JASON LOPES

EXECUTIVE MANAGEMENT: INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY

▪ IT Leadership and Strategy  ▪ Project Management ▪ Cybersecurity Management ▪ IT Governance ▪

▪ Mentoring and Talent Development ▪ Budgeting, Vendor Relations, and Negotiation ▪

Professional Summary

Seasoned IT Executive with a wealth of experience in successfully spearheading and executing intricate, and cutting-edge IT projects. Demonstrated mastery in IT strategy development, cybersecurity management, and technology road mapping. Proficient in enhancing organizational productivity through the implementation of innovative technology solutions, adept project management, and strategic planning prowess.

Project & Program Management 

Extensive expertise in innovative IT management with a proven track record of successfully overseeing large-scale IT projects, including budgetary management and expenditure planning, while effectively coordinating staff, partners, and vendors. Proficient in comprehensive IT systems performance and health analysis, and quality control, ensuring the delivery of cutting-edge technology solutions. Demonstrated ability to provide enterprise-wide leadership through clear, decisive, and insightful communication.

Strategic Planning & Execution

Lead full project lifecycles, from initiation to deployment, driving innovative technology initiatives that result in significant advancements in staff productivity. Skillfully craft and execute comprehensive long-term strategies, ensuring IT solutions are in perfect harmony with business goals and stakeholder demands. Utilize a dynamic and passionate approach to spearhead new projects, establishing the necessary organizational and program frameworks to achieve strategic visions. Work in close partnership with C-Suite executives to create and sustain technology solutions that support long-term business objectives and foster corporate growth.

Team & Organizational Leadership

Proactively foster a culture devoted to amplifying business value, streamlining efficiency, and broadening capabilities through the strategic implementation of technical products and solutions. Acknowledged as a dependable advisor known for providing strategic foresight, exceptional leadership, and a consistent history of successful operational execution. Extensive experience in hiring, mentoring, and developing talent.

Professional Experience

R/GA, New York, NY
Executive IT Director
April 2000 – April 2023

• Formulated and executed a global IT strategy, including infrastructure and security initiatives.
• Provided leadership and mentorship to a global team of senior IT professionals in a fast-paced environment.
• Ensured strict adherence to industry best practices and security standards.
• Fostered cross-organizational collaboration by leveraging emerging technologies to enhance workflow and productivity.
• Established policies and processes for compliance requirements, such as Sarbanes-Oxley Act, GDPR, SOC 2.
• Planned and executed the consolidation and migration from on-premises physical and virtual infrastructure to cloud services and local data centers, reducing cost, and simplifying the local support requirements for branch offices.
• Designed and executed systems facilitating a smooth transition for staff to seamlessly adapt to the remote work model, utilizing technologies including Microsoft's RDS and Teradici's PCoIP. This pivotal contribution enabled efficient remote work experiences in response to the challenges brought about by the Covid pandemic.
• Manage IT budget of over $3,000,000 for a 2000+ employee agency.
• Effectively implemented a worldwide parallel file system, using IBM’s Spectrum Scale, resolving collaboration issues between R/GA's content studio and the broader organization.
• Designed and implemented a high-capacity file transfer system, facilitating the daily exchange of terabytes of data to clients, securely. This significantly improved our content studio's collaboration efficiency with clients, enabling a closer to real-time interaction experience.
• Cultivated and managed vendor and partner relationships to ensure alignment with agency objectives, priorities, and timelines.
• Demonstrated hands-on technical proficiency with Azure, AWS, Google Cloud, Office365, Google Workspace, Wiz.io, Cloudhealth, GIT, Microsoft Power Platform, VMware virtualization, SAN fabrics, cybersecurity tools (e.g., nmap, nbtscan, Wireshark), dot1x, RADIUS, and Public Key Infrastructure (PKI).
• Led the scaling of IT systems to accommodate company growth, expanding from 120 employees to over 2000 across 13 global offices over a decade.
• Planned and deployed enterprise search in order to reduce the complexity of navigating various file systems containing unstructured data.
• Implemented systems for performance and systems health monitoring of core infrastructure, providing a reliable and predictable ecosystem to guarantee over 99% uptime.  

Language Proficiencies

• Portuguese (Fluent)
• Spanish (Intermediate)