Brian McFarlane

About Brian McFarlane

I am a senior IT leader with 30+ years of experience transforming technology operations…

Experience

1. Senior Director Information Technology Operations

   Dataminr

   Sep 2021 — Present

   Transformed IT from a reactive, generalist group into specialized Systems Engineering and Support teams, shifting delivery from break/fix to strategic solutions. Adopted engineering-first practices with Infrastructure as Code (Terraform), version control, and formal release processes—eliminating configuration-related outages and accelerating service delivery- Built secure, automated identity lifecycle management tied to Workday and Contractor systems, implementing Okta-based provisioning, access reviews, and deprovisioning. Enabled compliance with ISO 27001, SOC 2, and CyberSecurity Essentials Plus, supporting certification wins and renewals- Partnered with Security to align policies to process and configuration, creating clear documentation and self-service audit-ability- Elevated IT from a low-trust, complaint-driven function to a high-performing partner with CSAT of 4.9/5, cutting issue resolution from weeks to hours. Deployed a new ticketing system, knowledge bases, and AI-driven self-service to standardize support and empower users- Reduced tool sprawl by one-third, saving ~$1.5M annually while simplifying training, improving collaboration, and lowering data risk. Consolidated redundant systems (e.g, five conferencing platforms to two, three intranets down to a single one, three project management tools to one)- Advised product teams on SSO, provisioning, and identity to strengthen enterprise readiness and expand into larger markets- Streamlined global logistics for equipment lifecycle and e-waste via vendor partnerships- Established a follow-the-sun model with 24×5+ coverage, supporting employees across a dozen countries while meeting SLAs for responsiveness, resolution, and uptime.