Austin, Texas, United States
Strategic IT Leader with 25+ years of IT experience. Delivering technology innovation, digital modernization, and business transformation within hospitality and operations. As Director of Information Technology at Fairmont Austin — one of Accor's biggest flagship properties in North America — I lead the hotel's technology vision, spearheading infrastructure upgrades, system enhancements, and digital strategies that strengthen operations, elevate guest experience, and drive business growth. Earlier, I spent over a decade as a Business Operations Manager in Frankfurt, Germany, leading cross-functional initiatives that improved service delivery and operational excellence — a foundation that now shapes my strategic approach to IT leadership. I deliver technology as a business accelerator — aligning innovation with organizational goals and future-proofing operations in today’s rapidly evolving digital landscape.
Key Achievements: • Spearheaded the digital modernization of one of Accor’s North America's flagship hospitality properties. • Led major infrastructure upgrades and system transformations, delivering 24/7 reliability, scalability, and future-ready IT capabilities. • Achieved significant cost savings through strategic vendor management, system consolidation, and optimization initiatives. • Architected and executed multi-year IT strategies aligned with business growth objectives, ensuring technology investments drive competitive advantage. • Championed a culture of continuous innovation, piloting emerging technologies that improved business agility and elevated the guest experience. Responsibilities and Initiatives: • Architecting and executing the hotel’s technology modernization strategy, integrating emerging solutions, and automation tools to enhance operational capabilities and guest experiences. • Achieving significant cost savings and operational efficiencies through strategic vendor partnerships, system consolidations, and process optimizations. • Leading the implementation of cutting-edge IT solutions, including next-generation infrastructure upgrades and digital platforms, to future-proof operations and drive business growth. • Collaborating closely with executive leadership to align technology investments with business strategy, long-term growth objectives, and guest service excellence. • Forecasting and managing CAPEX budgets with a detailed 5-year outlook based on system lifecycle analysis and evolving technology needs. • Leading cross-functional IT projects, from concept through deployment, to deliver transformative technology initiatives on time and within budget. • Championing a culture of innovation by identifying and piloting new technologies that elevate operational performance, guest engagement, and organizational agility. • Coordinating all IT operations to ensure maximum data availability, network resilience, and minimal downtime.
As part of the hotel’s pre-opening leadership team, I supported the launch of one of the brand’s flagship properties, featuring over 1,000 rooms and nearly 140,000 square feet of meeting space. Fairmont Austin served as a pilot property for innovative technologies, including advanced GPON fiber and digital power distribution infrastructure. Reporting directly to the Director of IT, I was responsible for delivering robust daily IT operations and ensuring the seamless performance of critical technology systems in a complex, large-scale environment. Key Responsibilities: • Directed day-to-day IT operations with a strong commitment to service standards, security compliance, and operational excellence. • Implemented and enforced IT Security Policies, focusing on hardware and data protection, PCI compliance, and audit preparedness. • Supported critical standalone and network-connected systems including POS platforms, telecom systems, firewalls, servers, and GPON-connected devices. • Provided desktop and systems support for over 250 workstations and servers, servicing 300+ users across hotel operations. • Managed vendor invoicing processes, contributing to streamlined departmental financial operations. • Developed proactive disaster recovery strategies and data backup solutions to ensure business continuity. • Collaborated cross-functionally with hotel departments to align IT support with operational and guest service needs. • Delivered professional and responsive IT support, enhancing both guest satisfaction and internal user experience.
Google Top Contributor (TC) for: - Google+ - Hangouts (EN) - Hangouts (DE) * Providing high quality support for users of Google+ & Hangouts in the languages: English and German * Troubleshooting technical/customer problems * Identifying and reporting bugs to the team ConOps DevOps * Writing technical and educational posts to help members with common questions * Working within a Team of dedicated TCs to give our members the best user experience with Google Support * Mentor for Rising Stars * Taking part in writing help posts/tips for the official Google+ Help channel
During my 11 years I reported directly to the business owners and have been overseen and working in multiple key areas. • Increased customer satisfaction by establishing and integrating an ISO:9001 environment • Increased productivity by integrating a structured working place and enhancing the production process • I have been responsible for staff planning, Relationship Management, Account Growth • Supervised 10-18 employees • Attracted potential customers by answering product and service questions; suggested information about other products and services • Completed operations by developing schedules; assigning and monitoring work; • Recommended information technology strategies, policies, and procedures by evaluating organization outcomes; identifying problems; evaluating trends; anticipating requirements. • Maintained professional and technical knowledge by attending educational workshops and establishing personal networks • Completed operational requirements by scheduling and assigning employees; following up on work results. • Kept company owners informed by preparing reports; making presentations; interpreting information; making recommendations. • Met work standards by following production, productivity, quality, and customer-service standards; resolved operational problems; identified work process improvements. • Enhanced department and organization reputation by accepting ownership for accomplishing new and different requests • Ensured compliance with regulations and controls by examining and analyzing records, reports, operating practices, and documentation; recommended opportunities to strengthen the core of our business In July 2017 I left the company since I moved to a new city in a different country: Austin, TX, USA. To learn more about various other key areas, please have a look at the PDF
Google+ and Hangouts Coach - Coaching of business owners in the use of Google+. - Integration of Hangouts to the current corporate communication infrastructure. - Creating and managing of Google+ Places / Google+ Local entries to keep your business attractive to the local market. - Consultation, Realization and Hosting of Hangouts on Air (HOA) broadcasts. HootSuite Solution Partner - Integration of HootSuite as a Tool to manage all the different Social Media Presences of our business / company - Training / Coaching in using HootSuite Wordpress - Installation and maintaining of websites - Customising themes and plugins based on user needs - Setting up Cloudflare, DNS settings for G Suite, Let's Encrypt - Familiar with Dreamhost, GoDaddy, Hostgator, Namecheap, Schlund Technologies, Strato, 1&1
Brand development and consultation including: - Website installations based on Wordpress & Joomla - Social Media Consultation and Integration - E-Commerce solutions - Print and Logo Design Integration of Security equipment to manage properties via an online connection.