Harry Richards

Information Technology Professional, with a leadership background in Technical Sales Enablement & Customer Education.

Detroit Metropolitan Area

About

Performance-oriented IT leader with proven IT leadership, team building, consulting, program / product management, educational design / development experience, and who consistently sees the “big picture”. Cross-functional professional who quickly resolves complex IT project / program challenges and who rapidly adapts to evolving scenarios to reach high profit and productivity levels and ensure seamless technical processes. Creative thinker who makes sound decisions on IT project / program operations in alignment with a company’s vision and goals to achieve a significant competitive advantage. Mission-focused collaborator who showcases solutions-centric critical thinking for insightful, change-driven results. Excellent communicator who develops synergistic relationships with executive-level decision-makers, IT / business professionals, end users, and customers, and who leads teams by example and with integrity to improve engagement and surpass companywide objectives.

Experience

  • Gigamon (7 yrs 4 mos)
    • Director, Technical Sales Enablement & Customer Education
      Jan 2024 - Mar 2026 · 2 yrs 3 mos

      Lead the Worldwide Technical Sales Enablement programs for SEs and lead the Global Customer Education Services team.

    • Senior Manager Customer Education & Technical Sales Enablement
      Feb 2021 - Jan 2024 · 3 yrs

      Managing the Customer Education Services business unit and team. Plus, leading Technical Sales Enablement.

    • Senior Technical Sales Enablement Manager
      Dec 2018 - Feb 2021 · 2 yrs 3 mos

      Managing the development of world class training programs and driving the creation and delivery of technical Pre-Sales content for a high performing global Sales Engineering organization.

  • Director of Technology - Field Services at Oakland Schools
    2018 - 2018 · Less than a year

    Directed activities of the Technology Field Services Team responsible for technology visioning, integration, assessments, planning, project management, implementation, user support and training throughout assigned Oakland County school districts.

  • Senior Manager – Professional Services at Veritas Technologies LLC
    2015 - 2017 · 2 yrs

    NOTE: Veritas was acquired by Symantec in 2005; sold in 2016 Capitalized on the opportunity to lead forward-thinking product and program management ideas and guidelines for the Professional Services teams (Education, Consulting, and Business Critical Services). Cohesively managed Professional Services projects for internal / external websites. Led critical, team-focused special projects and initiatives. Efficiently worked on both internal and external websites using AEM. Key Accomplishments • Received 5 competitive “Winning Our Way (WOW) Awards.” • Migrated all external and internal Professional Services websites from Symantec to Veritas. • Directed a virtual team of SMEs for first customer Veritas Vision event in 2016 to create course content and technical labs.

  • Symantec ()
    • Principal Product Manager – Technical Services Group
      2013 - 2015 · 2 yrs

      Strategically steered product management initiatives for top Cyber Security Education and Consulting offerings. Collaborated with business unit leaders and teams to manage Product Life Cycle of Education and Consulting Services assets. Key Accomplishments • Developed the first Education Services EOL process for course offering retirement. • Managed Cyber Security Awareness Program customized course offering for customers. • Created the first Global Consulting Services Catalog of offerings. • Worked with our Global Consulting Services Leaders in APJ, EMEA, and the Americas to align offerings into a customer facing catalog. • Successfully obtained Pragmatic Marketing Level III Certification. • Honored with 3 “Applause Awards” and 1 “Standing Ovation Award.”

    • Senior Manager – Education Curriculum Development │ Manager – Education Labs/Curriculum Development*
      2005 - 2013 · 8 yrs

      *Roles Held: Senior Manager – Education Curriculum Development (2012 – 2013) Manager – Education Technical Labs and Curriculum Development (2005 – 2012) Utilized broad scope of industry knowledge toward directing a nationwide team of SMEs responsible for writing technical education content and labs for Symantec’s Education business unit. Spearheaded globally driven calls to support management of Projects, Classroom Support Infrastructure, and Corporate Education processes. Recruited, interviewed, and hired qualified employees while developing strategic personnel goals in alignment with senior-level management and teams. Key Accomplishments • Strategically coached employees while managing key progress and performance. • Led team to continuously exceed customer expectations and drive substantial revenue. • Met deadlines and goals for projects on Symantec products for High Availability, Data Protection, Storage Management, Infrastructure Operations, Endpoint, and Security, and labs and courses developed for Storage Foundation, Veritas Cluster Server, NetBackup, Control Compliance, Command Central, Altiris products, and Symantec Endpoint Protection.

  • Veritas Technologies LLC ()
    • Product Expert Lead – Storage Foundation
      2004 - 2005 · 1 yr

      Maximized team productivity by mentoring and supporting virtual staff, including serving as a liaison for both operations and classroom environmental issues impacting the course development team. Planned and prioritized lab issues and scheduling. Directed lab testing and development initiatives for Storage Foundation courseware and assessments. Key Accomplishments • Served as the main point-of-contact for a certification management team across all ongoing projects. • Contributed continuing work as a Certification PM and back up manager on lab and certification issues.

    • Certification SME Lead
      2002 - 2005 · 3 yrs

      Led targeted virtual team initiatives for the Certification Exam and Courseware Development Subject Matter Experts (SMEs). Validated and developed exam questions and courseware while collaborating with teams from various business units to achieve a successful certification program. Ensured ongoing compliance with corporate-based objectives. Key Accomplishments • Served as SME to the Storage Foundation’s course development team. • Liaised with senior consultants, SEs, and support teams to build upon expertise.

    • Program Manager – Consulting Education
      2002 - 2002 · Less than a year

      Played a vital role in coordinating efforts to develop Consultant Readiness courses and other educational offerings produced for the consulting business unit. Led certification efforts for Data Protection and Foundation Suite exams and courses. Coordinated and managed diverse input to course development initiatives in alignment with core goals. Key Accomplishments • Coached virtual teams in accomplishing needs-specific consultant readiness materials. • Served as a proactive advocate for the consulting business unit for all educational needs. • Developed best solutions offerings via continued open communications across multiple units.