Information Technology Senior Director

Mervin Richards

Senior Director of Information Technology

**********@*****.***

https://www.linkedin.com/in/mervrich/

Denver, CO, USA 347-***-****

Visionary IT leader with 15+ years’ experience driving revenue growth through digital transformation, Salesforce, and AI automation. Expert in leading cross-functional teams and delivering scalable, strategic technology solutions that enhance customer success and align with corporate goals. Work Experience

Technology Consultant Jan 2024 - Present

SSP Solutions

Led cybersecurity compliance initiatives aligning with PCI DSS, NIST, and ISO 27001, reducing vulnerabilities by 15% across 15+ business units.

Managed a $2M+ technology refresh for 20+ business units, completing projects 25% ahead of schedule and securing 10% cost savings through vendor negotiations.

Spearheaded AI-driven automation projects, improving network uptime to 99.9% and enhancing operational efficiency.

Advised C-level executives on IT financial planning, leading to a 20% reduction in annual technology costs by optimizing vendor contracts and consolidating software subscriptions, maximizing ROI, and aligning IT investments with long-term business objectives.

Led vendor evaluation and selection processes including RFIs/RFPs for enterprise systems implementation, streamlining procurement cycle by 25%.

Oversaw deployment and optimization of Salesforce CRM to support revenue operations and improve cross-functional alignment with customer service platforms. Information Technology Operations Manager Jan 2022 - Jan 2024 Marriott International Denver

Directed IT operations across 12+ business units, overseeing cybersecurity, cloud migrations, and network enhancements, reducing system downtime by 20%.

Led and mentored a team of 3 IT leaders and 9 technical staff, promoting 4+ employees into leadership roles direct to Headquarters; with 30%+ promoted to senior roles within 12 months.

Became the only team in the brand and region to score 100% associate engagement in 2022 & 2023 for fundamentals of servant leadership, communication/engagement/listening/shaping, and adapting culture into the department.

Developed and enforced ITIL-based incident, problem, and change management frameworks, reducing incident response time by 15% and increasing IT service efficiency, leading to a 25% improvement in customer satisfaction scores.

Ensured full regulatory compliance with IT security policies, successfully passing 5 consecutive audits without major findings, maintaining a 100% compliance rate and mitigating potential legal risks.

Strengthened business continuity planning (BCP), increasing recovery readiness by 50%. Director, Enterprise Technology & Revenue Sep 2021 - Mar 2022 Marriott International New York

Increased IT and operational revenue by 450% through strategic IT service enhancements and automation.

Managed multi-million-dollar IT infrastructure projects, delivering multiple projects on time and under budget, while implementing automation tools that increased system reliability by 40% and reduced downtime by 60%.

Negotiated vendor contracts totaling $5M, reducing IT costs by 20% while improving technology solutions.

Applied Six Sigma and Agile methodologies to streamline IT service delivery, resulting in a 15% reduction in process cycle times and a 20% increase in team productivity. Senior Manager of IT, Network Specialist, IT Compliance Manager Jan 2019 - Jan 2021 Marriott International Denver

Led IT teams overseeing security audits and risk assessments across ISO 27001, HITRUST, NIST, PCI DSS, ensuring full compliance.

Senior Property System Technician Oct 2012 - Apr 2016 Marriott International

Area Systems Analyst Mar 2010 - Oct 2012

Marriott International Virgin Islands

Volunteer

Contributor Apr 2019 - Present

Denver Children's Hospital

Contributor Apr 2016 - Present

New York National Breast Cancer Coalition

Leader Dec 2012 - Present

Casa Protegida Julia de Burgos - Women's Shelter

Core Skills

Governance, Risk & Compliance (GRC), Digital Transformation, Cybersecurity (NIST, PCI DSS, ISO 27001), AI Automation, IT Financial Management, Cloud Migrations, Business Continuity & Disaster Recovery, RevOps Systems, Salesforce, RFP/RFI Leadership, Agile & Six Sigma Education

Ivanna Eudora kean High School Aug 2006 - Jun 2010 High School Diploma Computer Science

Awards

Diversity, Equity & Inclusion JW Excellence Award Jun 2023 Marriott International

Mid-Level Managers' Symposium (MLMS) Honoree Mar 2023 MLMS

AfroTech Excelling Leaders Nomination Oct 2023

AfroTech

Certificates and Professional Licences

Agile Project Management Nov 2023

Coursera

Asana Ambassador Dec 2024

Asana

Licensed Workflow Specialist Dec 2024

Asana

Certified Regulatory Compliance Manager Nov 2024

University of Pennsylvania

Developing Innovative Ideas for Product Leaders Nov 2024 Developing Innovative Ideas for Product Leaders

Six Sigma Black Belt Professional (SSBBP) Sep 2020 MSI Institute

Certified Management Executive (CME) Sep 2019

MSI Institute

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