Senior IT Leader - Cybersecurity - IT Operations

Robert Rahrig, Jr.

McLean, VA 703-***-**** ***************@*****.***

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

Senior Director of Information Technology

IT Operations Cybersecurity AI/ML Cloud Computing

Results-focused Senior Director of IT with unparalleled leadership experience spearheading cybersecurity, big data initiatives, providing innovative solutions, managing multi-million-dollar budgets, and supporting growing businesses utilizing cutting-edge technology. Employs a deep knowledge of IT operations and a calm demeanor, expertly manages multi-year projects, resolves challenges, and integrates legacy and stand-alone systems with keen attention to detail. Highly proficient in executing full IT lifecycle management while training and mentoring staff and promoting a collaborative team culture centered on excellence, engagement, high performance, idea-sharing, and accountability.

Core Competencies

Project Management Change Management Policy/Program Development SIEM/EDR/XDR Secure SDLC

IT Operations Process Transformation Systems Integration Cybersecurity Budgeting Networking GDPR

Vendor/Partner Management Team Building NIST Data Center/Help Desk Operations Capacity Planning

Performance Optimization KPI Establishment/Attainment Disaster Recovery Planning AWS Azure MFA O365

Noteworthy Skill Utilization

24/7/365 IT Operations in High-Volume Environments Consolidate Physical Systems Analyze Large Databases

Leverage Technology for System Creation Integrate Legacy and Stand-Alone Systems Manage Complex Projects

Oversee Vendors & Outsourcing Partner Build Efficient & Cohesive Teams Provide Solutions to Big Data Challenges

Professional Experience

The Rural Broadband Association (National Telecommunications Cooperative Association) (NTCA)

Arlington, VA 2015 – 2025

A national membership organization advocating for small, independent telecommunications companies serving rural and small-town America. Provides and administrators benefits to the member companies of the association in the form of GHP, Pension, and 401K plans.

Senior Director of Information Technology and Data Security (2020-2025)

Director of Information Technology (2015-2020)

Dealt effectively as a trade association executive sponsoring rural telephone companies, advocating policies, and providing cost-effective insurance benefits to group members.

As Director, managed two offices (Arlington, VA, and Asheville, NC), oversaw a team of approximately 22 people, and spearheaded initiatives in programming, data analytics, data engineering, web programming, and network/PC support.

Promoted to Senior Director and took on the additional responsibilities for the project management office.

Transitioned an on-premises phone system and Avaya call center software to a VoIP off-premises system utilizing Cisco/Webex Contact Center Enterprise software.

Led the adoption of the NIST security framework and the creation of the annual enterprise risk assessment.

Moved the on-premises pension system to a Saas Pension System, WTW-Pension Point and an on-premises AS400 401K system to a SaaS-hosted AS400 system, removing the need for team AS400/DB2 support.

Conceptualized and participated in annual disaster recovery exercises, hiring and training a dedicated IT Security Director to handle the daily review of system, network and application events.

Created a Project Management Office (PMO) and established a Lead PMO Office position with the IT Department.

Designed and participated in annual SOC2 vendor/partner application audits, which help protect PHI or PII.

Conducted research for, and began the installation of, a Customer Relationship Management (CRM) system.

Led the development and implementation of cybersecurity policies for the business applications and for SaaS vendors storing business-critical data.

Created multi-unit cybersecurity incident response plans and directed responses to enterprise cybersecurity incidents and data breaches when they occurred.

ValueOptions Inc. Reston, VA 2006 – 2015

A large, privately owned and managed behavioral healthcare organization that provided mental health and substance abuse benefits management services to employers, health plans, and government agencies.

Director of IT Operations (2010-2015)

Manager of System Administration (2006-2010)

IT Operations: Reduced headcount and 50% of data center costs by consolidating from five to three centers as part of a corporate merger. This involved analyzing the situation, seeking cost-effective solutions, determining cost containment strategies, consolidating systems, and exiting high-cost situations.

Process Transformation: Reduced recovery time by 50% and significantly improved disaster recovery in all areas, meeting the 24-hour industry standard, and improving present client satisfaction for processing the inquiries/claims for over 40 million “covered lives.” Enabled future prospective client marketing success by conducting tests, analyzing results, creating upgraded strategies and processes, obtaining necessary budgetary approval, implementing new processes, identifying and purchasing new hardware, and securing management approval.

Strategic Technology Planning: Achieved a $200K reduction in hardware costs and a 50% decrease in total cost of ownership, resulting in $275K in savings over five years. This was accomplished seamlessly, with no business upheaval, while maintaining security, in response to the big data industry's trend towards adopting the Red Hat Linux operating system. After conducting an in-depth analysis of cost and efficiency benefits and presenting the findings, management was convinced to convert the IBM WebSphere environment from IBM POWER7 processors running IBM AIX Unix to Intel processors running Red Hat Linux.

Vendor and Partner Management: Solved the lack of consistent and centralized purchasing processes necessary to control costs and increase efficiency, leading to future big-picture engineering and problem-solving by establishing guidelines and accountability internally, and changing vendor relationships by setting clear responsibilities, policies, and procedures. Additionally, adjusted both vendor and company attitudes and established a process where the vendor became a partner with shared accountability for solutions.

Team Building: With responsibility for 24/7 coverage for System Administration and Data Center Operations, it was noted that on-call administrators were being called frequently by Operations for unnecessary/minor problems. Realized that Standard Operating procedures were outdated, incomplete, and/or not understandable by the Operations team. Collaborated with managers and IT teams to establish structure, process, and procedures, implemented training programs, and developed checklists for recurring tasks, resulting in increased morale, greater staff connection and empowerment, and freeing administrators to work on more critical initiatives.

Big Data Expertise: Successfully architected a large-scale project that paired 160M behavioral health records from 40M patients with their corresponding physical health records. Achieved by designing and performance tuning systems and storage to process the 150 TB database and present executive dashboards to clients. The project was designed to provide insight into patterns in client health that may lead to additional diagnoses later in life. The executive dashboards were designed to support treatment and preventive medicine, and to improve quality of life; this project being the first step in creating a combined electronic patient medical record.

Other Relevant Corporate Experience Pre-2000 - 2005

SCB Technology, Frankfort, KY – Team Lead/Lead Engineer (Office of Education Technology)

Trader Publishing Company, Norfolk, VA – Network/Systems Administrator

Military Experience

United States Navy, Norfolk, VA – Data Processor Petty Officer 2nd Class (E-5)

Education, Certifications, & Awards

Health Insurance Portability & Accountability Act (HIPAA) Expertise

National Institute of Standards & Technology (NIST) Acumen

Certified Information Technology Infrastructure Library (ITIL) Foundations V3.5

Certified Information Systems Security Professional (CISSP)-March 2026

Employee of the Year – Value Options (2007)

Eagle Scout – Boy Scouts of America

Contact this candidate