It Operations Business

David C. Braun

Address: Sugar Grove, IL

Phone number: 630-***-****

Email address: *************@*****.***

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/davidcbraun

Career Summary

Executive Technology Leader with extensive corporate and consulting experience focused on seamlessly bridging the gap between technical and business leadership, leveraging an entrepreneurial mindset to drive process enhancements, bring together teams to reach aggressive goals, and influence bottom-line improvements.

Executive responsible for all investment negotiations and funding round search for initial $5M and Series A round of $30M.

Recognized Subject Matter Expert (SME) and Executive Speaker at prominent security conferences, sharing insights on cybersecurity, governance, and compliance to global audiences.

Spearheaded transformation of IT operations, shifting from a restrictive office to a proactive service provider within 12 months, managing a $17M budget with full P&L responsibility.

Built and led cybersecurity practices for multiple organizations, conducting Penetration Testing, Vulnerability Assessments, Policy Creation, Network Audits, and Compliance Validations across industries such as Banking, Healthcare, Life Sciences, and Insurance.

Represented the company as a panel expert at national cybersecurity trade shows and authored cybersecurity blogs and white papers to establish thought leadership. KEY SKILLS

Global Cybersecurity

Expertise

Strategic Leadership/IT

Operations

Management Telephony Solutions

Sales Engineering

Executive

Communications

Talent Development

Governance &

Compliance Client Partnership Change Management

Process Improvement Coaching & Mentoring Budgeting Emerging Technologies Digital Transformation Thought Leadership Product Engineering AI/ML Blockchain ITIL Cloud Solutions Team Building

PROFESSIONAL WORK EXPERIENCE

11/2024

Los Angeles, CA

COO - Remote

LIF3AWAY, INC.

Senior Leadership member responsible for all operations and business growth, involved with setting and achieving revenue goals across business Operations, IT Operations, IT Security, including building cybersecurity team and posture from the ground up.

Spearheaded leadership development of all policies and procedures for business operations with full P&L responsibility.

Directly involved with the hiring of the full technology team, Sales, Marketing, Operations, Legal, Finance, and other key team members to build out the 30 person staff maintained today.

PROFESSIONAL WORK EXPERIENCE

08/2023 – 12/2024

Champaign, IL

05/2020 – 12/2023

USA

08/2018 – 08/2023

Geneva, IL

Responsible for initial deployment of GCP SaaS cloud infrastructure, Google Workspace, Figma, Atlassian, Jira, Trello, Slack, Zoho CRM, and website setup and deployment. Built initial Microsoft Azure environment with VDI clients. Involved in creation of plans for investment search, marketing, sales and initial launch of all business across cities in the US and Europe. Responsible for all direct coordination of investor meetings, outreach, and Pitch Deck creation.

Implemented change control and process improvements, standardizing IT, business and Operations practices across all departments during an equity investment process.

Managed all Technology team activity and operations with staff located across the US and remote to build the initial MVP for our product launch. Partnered with VP Operations to build new call center plans with a partner in the Philippines.

Created marketing and expansion plans to grow services, driving business development across multiple states and countries.

VP, IT Operations, Security & Managed IT Services - Onsite PAVLOV MEDIA, INC.

Play a key role in the Senior Leadership Team, setting and achieving revenue goals across IT Operations, Security, Managed IT Services, Telephony, and ERP departments, including building cybersecurity team and posture from the ground up as CISO.

Spearheaded transformation of IT operations, shifting from a restrictive office to a proactive service provider within 12 months, managing a $17M budget with full P&L responsibility.

Restructured and unified a disjointed team, growing from 16 to 32 positions, including 2 Directors and a Senior Manager, through strategic leadership and mentoring.

Deployed GCP SaaS Infrastructure for newly acquired team in Canada Deployed full AWS SaaS Infrastructure to support corporate projects and environments to enable growth and cloud migration. Implemented change control and process improvements, standardizing IT practices across operations as well as introduced ITIL processes to ensure a seamless transition during a private equity acquisition. Partnered with VP Customer Service to build new call center in Philippines, leading IT staff training and elevating customer service. Created marketing and expansion plans to grow Managed IT Services, driving business development across multiple districts before divestiture. Led significant projects including SaaS cloud migration strategies, security solution enhancements, and consolidating Active Directory from 12 forests to 1, improving Microsoft Azure deployment and VDI utilization for business units. Adjunct Instructor - Remote

COMPTIA

Worked with CompTIA intermittently over an 18-year period. I taught classes during this tenure from A+, I-Net+, Network+ over that time as a consulting engagement.

In 2020, I became a full-time instructor for a period of three years where I provided instruction at leading universities for ITF+, A+, Network+, Security+, CYSA+, and PENTEST+ courses.

I provided an overview and validation of new PENTEST+ Labs and Tests before publication.

CompTIA A+ and Security+ Certified.

Chief Technology Officer (CTO) Virtual Chief Information Security Officer (CISO) - Remote

INDECIUM CONSULTING GROUP

Managed a $3M budget with full P&L ownership, driving global expansion from 2 to 12 products across South America, India, EU, Australia, and Canada. Directed and built an entire team direct reports ranging from 4 – 75 engineers, PROFESSIONAL WORK EXPERIENCE

06/2015 – 08/2018

Central/Western US &

Canada

overseeing Pre-Sales, Professional Services, Executive Coaching, and Policy Education, and serving as a member of the Senior Leadership Team. Built and led cybersecurity practices for multiple organizations, conducting Penetration Testing, Vulnerability Assessments, Policy Creation, Network Audits, and Compliance Validations across industries such as Banking, Healthcare, Life Sciences, and Insurance.

Developed and implemented sales processes for sales engineers, significantly growing sales with clients such as Columbian Airport, Navy, and the Department of Defense of Mexico.

Managed cybersecurity-related customer communications, including policy notifications, audit responses, and breach notifications. Created and executed go-to-market strategies for Sales Development Representatives (SDR) and Account Executives (AE). Trained over 200 engineers globally on cybersecurity solutions through a comprehensive training program that included webinars, in-person sessions, and an LMS.

Conducted cybersecurity vulnerability assessments and penetration testing, providing actionable remediation plans to clients and generating over $5M in revenue through successful engagements.

Developed a custom channel support process for over 50 global partners, authoring training and onboarding materials to ensure consistent and effective partner engagement.

Built all company cloud environments within Azure, AWS and GCP. Represented the company as a panel expert at national cybersecurity trade shows and authored cybersecurity blogs and white papers to establish thought leadership.

Developed and taught instructor-led courses for customers, partners, and employees on cybersecurity software, enhancing product understanding and utilization.

Key Clients/Engagements Supported: TigerGraph – Cybersecurity Solutions Architect Practice Leader Mar 2021 – Aug 2022; Fidelis Cybersecurity – Cybersecurity Presales, Channel & Training Architect Oct 2018 – Mar 2021; SecureAuth – IAM, Pen Testing & Vulnerability Mgmt Presales Architect Aug 2018 – Aug 2020; Safeguard Cyber – Cybersecurity Solutions Architect & Project Lead Jun 2020 – Jan 2021; Large Regional Bank – Security Auditor & Data Recovery Architect Aug 2021 – Dec 2021; City Planning Software Company – PenTest & Vulnerability Mgmt Tester Mar 2021 – May 2022; Global Pharmaceutical Company – Project Lead & Engineering Manager Oct 2018 – Aug 2020

Sr. Lead Strategic Pre-Sales Overlay – US & Canada - Remote SMARSH (PREVIOUSLY ACTIANCE)

09/2014 – 06/2015

US & Canada, REMOTE

02/2011 – 08/2014

Central US, REMOTE

10/2008 – 02/2011

US & Canada

08/2007 – 09/2008

US & Canada

05/2006 – 08/2007

US

Sr. Lead Strategic Pre-Sales Overlay - Remote

COLLIBRA

SE Manager - Remote

Varonis

VP & CTO Technology & Engineering - Remote

XOU Solutions Limited

Director, IT Operations & Infrastructure - Onsite

Vibes Media

Manager, Infrastructure Systems - Onsite

DBS Communication

PROFESSIONAL WORK EXPERIENCE

02/2004 – 05/2006 Certification & CompTIA Instructor - Hybrid Microhard Technologies

08/2001 – 02/2004

Freeport, United States

08/2000 – 08/2001

Dallas, United States

08/1996 – 08/2000

Downers Grove,

United States

Director, Distributed Systems - Onsite

Newell Rubbermaid

Director, Technical Services - Onsite

Turner Construction

Director, Network Support Services - Onsite

ServiceMaster

MILITARY SERVICE

US Army (E5) Supervisor, LAN/Computer Operations – Onsite – 09/1982 – 12/1996 EDUCATION

08/1989 – 05/1992

Berlin, Germany

Computer Science Bachelor of Science

Parkwood University

Certifications

ITIL V3 Foundation Certified – August 2008

CompTIA A+ - August 2023 – Credential ID: GLWTG1PYEFB4Q73G CompTIA Security+ - August 2023 – Credential ID:

HNJ7Q09SHMV11MWW

Achievements

Gerson Lehrman Group – Council of Technology Solution Advisors International Who’s Who of IT Professionals (Published Member) Advisory Board Member – NEWF Technology, LLC – 01/2025 – Present

Contact this candidate