Experience

Lemongrass

• United Kingdom
• IT Services and IT Consulting
• 300 - 400 Employee

• • Jan 2019 - Present

  In this position I perform the Executive role of Chief Information Security Officer (CISO).Managing and growing the Infrastructure Team by means of local Employment.I also engage in Pre-Sales and Sales meetings with customers.Attend and present Infrastructure and Security Workshops with Enterprise customers.Plan and manage the Infrastructure and Security components of Cloud Migration Projects and Full Stack Automation. As well as manage the resource assignments and utilisation for these aspects of the projects.My CISO responsibilities also includes Infrastructure and Security Audits and schedules pertaining to developing Standard Operating Procedures Ensuring Regulatory Compliance of Enterprise Customer environments with regards to HIPAA, PCI and various ISO certifications using the NIST Cybersecurity Framework and CIS Benchmarks.Some of my Enterprise engagements include: HeinekenGrowmark IncAlkermesNu Skin EnterprisesJohn DeereJafraBio-RadHewlett-Packard Inc. Show less

• • Mar 2018 - Jan 2019

  My responsibilities as Capability Lead included Attending and leading On-Site Customer workshops and engagements with various Enterprise Customers in Europe. I worked with development teams on automation, and managed Infrastructure teams during project implementation and consequent operational activities, as well as oversee the solution architecture for SAP to AWS Cloud Migrations.The Capability Lead role involved building various technical capabilities and competency through knowledge sharing, training and Hiring in order to fulfil specific tasks and functions on new and existing Enterprise Projects. Show less

• • Jul 2017 - Feb 2018

  As a senior resource I was involved in a range of migration projects in which Lemongrass migrated existing infrastructure and workloads to the cloud. This included primarily SAP implementations and also standard features and applications.I was also utilised as a resource to the team with my years of experience and expertise in Linux environments, Monitoring and Security, related to on premises and cloud infrastructure, auditing and best practices.From the start of my employment at Lemongrass Consulting I have been involved in a number of enterprise customer engagements with regards to SAP migrations to AWS.Indivior PLCAssisting with the infrastructure build for the SAP Migration to AWS.Design and Build Suse Manager Server for SLES security Hardening, configuration management and patch lifecycle management.Compass Group UKAssisting with the infrastructure build for the SAP Migration to AWS.Attending Workshops and creating Design Docs for the phase 2 migration of SAP integration systems like ISIM/ISAM, BPM, OCW, SMART, and MTS Dashboard.HeinekenDesign and build of AWS infrastructure. Security assessments, controls and governance. Building a de-coupled and secure extension to the Heineken Network to which multiple Operational Companies migrate their SAP B1 and Hana data. Show less



Gulf Contracting Company W.L.L.

• Qatar
• Construction
• 300 - 400 Employee

• Technical Lead

  • Aug 2016 - Jun 2017

  I joined Gulf Contracting Company to be able to apply my knowledge gained as a Cloud Computing professional in the industry by leading a team in their transition from on premise physical and virtual environments to Open Source and Cloud Computing. Never being someone to back down from a challenge, I calculated all the risks and rewards and made the decision to do this ground breaking work in the Middle East, which is currently one of the fastest growing adopters of Cloud, Virtualization and Open Source technologies in the world. This resonated well with my ability to adapt and learn new approaches to everyday tasks and to use my knowledge gained by hands-on experience to impart knowledge on a team and provide guidance in order to set them up for success. Some of the challenges I encountered was having to learn a new environment at a high rate as well as identify, suggest and implement improvements right at the start. I managed to Deliver on a few critical projects in a short space of time because of my ability to communicate with ease across a diverse multi cultural environment. Show less



Amazon Web Services (AWS)

• United States
• IT Services and IT Consulting
• 700 & Above Employee

• Sr. Cloud Support Engineer

  • Jun 2013 - Aug 2016

  As a Sr. Cloud Support engineer in AWS I have the normal job functions of the general support engineer populous with the added responsibility and satisfaction of being able to help fellow engineers in delivering deep factual insight into issues in order to empower them to deliver high quality responses to our customers. I was one of the first Sr. Engineers employed in the Cape Town site and at the time part of a relatively small group in the global network of AWS Support professionals. This position allowed me to grow tremendously as a person and enhanced my abilities in hiring and developing my peers. I am actively involved in interviews to gauge the technical depth of applicants, used for leveling decisions, as well as determine their functional ability within the team. Further to that I also offer New Hire Training on AWS architecture and soft skills, to develop new hires and give them the tools and fine tuned skills to deal with customers in a professional and confident manner. Mentoring is another big part of my position. As a senior resource I am often asked to mentor individuals in order to not only assist them but also give them the guidance needed for customer communication that add value and minimize customer effort. I am basically one of the go to guys in the team and have earned lasting trust and good rapport with all the engineers and associates. Part of my day also involves formulating a plan of attack on high case volume days as well as delegating duties and managing workflows in order for us to have large impact with quick quality driven turn around on customer cases. Some of my responsibilities include: Casework Mentor Technical Sage Soft Skills Advisor Primary On call Role Secondary On call Role Escalations Role Deep Dive technical issues EC2 Operations Engineer Bridging between Premium Support and Service Teams Hiring Training - Both New hire and 1 to 1. Planning team action Delegation of duties Show less



AdvanceNet (Pty) Ltd

• Johannesburg Area, South Africa

• Technical Consultant - Infrastructure Sales

  • Jan 2013 - May 2013

  As Technical Consultant in the sales team I am responsible for assisting the Account Managers with Technical information and Solution Design as per their individual customer requirements. This includes Solution Architecture and Technical Closing of pending deals. With my varied experience and expert knowledge of all the technologies involved in the Information and Communication Technology Industry, I am from time to time required to assist with implementation of the quoted and designed solutions at various client sites, as well as mentoring engineers during these processes. The position involves Low, Intermediate and High Level client engagements and meetings with various levels of business structures, from technical to financial and management, in order to scope, quote, plan, present and implement. Show less



Qualica Technologies

• South Africa
• IT Services and IT Consulting
• 1 - 100 Employee

• • Apr 2012 - Dec 2012

  After successful improvement and implementation of various technologies to ensure the smooth running of the existing Qualica Infrastructure, I was approached by management to take over from the previous person in this position, after he moved employment.I've been a clear candidate for this opportunity due to my past experience and project work in our Airline division, as well as the fact that I managed to stabilise and improve the infrastructure division to the point that it could be handed over to my junior in the infrastructure department. Show less

• • Oct 2011 - Apr 2012

  With the growth of the business various Business Units were formed per Product Range that Qualica offers.Infrastructure plans, designs and implements the technology base on which these business units operate.This includes Disaster recovery, security, maintenance and performance evaluation and recommendation.

• • Nov 2008 - Oct 2011

  Management and maintenance of Large Scale Networks for Financial, Investment and Airline industries. Constantly planning and implementing new technologies to keep systems on international standards and evolution in Cloud Computing, Virtualization, Centralized Storage, Disaster Recovery and distributed processing in data center environments, using various Linux and Microsoft Solutions.Diagnosing, Monitoring and analyzing infrastructure to plan and implement performance based improvements. Fulfilling Senior Support Level tasks and managing peers in an international service delivery team for a financial client in five African countries and Mauritius as well as a country wide investment company Branch VPN.Project Lead in the planning and implementation a new airline booking management system inclusiveof investigation for a five year horizon on Dell Blade Hardware and VMWare Software that enabled maximum uptime and peak performance during high volume operations.Responsible for one on one and Classroom type training of support personnel in fault finding and general maintenance on all Systems. Show less



Axiom computer networks

• Johannesburg Area, South Africa

• Managing Member

  • Jul 2007 - Oct 2008

  Responsible for a range of applications in which I had to draw on my past skills and experience in the past. Technical aspect of call center setup, training and implementation of new technologies as well as the roll-out of a CRM and ERP system that was actively tied in to the call center applications Experience in the Wireless Networking field for planning and roll-out of Infrastructure, based on Metropolitan Meshed Networking which includes Point to multi point, Point to Point, and Gateway / Node Mesh networking. Using a Hosted Mesh and billing Platform. Developed wireless units in the form of integrated VOIP handsets that seamlessly connected to the mesh created in a specified area. Other areas of involvement included the installation of biometrics access control and Time and attendance solutions. Developed a Portable and WiFi unit, that enables current Bio-metric and Time & Attendance equipment to communicate over various platforms including IP, WiFi, GSM, 3G and CDMA by using combinations of some meshed nodes and routers. Constant implementation of new technologies in the WiFi, VOIP and CCTV arena's by insuring interoperability between all the platforms, and periodically investigating new technologies in my personal R&D environment. Show less



ZA Telecommunications

• Johannesburg Area, South Africa

• Technical Director

  • Mar 2006 - Jul 2007

  Responsible for the technical department and the development of an in house Voice Over IP and VPN Solution, utilizing DSL and private Wireless infrastructure links. Diagnosed and resolved a huge stability problems on a Wireless Infrastructure Backbone, which was run on installations of various High Sites using the 5.8 and 2.4 GHz ISM Band for WiFi Networks. Most of these links were point to point and Point to Multi point locations. Re-planned and reconfigured the entire Wireless network and increased stability to a 99.9% uptime situation. My experience in IP routing using various topologies like OSPF as well as some Meshed networking principles ensured the success of the installation. Implementation of an open source platform based SNMP and SMS monitoring system was also key in ensuring maximum uptime and response. Show less



Axiom Computer Networks

• Johannesburg Area, South Africa

• Managing Member

  • Nov 1998 - Feb 2006

  This business was Started as a total solution provider for small to medium sized companies, with the main aim being consulting on various productivity solutions. During this time I also designed and developed a Software application to manage last minute meal changes to flights for Gate Gourmet, that was used throughout their South African Operations. Contracting to some Larger clients became the fous in the later years where my Responsibilities ranged from ISP Services, IVR Applications and Fax to Email Server setup and Maintenance. Part of my duties was planning and managing Data Centre moves, which involved extensive planning and checks to ensure zero downtime of live hosted servers. This was done successfully every time with no reported downtime on critical services. Show less



Avon Cosmetics UK

• Johannesburg Area, South Africa

• MIS Manager

  • Nov 1996 - Nov 1998

  Attended system and Software training in Northampton U.K. After which, Back in South Africa I worked closely with contractors and other specialists while implementing a new I.T infrastructure for the South African head office. Project and infrastructure planning as well as implementing help desk and remote maintenance features. Responsible for the roll out of new enterprise standard Desktops, Laptops and Servers with centralized configuration management systems throughout the SA Head Office and Call centre as well as branch offices. Other responsibilities included generating weekly and monthly management reports, as well as writing new reports as and when required by the EXCO. Extracting data from the main database for use in other third party software applications. Gained extensive experience on database management, integrity checking as well as repairing and rebuilding of corrupt data. Show less



Gate Gourmet

• Switzerland
• Airlines and Aviation
• 700 & Above Employee

• Information Systems Supervisor

  • Oct 1995 - Oct 1996

  Responsible for the maintenance of all the electronic equipment on the site, including fax machines and copiers. I had to ensure minimum down time in this 24 hour operation. I was also expected to be available at all times. The LAN system consisted of a Netware 3.12 and UnixWare 2.0 File and Application Servers which needed to be maintained on a hardware as well as software level. Optimized this system to run reliably and with improved performance. Appointed project leader for an outsourced Rascal application implementation. Show less



Saga Computers

• Johannesburg Area, South Africa

• Contractor

  • Aug 1995 - Oct 1995

  Contracted to JCI and Amplats via Saga Computers, for on site maintenance of online systems. Responsibilities included general networking and infrastructure management, as well as mainframe connectivity, printing and data export, using RAMBA and other 3270 emulation programs. Contracted to JCI and Amplats via Saga Computers, for on site maintenance of online systems. Responsibilities included general networking and infrastructure management, as well as mainframe connectivity, printing and data export, using RAMBA and other 3270 emulation programs.



D-Tech

• Johannesburg Area, South Africa

• Technical Manager

  • Mar 1994 - Aug 1995

  Responsible for Building and repairing file servers and workstations. Telephonic support on network products and software. Servicing, maintenance and repair of networking equipment and end user PC's on site. Installation of FAX and MHS Gateways and their related software, this also included dial in gateways to the Internet, TCP/IP installations involving X-Windows on SCO-UNIX and software installations to get interconnectivity between IBM Mainframes and PC’s with various Operating Systems. Responsible for Building and repairing file servers and workstations. Telephonic support on network products and software. Servicing, maintenance and repair of networking equipment and end user PC's on site. Installation of FAX and MHS Gateways and their related software, this also included dial in gateways to the Internet, TCP/IP installations involving X-Windows on SCO-UNIX and software installations to get interconnectivity between IBM Mainframes and PC’s with various Operating Systems.



Transtel

• Telecommunications
• 1 - 100 Employee

• System Administrator

  • Feb 1991 - Feb 1994

  Responsible for administrating two XENIX wan’s that was linked with the whole of the Johannesburg area’s fault report system and stores inventory system. Generating weekly reports and upload them to the country wide BBS. I used TCP/IP to link my workstation with the two XENIX server’s via a Banyan Vines network. I wrote a users manual about working on the XENIX systems, for my follower in that position. As TECHNICHIAN Installation and maintenance on a range of different equipment for SAA. Including Networking Software. The kind of equipment that I worked with includes the following: Fax machines, Telex machines, Computers, PABX's, Computer interfaces. Installation of computer data cables, of which I have experience in copper, co-axial as well as optic fiber, for use with Ethernet, Arcnet and Token Ring WAN and LAN. Computer interfacing of the Fire alarm and access control system at the technical area of the airport. Show less