Paul Fortner

I have been fortunate to work in companies throughout the operational spectrum. Startups, enterprise organizations, re-sellers; multiple mergers & acquisitions, an IPO, downsizing & extreme growth. Along the way I have learned a few things about myself and business: - I can help the teams I lead more by asking the right questions and truly listening rather than trying to provide all the answers - In a crisis you can be a thermometer or the thermostat. I choose to be the thermostat - I am an owner not a renter and focus on long term improvements over short term "fixes" - Companies (and people) that see change as a constant to be embraced and harnessed will leapfrog those that fear or attempt to forestall it. - You can be successful focusing on tasks/projects...you can be wildly successful focusing on people - My hospitality background has proven valuable as it armed me with a customer-centric mindset that is still unfortunately rare in many technology departments & organizations - It is truly rare when the ‘latest & loudest’ is the correct metric for prioritization - I don't care about getting credit, but I like to win I am committed to improving myself, my people and my organization and having fun along the way; Building a culture where teams identify potential improvements & have the freedom to experiment, sometimes fail but always learn. This virtuous circle of improvement is infectious, motivating and drives positive outcomes. I enjoy making new professional connections so please reach out if you believe I can help in any way. Specialties: • Infrastructure architecture & management • Financial modeling, budgeting & forecasting • SaaS operations • Risk, Security & Compliance (SOC2, HIPAA) • Continuous Improvement • Employee development • Agile/Lean methodologies • Business & Technology Leadership • Project & Process Management • Automation & DevOps Mindset • Service Management (ITSM) • Virtualization - Compute & storage