Mark Abshere
Sr. IT Manager
Sachse,TX
Summary
Dynamic IT leader with a proven track record of successfully executing IT projects across all technical component areas. Innovative IT expert adept at adapting to changing environments, new policies, and shifting expectations. Skilled in leveraging managerial and technical expertise to deliver IT projects, manage operations, and coordinate IT service delivery aligned with strategic roadmaps. Capable of navigating emerging technologies and industry-related software, tools, and best practices effortlessly.
Overview
10
10
years of professional experience
4
4
Certifications
Work History
Sr. IT Manager
Focus Staff
Dallas, TX
11.2021 - Current
- Managed vendor relationships for hardware, software, and services procurement, ensuring quality products at competitive prices.
- Collaborated with other departments to help meet IT needs and properly integrate and secure systems.
- Coordinated IT operations activities to deliver smooth flow of daily business needs.
- Oversaw IT department operations and training.
- Promoted to Sr. IT Manager within three months for outstanding performance and leadership.
- Migrated the organization from Salesforce Classic to Lightning, overseeing the transition of over 500,000 contacts, 50,000 accounts, and 100+ active users.
- Built the IT department from the ground up: recruited talent, and implemented an IT ticketing and asset management system (SyncroMSP).
- Directed the UCaaS transition to RingCentral, saving over $110,000 annually.
- Managed all aspects of IT operations: onboarding/offboarding, security, training, licensing, budgeting, endpoint management, and hardware/software support.
- Administered Cisco Umbrella, Azure Endpoint Manager, Exchange, Teams, and Office 365 tenant configurations.
- Oversaw implementation of Salesforce-integrated solutions, OneUp (gamification), Zapier, and Power Automate.
- Maintained and upgraded networking infrastructure (Ubiquiti, Fortinet), and managed the company’s WordPress website.
IT Manager / Project Manager
Western Dental
Dallas, TX
01.2019 - 11.2021
- Spearheaded the development and implementation of IT projects, including conversions and migrations of all IT systems for more than 30 dental clinics, as well as the design, development, and deployment of an enterprise migration from Skype for Business to MS Teams.
- Coordinate the rollout and integration of end-user IT services, including daily workflow.
- Provide continuous local and remote support, including training and technical mentorship for employees.
- Measure and improve team performance by setting milestones, conducting appraisals, and devising personal development plans.
- Compile supporting technical documentation, including presentations, while conducting cross-functional collaborations with key project members to pinpoint and mitigate any issues or potential concerns.
- Maintain tactical control of project budgets and timelines to ensure teams remain on task and achieve scheduled targets.
- Generated professional interest for successfully directing eight projects simultaneously, within budget, on time, and in scope.
- Oversaw the IT infrastructure build-out of a new corporate headquarters, located in Dallas, Texas.
- Directed conversion of Avaya phone system to RingCentral Cloud Solutions, encompassing over 400 nationwide clinics and two corporate locations.
IT Operations Transitions Lead/IT Manager
Guardian Life Insurance (STX Acquired by Western Dental)
Dallas, TX
01.2019 - 11.2019
- Delivered integration, scope, risk, and communication management support for all systems. Coordinated and aided planning, tracking, and processing for all system/application transitions. Nurtured stakeholder/shareholder relations including other members of acquisition targets to control receipt of confidential diligence information. Organized and attended calls/meetings and supported both selling/buying parties with project planning and timeline forecasting. Prepared and distributed weekly/monthly reporting for buying party of all IT systems.
- Promoted through positions of increasing scope and responsibility from Systems Administrator for STX Healthcare (owned by Guardian Life Insurance) in 2017 to IT Manager in 2018 to IT Operations Transition Lead/IT Manager in 2019 during STX acquisition by Western Dental.
- Successfully transitioned 100% of all systems to buyer as the single point of contact for nearly every portion of the IT environment.
IT Manager
STX Healthcare
Dallas, TX
07.2018 - 01.2019
- Headed enterprise health, welfare, and new IT initiatives, including support for over 800 employees covering two corporate offices and 42 office locations across multiple states under CIO supervision.
- Governed technology roadmap, strategic planning, staff management, systems administration, budget planning, and execution of key projects and programs.
- Controlled capital expenditure, operational expenses, and budget, as well as five experts: Credential Specialist, Tier 1-3 Tech Support, System Administrators, and Network Engineers.
- Provided technical mentorship and established training materials on customer-facing and internal processes.
- Boosted the Support Team’s efficiency in resolving tickets by 70%.
Systems Administrator
STX Healthcare
Dallas, TX
01.2017 - 07.2018
- Enabled day-to-day systems operations, preventative/patch maintenance, execution of firmware upgrades, and resolution of technical/complex performance issues encompassing wireless networking, Active Directory, Group Policy, Exchange 2016 On-Prem, SharePoint 2016 On-Prem, NetApp, VMWare ESXi 6 and up, WebEx, AirWatch, FreePBX, Cisco Firepower, Cisco Routing and Switching, Backup Exec, TrendMicro, DDPE, Veeam, and Mimecast.
- Provided 24/7 tier I - III support for over 1,000 PCs, more than 100 servers (virtual/physical), and over 50 printers.
- Maintained hardware infrastructure to support the production environment, including routers, switches, servers, SAN devices, and firewalls.
- Diagnosed and troubleshot issues, served as an escalation point to relevant teams, and led multiple disaster recovery events.
- Resolved over 4,000 support tickets.
- Triggered a reduction in downtime by measuring performance and conducting data analysis reports on the virtual environment.
Education
MBA -
Northeastern State University
Tahlequah, OK 05.2001 -
Bachelor of Science -
University of Oklahoma
Norman, OK08-2024
Skills
IT Governance & Service Delivery
Project Management & Planning
IT Operations & End-User Support
End-user Training & Cloud Solutions
Risk Mitigation & Strategic Planning
IT asset management
Technical troubleshooting
Technical leadership
System integration
Documentation and reporting
Certification
Salesforce Certified Administrator
Accomplishments
- Boosted team productivity and IT services through effective leadership, coaching, and technical training.
- Pioneered design, construction, and installation of all tech and software solutions; boosting overall system/network uptime and efficiency with minimal disruption.
- Crafted new business workflows utilizing Kanban methodology to better streamline IT work and visibility to leadership and business.
- Great communicator to leadership and acted as a bridge between offices/clinics in the field resulting in reduction of missed deadlines.
Additional Experience
- IT Generalist (2016) - JDA TSG, Irving, TX
Work Availability
monday
tuesday
wednesday
thursday
friday
saturday
sunday
morning
afternoon
evening
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Work Preference
Work Type
Full TimeLocation Preference
On-SiteRemoteHybridImportant To Me
Career advancementWork-life balanceFlexible work hoursPersonal development programsWork from home optionStock Options / Equity / Profit Sharing4-day work week401k matchQuote
A smooth sea never made a skilled sailor.
Timeline
Sr. IT Manager
Focus Staff
11.2021 - Current
IT Operations Transitions Lead/IT Manager
Guardian Life Insurance (STX Acquired by Western Dental)
01.2019 - 11.2019
IT Manager / Project Manager
Western Dental
01.2019 - 11.2021
IT Manager
STX Healthcare
07.2018 - 01.2019
Systems Administrator
STX Healthcare
01.2017 - 07.2018
MBA -
Northeastern State University
05.2001 -
Bachelor of Science -
University of Oklahoma