Richard Habtamu Demissie
Dallas,TX
Summary
Dynamic Senior Network & Telecommunications Manager with a proven track record at Specialty Building Products, driving SD-WAN migration that cut costs by 35% and enhanced performance. Expert in network infrastructure and vendor management, leveraging strong leadership and strategic planning skills to optimize operations across multiple locations.
Overview
19
19
years of professional experience
Work History
Senior Network & Telecommunications Manager
Specialty Building Products (SBP)
01.2022 - Current
- Lead the development of a strategic roadmap to consolidate, centralize, and standardize the network infrastructure across six brands and 70 locations—covering multi-vendor firewalls, switches, access points, and phone systems.
- Manage network operations across 6 brands, 73 branch locations, and 2 data centers serving 1,000+ users.
- Spearheaded MPLS-to-SD-WAN migration (Fortinet FortiGate SD-WAN and VMware Velocloud), reducing WAN costs by ~35% and improving performance by ~50%.
- Led the six legacy on-premises PBXs to cloud-based phone systems, encompassing full PBX functionality, contact center integration, and call recording solutions for over 2,500.
Information Technology Manager
DW Distribution
DeSoto, United States
06.2014 - 01.2022
- Directed full IT operations for a $300M+ distribution company, including vendor relationships, procurement, asset management, network/server administration, and business application support.
- Upgraded infrastructure with 10G backbone, SAN, and virtualization—resulting in 40% performance gains and 25% cost reductions.
- Negotiated vendor contracts, SLAs, and service agreements; stewarded lifecycle of IT assets.
- Automated systems via Python and implemented proactive monitoring (SolarWinds), cutting P1 incidents by 60% and improving SLA compliance.
Network Administrator
DW DISTRIBUTION
DeSoto, United States
06.2007 - 07.2014
- Engineered and maintained multi-site Cisco/Ceragon LAN/WAN networks, including wireless and firewalls.
- Deployed enterprise firewall/IPS solutions that cut security incidents by 30%.
Education
M.S. - Information Systems, Computer and Information Systems Security/Information Assurance
Tarleton State University
06.2006
B.S. - Information Systems, Computer and Information Systems Security/Information Assurance
Tarleton State University
06.2005
Skills
- Network infrastructure
- SD-WAN migration
- Vendor management
- Cybersecurity protocols
- Data center management
- Cloud-based systems
- Project management
- Performance optimization
- Asset management
- Network troubleshooting
- Team leadership
- Strategic planning
- Risk management
- Vendor relationship management
- Wireless technologies
- Project coordination
- Network design
- VoIP systems
- Proposal oversight
- Network management
- Cost control
- Telecom infrastructure
- Customer technical support
- Goal setting
- Continuous improvement
- Self motivation
- Communication skills
- Network security
- Teamwork and collaboration
- Network optimization
- Active listening
- Problem-solving aptitude
- Broadband technologies
- Wireless communication installations
- Network configuration
- Time management
- Hardware and software acquisition
Links
Timeline
Senior Network & Telecommunications Manager
Specialty Building Products (SBP)
01.2022 - Current
Information Technology Manager
DW Distribution
06.2014 - 01.2022
Network Administrator
DW DISTRIBUTION
06.2007 - 07.2014
M.S. - Information Systems, Computer and Information Systems Security/Information Assurance
Tarleton State University
B.S. - Information Systems, Computer and Information Systems Security/Information Assurance
Tarleton State University