Adam Hess

About Adam Hess

For 30 years, I have driven digital transformation and shaped hybrid cloud architecture for the world’s largest global financial institutions. I specialize in bridging the gap between complex engineering realities and strategic business value, shifting massive legacy operating models into agile, intelligent, and highly resilient ecosystems.Currently, as a Managing Director leading Infrastructure Engineering and Hybrid Cloud Strategy, I oversee a $450M P&L and a global organization of 400+ engineers. My mandate is twofold: guarantee bulletproof reliability uptime) in highly regulated environments, and accelerate developer velocity by treating Infrastructure-as-a-Product. Through technology stack modernization and strategic sourcing, my teams consistently deliver $25M+ in annual cost savings while scaling enterprise capabilities.I am deeply passionate about the next frontier of enterprise architecture, Agentic AI. I am actively pioneering ecosystems where autonomous agents act as FinOps Enforcers, Chaos Engineering Controllers, and Incident Commanders. We are moving beyond legacy automation into self-healing, self-governing infrastructures that radically reduce operational overhead, optimize cloud economics, and mitigate risk.Whether optimizing capital allocation across multi-cloud environments or establishing Enterprise Architecture standards, I thrive where technology serves as a competitive differentiator, not just a utility.I am always open to connecting with fellow technology leaders, innovators, and industry peers who are pushing the boundaries of what enterprise infrastructure can achieve.

Experience

1. Managing Director Head of Infrastructure Engineering and Hybrid Cloud Strategy

   Citi

   Jan 2023 — Present

   As the executive head of Storage, Data Protection, and Engineered Systems, I oversee the technology portfolio and a $450M budget for one of the world\'s largest financial institutions. My mandate is to modernize critical infrastructure while maintaining near-perfect system availability and compliance across a 150-country footprint.I am currently leading a major pivot toward Agentic AI, moving beyond standard automation to true autonomy. My team is architecting an ecosystem of \"agents\"—specifically FinOps Enforcers and Chaos Engineering Controllers—that autonomously manage cost governance and resilience testing. This initiative works in tandem with our self-service and CI/CD strategies, which have already recaptured 20% of operational spend and significantly accelerated time-to-market for business applications.Additionally, I act as a bridge between the firm and the external market, managing high-stakes relationships with major hardware partners and hyperscalers (AWS, GCP) while advising internal Investment and Venture teams on emerging technology trends.

Education

• Robert Morris University

  2 Years Toward Degree, Computer/Information Technology Administration and Management

• Frostburg State University

  2 Years Toward Degree, Computer/Information Technology Administration and Management

Skills

• Integration
• Business Process Improvement
• Hp
• Disaster Recovery
• Process Improvement
• Vmware
• Information Technology
• Vendor Management
• Tactical Planning
• Linux
• Vendor Relationships
• San
• Goal-Driven Leader
• IT Strategy
• Strategic Planning
• IT Management
• Enterprise Architecture
• Strategy
• Business Analysis
• Vmware Infrastructure
• Project Management
• Data Center
• Public Speaking
• Itil
• Vdi
• Infrastructure
• Virtualization
• Microsoft Certified Professional
• Troubleshooting
• IT Infrastructure Project Management
• Software Development Life Cycle (Sdlc)
• Cloud Computing
• Team Leadership
• Vcp
• Solaris
• Leadership
• Mcp
• Storage
• Unix
• Management