Dustin Thomas

About Dustin Thomas

Experienced and dedicated IT leader and network professional with a proven track record of effectively leading global teams to accomplish organizational goals. Solid technical skills and understanding of network and telephony architecture gained through hands-on experience, training, and education. Ability to get the best results out of team members and keep them focused on the organization’s top goals through prioritization, mentoring, coaching, and general guidance based on years of experience in the IT industry. Ability to communicate at the right level of detail for various situations and audiences at all levels of the organization including executive leadership. Proficient IT leader and network professional with the ability to take the IT teams to the next level to help the broader IT department and overall organization reach their goals.

Experience

1. Global Information Technology Manager, Network and Telecommunications

   Valspar

   Nov 2012 — Present · Minneapolis, MN, US

   Role Entails: • Leading a global team that is 50% US and 50% international as well as network architecting and some senior level network engineering• Leading resources across matrixed teams to meet a common goal• Managing vendors day to day to ensure they are meeting their contractual obligations and service level agreements• Prioritize team members day to day work and projects, which is essential in Valspar’s lean staffing environment• Manage millions of dollars in network/telecom expenses and capital projects each year• Set standards, policies, and procedures for the network/telephony systems globally as well as hold the team members accountable to follow them• Directly involved in business strategy and translating that into key business projects for the network/telecom team members • Manage over 300 networked locations globally including 100 large locations• Provide continuous focus on service management to meet internal business partners expectations (SLAs)• Continuously mentor, influence, motivate, and develop teams members to ensure productivity and career growthHighlight of Accomplishments:• Effectively led several IT network infrastructure integrations for acquired companies • Reduced annual network/telecom expenses by hundreds of thousands of dollars through audits and vendor negotiations• Successfully managed large scale projects on time and within budget• Saved hundreds of thousands of dollars per year by implementing a well performing site to site virtual private network (VPN) technology (Meraki) across 200 sites• Redesigned the global datacenter network and implemented Cisco Nexus 7710 switches to provide a highly available and fully capable solution to meet the global business needs

Education

• Capella University

  Master of Science (MS), Information Technology, Network Architecture Specialization

  2010 — 2013

• North Central University

  Bachelors of Science , Business Administration

  2005 — 2008

• Community College of the Air Force

  Associates of Applied, Electronic Systems Technology

  2003 — 2005

Skills

• Network Engineering
• IT Strategy
• Strategy
• Network Optimization
• Integration
• Cisco Routers
• IT Infrastructure Management
• Management
• IT Hardware Support
• Wireless Technologies
• Telecommunications
• Computer Networking
• Internet Protocol (Ip)
• Wireless Networking
• Network Security
• Cisco Nexus
• Virtual Private Network (Vpn)
• Cisco Networking
• Wide Area Network (Wan)
• Network Administration
• Continuous Improvement
• Technology Integration
• IT Procurement
• Computer Network Operations
• Cisco Ios
• IT Outsourcing
• Networking
• Cisco Systems Products
• Switches
• Manufacturing
• Microsoft Excel
• Data Center
• Microsoft Office
• Leadership
• Exteme
• Network Architecture
• Acquisition Integration
• Cross-Functional Team Leadership
• Ip Networking
• Internet Protocol Suite (Tcp/Ip)