Zac Hess

About Zac Hess

Technology and operations leader with 20 years of experience driving enterprise scalability across manufacturing, supply chain, and commercial operations. I specialize in transforming technology from a traditional cost center into a strategic engine for growth, aligning digital transformation roadmaps with high level business goals.My expertise lies in architecting complex systems, directing post-acquisition integration initiatives, and fostering a culture of operational excellence. I have a proven track record of managing substantial P&L responsibilities, delivering high ROI infrastructure modernization, and building resilient security postures that protect global enterprise assets.Executive Competencies:‣ Strategic IT Roadmap & Execution: ERP Strategy (Plex, Dynamics NAV), M&A Integration, Digital Transformation.‣ Operations & P&L Management: Budgeting & Capital Expenditures ($50M+), Vendor Strategy, Process Engineering.‣ Security & Risk Governance: Cybersecurity Strategy, Zero Trust Architecture, NIST/ISO Compliance.‣ Data-Driven Leadership: Analytics & Business Intelligence, Manufacturing Performance Metrics, Global Infrastructure Scaling.Let\'s connect if you are looking to:‣ Align technology investments with aggressive revenue growth targets.‣ Navigate complex business systems integration during mergers and acquisitions.‣ Build high performing, agile technology teams that deliver tangible business value.

Experience

1. Director of IT

   Verve By Rockwell Automation

   Jul 2022 — Present · Madison, WI, US

   I serve as the enterprise systems leader responsible for IT strategy, infrastructure, security, and the critical execution of post-acquisition integration. Following the acquisition of Verve by Rockwell Automation, I was tapped to lead the transition of enterprise IT operations, ensuring continuity of services while aligning legacy systems with Rockwell’s global future-state architecture.Post-Acquisition & Strategic Leadership:Integration Strategy: Acted as the core IT Subject Matter Expert (SME) during the Rockwell transition, conducting current-state assessments and prioritizing high impact integration initiatives.Operational Continuity: Retained full leadership of enterprise infrastructure and security post acquisition, maintaining 100% stability and service availability during the organizational shift.Roadmap Development: Formulated an enterprise wide IT strategy that synchronized infrastructure, cloud applications, and security protocols with aggressive business growth targets.Financial Stewardship: Directed IT budget, optimizing vendor partnerships and resource allocation to balance operational reliability with strategic innovation.Technical & Security Governance:Cybersecurity Excellence: Architected a comprehensive security posture including Zero Trust architecture and incident response planning aligned with NIST 800-53.ERP & Cloud Reliability: Owned the operational availability of Plex ERP hosted services, ensuring mission critical uptime for customer production environments.Infrastructure as Code (IaC): Provided functional leadership for automation platforms (Ansible and Terraform), managing sprints and serving as the primary accountability lead for a matrixed engineering team.Global Infrastructure: Oversaw multi-site data centers, cloud environments, and network backbones, implementing structured Change Management and IT Governance to ensure high availability.

Education

• Herzing University

  Bachelor of Science, Information Technology

  2004 — 2006

Skills

• Storage Area Networks
• Active Directory
• Windows Server
• Microsoft Exchange
• Sql
• Disaster Recovery
• Ssrs
• Vsphere
• Vmware Esx
• Microsoft Sql Server
• San
• Windows
• Vmware
• Strategic Planning
• Servers
• Customer Service
• Iis