Ready for New Opportunities

Highly Accomplished IT Leader and Infrastructure Transformation Expert. 

Charismatic and influential leader with over two decades of diverse leadership experience, driving innovation and delivering results.

Bringing extensive expertise in enhancing internal IT operations and engineering across diverse industries. Known for visionary, strategic leadership with a strong track record in technology implementation, budget management, cost savings, and strategic planning.

Committed to aligning strategies for business objectives, nurturing self-sufficient, dynamic teams for seamless operations, and fostering growth and success across domains. 

Open to leadership roles in various fields

In Career Transition 

ExpressVPN

Stepping into the realm of ExpressVPN, a global leader in digital privacy, I took the helm as the Head of Information Technology during some transformative times. My tenure was marked by orchestrating intricate system environments, driving forward-thinking IT strategies, and ensuring our technology infrastructure supported the robust needs of millions of users worldwide.

After the acquisition by Kape Technologies, I was promoted to the head of IT for the group of companies. This journey started with a huge project of merging the IT systems across the board.

Under my leadership, the IT department flourished as we embarked on ambitious projects, from streamlining legacy systems to pioneering next-gen IT solutions. My approach consistently bridged the gap between business and IT, ensuring our technological advances directly supported ExpressVPN's overarching mission and business goals.

Head Of Information Technology

Nutanix

At Nutanix, a powerhouse in hyper-converged infrastructure solutions, I took on the pivotal role of IT Operations Director for the APAC region. Overseeing a landscape as diverse and dynamic as APAC presented both challenges and exhilarating opportunities, a tapestry I thoroughly relished weaving.

My primary responsibilities encompassed driving the strategic IT vision across APAC, ensuring seamless system integrations, and providing unwavering support to our business units in the region. With a focus on blending technical expertise with a business-centric approach, I successfully led numerous initiatives that streamlined operations, reduced costs, and enhanced productivity.

IT Operations Director - APAC

VPK Packaging Group

At VPK Packaging Group's Coreboard Division, a leader in sustainable packaging solutions, my tenure as the Director of IS and Technology was both intense and rewarding. With the industry in the throes of digital transformation, my role was instrumental in aligning the division's technological framework with its ambitious growth goals.

In those seven months, I delved deep into refining the division's information systems, optimising operations, and spearheading technology-driven strategies that added tangible value to our processes. By combining my extensive IT insights with VPK's sustainability vision, we embarked on initiatives that fostered innovation and improved efficiency.

Director of IS and Technology at VPK Coreboard Division

NPAC Holdings Ltd

At NPAC Holdings, I steered the IT and Infrastructure direction, aligning tech solutions with business needs. My role was pivotal in streamlining operations, harnessing innovation, and ensuring a robust technological foundation for the company's ambitious growth trajectory.

Director of IT and Infrastructure

Powerflute

In my consultancy role at Powerflute, I was engaged on a short term to define and deliver a full stack of IT services when powerflute bought corenso from StoraEnso. This short term role then turned in to the full time role at NPAC.

IT Consultant

Volex PLC

I have been productively involved in the transformation of the global IT infrastructure of the UK listed Volex Group PLC with offices in Asia Pacific (APAC), Europe and the Americas and took responsibility for the operational IT management of the company’s facilities for more than 2 000 users in three regions globally, and for more than 30 local and remote staff.
This was one of the largest IT projects in the company’s history, costing $4 million to transform its IT platforms over a period of two years to a modern, centralised system.

Key achievements included, inter alia:
Extension of two regional data centres using IBM hardware and VMWare virtualisation software.
Migrating Email to MS Exchange and migrating global desktop and server to a single manufacturer and image.
Perimeter security, remote access and penetration testing, as well as MS Lync for global VoIP calling and voice/video conferencing.
Globalising and legalising all software licensing.
Managing vendor relationships with suppliers such as AT&T, Singtel and Microsoft.

As Infrastructure Manager of Volex, I also ensured efficient use of global resources by centralising the IT department, reducing staff by 40% and implementing service level agreements (SLA’s) and a service desk system to track the department’s performance and enable continued service improvement. I furthermore helped to safeguard the ability of the business to meet its goals by implementing process improvements and more functional systems.
I was involved in numerous green field site builds, including the provision of building work, cabling, desktops, a local data centre, a Cisco Call Manager and WAN/WWW connectivity for a 200-user factory in Batam, Indonesia – a $300 k project completed on time and within budget.

Global IT Infrastructure Manager

API Group PLC

In this role I was accountable for the global IT infrastructure of this UK-listed manufacturing company with operations in Europe and the Americas and took responsibility of an IT budget of $0.75 million US dollars, as well as regional IT support teams of eight staff in four regional locations.
During my tenure, I migrated the legacy distributed IT infrastructure into centralised, standardised systems for group-wide operations to simplify support and maintenance.
I furthermore consolidated the global IT budget at less than two percent of the group’s turnover by a reduction of 60%. At the same time, I consolidated numerous data centres into two global data centres to reduce the group infrastructure in the region.
My key achievements included:
 Implementing a global VoIP unified communications system for 1000 users and guiding, mentoring and supporting the team of eight staff at four different sites
 Introducing outsourced IT solutions for operations such as Mimecast Email security and daily management of the Oracle EBS outsourcing delivery, as well as continuous improvement programmes for IT infrastructure
 Utilising shop floor data capture hardware and networking to bolster infrastructure implementation supporting Oracle ERP systems and segmented IT services for operations sold during disposal of non-core activities
 Ensuring legislative compliance and audit standards in all systems

Group IT Infrastructure Manager

In this role I provided daily technical support for all the Group’s European operations. I was accountable for Project Management of all IT Infrastructure projects including:
 Global Cisco VoIP rollout
 Annual Desktop refreshes
 Building out two global data centres
 Migrating WAN infrastructure
 Supporting Oracle ERP rollout
 Implementing Hyper-V Globally, and
 Many others

Senior IT Systems Administrator

AstraZeneca

Working for this world leader in pharmaceutical development and manufacturing, I served on a team providing IT security and Email access to 70,000 customers world-wide. I was also responsible for the migration of NT4.0 architecture to Windows 2000, management of response and SLA’s to user support requests and the provision of technical support to other internal functions.

Email & IT Security Specialist

Shell

Working for ExPro - a function within the Shell Oil Group’s IT division that supported the exploration and deep sea oil rig staff - I was part of the Helpdesk team that provided first line IT support to more than 13,000 staff worldwide. This support also included management of the implementation and integration to legacy systems of Windows 2000 and providing liaison with 2nd line support teams to ensure that SLA’s, response and fix times were met.

IT Helpdesk Analyst

Hi! I'm Patrick, an IT Strategist and Leader with over 20 years of expertise across diverse industries in the UK, Europe, US and extensive parts of APAC.

My journey in IT is awash with a rich tapestry of experiences. Beginning in Cheshire's restaurant kitchens, I've since swapped aprons for algorithms and infrastructure, leading technical transformations at several  MNCs. My 2009 move to Singapore wasn’t just a new pin on the map; it represented a myriad of transformative challenges and growth opportunities.

Beyond technology, my ethos revolves around a marriage of technicality with genuine business impact. Every strategy I implement is meticulously crafted to not only elevate user satisfaction but also support the delivery of organisational aspirations and goals. My succinct communication style, devoid of unnecessary embellishments, ensures that messages are impactful and direct, and builds trust at all levels.

One passion sits fervently at the heart of my professional pursuits: sustainability. Living by the beach, I often find solace in its tranquillity. Yet, it perturbs me to witness the remnants of human indifference littering our shores. With my children as my motivation, I’ve been an active advocate for environmental responsibility, often taking the initiative to clear plastics from our local beachfront. Ensuring a sustainable future isn’t just a wish, it’s a commitment; one I wish to intertwine with my career objectives. Whether it's volunteering in sustainability ventures or teaching my children about the environment, I aspire for a world where technology and eco-consciousness converge harmoniously.

I've also embraced a continuous learning philosophy, from dabbling in new programming languages to graphic design, proving that every day presents a unique opportunity. I also take great satisfaction in learning from my team and peers as experts in their respective fields.

I am a visionary, strategic, and results-driven leader looking for a new opportunity to express my passion and build new leaders. Let's connect and collaborate to make our world a bit better.

Patrick Kittle

The SysAdmin Group

The SysAdmin Group provides Information and Communications Technology (ICT) expertise to customers including government, large enterprise, small business, ISP, and software development industries. Customers include: CNN Internet Services, IBM Global Services Australia, Ericsson Data Australia, Department of Justice (Victoria), University of Melbourne, and Telstra.

Services include system administration consulting (strategic review of practices, audit, architecture, training and mentoring work), information security (audit and strategic review), and software development (embedded systems, mission critical systems, system management frameworks).

Owner, Principal Consultant

ExpressVPN is one of the world’s largest providers of VPN services, enabling millions of users in 180+ countries to protect their privacy and security online with just a few clicks. It operates thousands of servers, pushing over 1Tbps through our global network.

As the Director of Service Operations, I was responsible for ensuring the smooth operations of our core products and global infrastructure, for uplifting the capabilities of our Product Operations department, and for contributing thought leadership on operational excellence to the wider organisation. My teams included the company’s 24x7 response team, and our operations engineering, SRE, infrastructure, and insights teams.

Director of Operations Services

HGC Global Communications

Reporting to the Chief Digital Officer, as Head of Software Engineering I was responsible for delivering the “future state” IT organisation; to lead the transformation of engineering practices, introduce Agile software development, automated testing, continuous integration and delivery, and the many other DevOps practices; to drive the move towards a continuous software delivery model; to introduce cloud-native and microservice-based architectures and designs, API-based integration and mediation, a cloud operating model including new practices such as Site Reliability Engineering, and a digital architecture tying all this together.

Head of Software Engineering

Huawei Technologies

The team was responsible for establishing and promoting standards across the GTS organisation, and with our customers and industry partners. 

My role was to help define and evangelise the new digital organisation and transformation journey. This included a focus on the changes that software development, system operations, and other teams must undertake as part of embracing digital operations and practices such as Cloud, CI/CD, and DevOps. 

The role involved liaison with a number of industry bodies, such as TM Forum, ETSI, and The Open Group, and developing proposals, presenting conference papers, and contributing to development efforts as appropriate. 

Contributions included:
* Thought leader on digital transformation. Member of Huawei NFV2020 core strategy team.
* Lead interface on DevOps to ETSI, TM Forum.
* Presentations at Mobile World Congress.
* Publication of TMF IG1137 “NetOps to DevOps” white paper.
* Publication of Future Mode of Operations (FMO) white paper.
* Presentation at Open ROADS Singapore event.
* Significant contributions to ETSI NFV TST006 report on DevOps.
* Cloudification stream lead and principal contributor to Orange Joint Innovation Project on Future of Operational Support Systems (OSS).
* Publication of Huawei-Orange Future OSS white paper.

Principal Operations Architect, Strategy and Architecture Practice

Telstra

Automation Enablement was focused on changing the way Telstra provisions and manages infrastructure and services, and at the forefront of moving Telstra IT to a cloud engagement model, where IT services are much more standardised, change friendly, and self-service. We built a new engagement portal (consolidating over a dozen others and presenting a service catalogue), a next generation cloud enablement platform (service definition and orchestration), and DevOps type services supporting continuous integration and delivery (and deeper operations and development integration).

My team had Engineering ownership of all of these platforms, and for driving services to be delivered via API and the cloud enablement platform.

I also led the team building our community-developer-focussed API Management platform.

Manager Automation Enablement

Telstra is the largest national Telecommunications and Internet Service Provider in Australia, with approximately 20,000 servers providing services to over 40,000 staff and millions of customers.

Part of the Technical Services group within IT Infrastructure Services, the team sets standards and evaluates technology for deployment across Telstra. My team's portfolio is diverse, covering a number of domains including Automation, System Management platforms, Configuration Management platforms, Change Management, Network Monitoring, Database Technologies, Middleware, and Software License and Asset Management (and previously included IT Security including our PKI platform). The team was responsible for building a number of shared services in these domains, including database factories (Oracle, SQL Server, and Oracle Application Express) and system management platforms (Oracle Enterprise Manager, HP OpenView BAC user experience monitoring, Symantec Veritas Operations Manager, BMC Atrium Orchestrator, and BMC Cloud Lifecycle Management).

I was one of the technical leads building our internal cloud and next generation data centre. My responsibilities included system management, automation, user portal, and enterprise integration.

An organisational restructure in July 2010 saw the department's responsibility extended to cover "whole of Telstra".

Key projects that I led include: the building of an automated provisioning platform (internal self-service infrastructure delivery) with VM provisioning time cut to under an hour; the building of a new enterprise-wide managed batch processing service (BMC Control-M) to consolidate and replace all existing platforms; building several system management platforms; and deployment of a new PKI platform and migration of all of Telstra to that new infrastructure.

Manager Cross Platform Services (IT Infrastructure Services)

Dodo Australia / Acquire Asia Pacific

Dodo is a national Internet Service Provider in Australia. Acquire Asia Pacific is a call centre with offices in Melbourne and Manila (Philippines) servicing clients in Australia and the USA.

My responsibilities included managing the Internet operations for Dodo, and the internal IT operations and service desks for Dodo’s Melbourne office, and the Melbourne and Manila offices of Acquire. I was the head of the IT organisation for the group of companies, with the Melbourne and Manila IT teams reporting to me. I reported to the Chief Operating Officer (COO).

I was responsible for overseeing all aspects of network, server and desktop service delivery, including all network links, data centres, core infrastructure, servers, desktops, and software. Responsibilities included team hiring and management, vendor management and liaison, network capacity planning, server management, incident management, process definition and implementation, internal system development, and liaison with other departments.

Group Technical Manager

USENIX Association

Board Member

The System Administrators Guild (SAGE)

SAGE is the professional association for practising system administrators. Its mission is to advance the status of computer system administration as a profession.

I was elected to the SAGE Executive Committee in 1999, and President from 2003 to 2005.

President

Mitel Networks

In June 2001, Mitel Networks acquired e-smith, inc.

My title changed, but my e-smith duties remained. In addition to these duties (CIO, VP Operations, VP Professional Services), I was also responsible for business integration of the e-smith unit with Mitel, including financial processes (SAP integration, billing, etc.), technical support, network operations, and channel training.

Director, Network Operations

e-smith, inc

e-smith is a provider of a specialised Linux distribution for small enterprises, providing all services that one might require of an office server and Internet gateway. e-smith was acquired by Mitel Networks in June 2001.

My areas of responsibility included: the internal network and information systems, the production (customer-facing) Internet network operations, product technical support, and professional services. I was a member of the executive management team.

Chief Information Officer/VP Operations/VP Professional Services

I have built a career on leading organisations through change, adapting and leveraging leading edge technologies and techniques, and building high performing teams. I have run infrastructure teams, engineering teams, technical support teams and professional services teams. I have been driving automation into system administration and related activities for over 25 years. I first implemented agile software development practices in an engineering startup in 2001. The cultural aspects of DevOps - continuous improvement, collaboration between engineering and operations, automation and risk-oriented controls - are ones I have instilled in every team I have managed for over 25 years. 

I am a true believer in building and empowering high performing teams and organisations. 

In the course of my career, I have held roles including developer, Head of Development, Head of Software Engineering, System Administrator, Principal Operations Architect, Principal Consultant, Director of Network Operations, and CIO. I have taken roles that not just talk about the need for change, but deliver that change.

I have also contributed back to the advancement of the industry, having held the industry positions of President of The System Administrators Guild (www.sage.org), President of the League Of Professional System Administrators (www.lopsa.org), and board member of The USENIX Association (all peer-elected positions), and spoken at over 30 conferences.

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The Battle

Patrick Kittle

Geoff Halprin

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