+ employees, 1300+ workstations, internal applications, cloud-based trading and market data solutions. Performed trading application support for internal employees and 4000+ clients.
Regulatory/Compliance Focused
Participated in regulatory and internal audit initiatives. Covered 50 key SOX control objectives. Followed SOX, COBIT, HIPAA, ITIL, and NIST framework structures for design, service and change management. Managed Incident Response Team. These efforts greatly reduced unexpected outages.
Professional Experience
Brinks, Coppell, TX
Global Director of Network and Telecom (August 2016 - February 2017)
Developed client global network architecture and unified communication strategies, including all technologies supporting telecommunications, network, LAN/WAN, routing, switching, security, load balancing and disaster recovery. Managed a team of 10 network engineer and voice communications direct reports. Led teams with data centers in Mexico, Panama, France, UK, Canada, and the US.
Identified significant IT-related overspend. Led strategic and operational plan to overhaul and consolidate the global network infrastructure and datacenter topologies with forecasted annual savings of approximately $2M.
Prepared and implemented a network interface through Microsoft Azure ExpressRoute and other cloud-based technologies. Planned for Palo Alto cloud-based firewalls to secure external interface access to Azure platform. Interfaces allowed money scanning devices on Brinks trucks to upload information while the trucks were still on the road.
Landmark Aviation (Acquired by BBA Aviation), Houston, TX
Director of IT Systems (July 2015 - April 2016)
Led IT systems teams, including network engineering, security, telephony, and service support. Implemented site technology standards, change management processes and enhanced cybersecurity measures as the organization prepared for an IPO.
Centralized service management processes to handle rapid growth due to aggressive acquisitions.
Designed the replacement of outdated telephone systems by implementing a unified communications platform with SIP integration for 1500 endpoints. Projected annual savings of $600K.
Prepared RFP for WAN overhaul to improve network security, point-of-sale reliability, and customer Wi-Fi experience. Anticipated annual savings of $120K.
Completed network security overhaul by implementing Palo Alto next-generation firewalls, FireEye advanced threat protection system and LogRhythm SIEM tool to detect and thwart malicious cyber activity.
Southwest Securities, Inc. (Acquired by Hilltop Holdings), Dallas, TX
Director of IT Systems (March 2002 - June 2015)
Provided strategic direction and oversight for enterprise architecture, infrastructure planning, implementation, and support. Accountable for $12M budget. Utilized a hands-on consensus management style. Improved service delivery through four functional areas with 45+ FTEs: Network Engineering, Systems Administration, Voice Communications, Infrastructure Project Managers, and Service and Desktop Support. Built up successful, cohesive teams with an average tenure of more than 12 years. As an IT Steering Committee member, collaborated with IT Management and business stakeholders to ensure IT planning aligned with business and regulatory objectives.
Managed the consolidation of multiple SAN arrays into a high availability disaster recovery design, resulting in $2M annual savings.
Evaluated, negotiated and managed the relocation of the production data center to a co-location facility resulting in approximately $250K in annual cost reductions.
Managed the design and relocation of the firms’ business continuity operations.
Managed implementation of third-party cloud-based solutions for financial business units.
Additional Experience
IT Systems Manager, Southwest Securities, Inc., Dallas, TX
Education
Master of Business Administration, Master of Science, Cybersecurity, May 2019 Candidate
University of Dallas, Dallas, TX
Master of Science, Telecommunications Management,
Southern Methodist University, Plano, TX
Bachelor of Science, Electrical Engineering,
University of Louisiana, Lafayette, LA
Certifications
CISSP