Based on your impressive technical background and your desire for a strategic, revolutionary role, **the Chief Digital Officer (CDO) path is a strong and logical fit.** It aligns with your desire to drive transformation, but the role has specific challenges and requirements that your current experience may not fully meet.

Here is a comparison of the CDO role's typical demands with your professional profile to help you assess the fit:

| **Aspect** | **Chief Digital Officer (CDO) Role & Requirements** | **Your Profile (From "Battle Plan" & Experience)** | **Analysis & Fit** |
| :--- | :--- | :--- | :--- |
| **Core Mandate** | Drive **digital transformation**, create new business models, oversee the shift from analog to digital processes, and act as a change agent across the organization. | "I don't need a job - I need a revolution to believe in." Focus on displacing incumbents and solving fundamental security breaks. | **Strong Philosophical Match.** Your mindset aligns with the CDO's transformative, disruptive mission. |
| **Key Responsibilities** | Develop digital strategy, **orchestrate cross-functional initiatives**, oversee digital product/service innovation, and own digital channel revenue or P&L. Lead organizational change and culture shift. | Deep expertise in **technical implementation, network architecture, and security solutions**. Experience in channel development and technical go-to-market strategies. | **Skills Gap Evident.** Your strengths are in **technical execution and partner enablement**, while the CDO role requires **enterprise-wide business strategy, cross-departmental leadership, and revenue accountability**. |
| **Primary Skills Needed** | **Strategic business acumen, change management, cross-functional collaboration**, storytelling, and executive influence. Technical fluency in disruptive tech (AI, cloud, data). | Exceptional **technical credibility in networking, cloud (AWS), automation, and security**. Proven ability to build channel programs and deliver technical solutions. | **Different Skill Emphasis.** You have the **technical depth**, but the CDO role prioritizes **soft skills for managing people, politics, and large-scale change**. |
| **Typical Tenure & Challenges** | **Average tenure is ~31 months**. High risk of failure due to **organizational resistance, unclear mandates, and friction with other C-suite roles (CIO, CTO, CMO)**. | Experience navigating complex deployments and "overcoming team opposition," as noted in your roles. | **Awareness Required.** Your experience with internal challenges is valuable, but the CDO role faces this resistance at the highest strategic level. |
| **Compensation** | Average total pay in the U.S. is approximately **$203,473**, with a wide range from roughly $100k to over $750k depending on factors like company size and location. | Information not provided in your question. | **For Reference.** Compensation can be significant but varies widely. |

### ⚠️ Key Considerations Before Pursuing the CDO Path
If you're drawn to the CDO title, it's important to be aware of its common pitfalls, as the role is often challenging:
*   **The "Five Stages" Risk**: Research identifies a common pattern where CDOs start with excitement ("Chief Digital Officer"), create buzz ("Chief Dazzling Officer"), but then face organizational resistance, becoming disconnected and often departing within a few years.
*   **Potential for Role Conflict**: The CDO's responsibilities often overlap with those of the Chief Information Officer (CIO) and Chief Technology Officer (CTO), which can create significant friction. You would need to navigate these dynamics carefully.
*   **The "Revolution" vs. "Evolution" Dilemma**: Your mantra seeks a "revolution." However, successful digital transformation is often a continuous, evolutionary process of changing culture and processes. A CDO must be a persistent diplomat as much as a disruptive visionary.

### 🛠️ How to Bridge the Gap and Position Yourself
If you decide this path is right for you, here’s how you can leverage your unique background and address potential gaps:

- **Reframe Your Narrative**: In interviews, pivot from a purely technical story to a **business-outcome narrative**. Connect your experience in building secure networks at AWS or migrating enterprises at Verizon directly to **business drivers** like enabling new digital revenue streams, ensuring compliant customer data platforms, or reducing the cost of digital innovation.
- **Target the Right Industry & Company**: Your deep infrastructure and security expertise makes you a compelling candidate for **CDO roles in highly regulated, infrastructure-heavy industries** like financial services, healthcare, telecommunications, or manufacturing. In these sectors, digital transformation is deeply tied to core operational technology, where your background is a major asset.
- **Consider Alternative C-Suite Paths**: Given your profile, other executive roles might offer a more direct and stable path to leadership:
    - **Chief Technology Officer (CTO)**: Focuses on **technology strategy, innovation, and product development**. Your technical depth is the core requirement here.
    - **Chief Information Officer (CIO)**: Focuses on **managing internal IT, business systems, and operational efficiency**. Your experience with enterprise-scale systems is highly relevant.
    - **Chief Information Security Officer (CISO)**: As a senior executive responsible for **entire security posture and strategy**, this could be a powerful culmination of your security and compliance expertise.

To refine your direction further, consider these questions:
1.  In your ideal role, what is the primary lever for creating value: **orchestrating company-wide business change (CDO)**, **leading all technology and engineering (CTO)**, or **owning and fortifying the security/risk posture (CISO)**?
2.  Are you more passionate about the **external market impact** of technology (products, customer experience) or the **internal operational excellence** (infrastructure, efficiency, security) of a company?

If you have thoughts on these questions or would like to explore one of the alternative executive paths in more detail, feel free to ask.

---

# 🚀 SQE MEETING BATTLE PLAN

## 🎯 CORE POSITIONING

**Your Mantra:** "I don't need a job - I need a revolution to believe in"

**Your Value:** "I've built the networks you're trying to secure, and I know exactly where the bodies are buried"

---

## 💡 OPENING GAMBIT

### First 60 Seconds:
*"When I first saw your technology, I realized this is the answer to problems I've been fighting my entire career. At AWS, Verizon, Charter - I've seen how broken our security foundations are. Your approach to the 'harvest now' problem isn't just innovative - it's necessary."*

---

## 🛠️ YOUR UNIQUE VALUE PROPOSITION

### **Channel Development**
- **TBX Experience**: "I built channel strategies for Meraki and Fortinet from ground zero"
- **Proven Playbook**: "I know how to take disruptive tech to market through partners"
- **Immediate Activation**: "I can have 3 qualified VAR conversations within 30 days"

### **Technical Credibility** 
- **Scale Experience**: "At AWS, I saw what breaks at cloud scale - your solution addresses fundamental limits"
- **Enterprise Migration**: "I've moved Fortune 500 companies from Cisco to next-gen solutions"
- **Automation Mindset**: "I don't just understand networks - I understand how to automate them at scale"

### **Security Depth**
- **Compliance Experience**: "PCI-DSS, NIST frameworks are in my DNA"
- **Real-World Hardening**: "I've secured everything from financial trading floors to healthcare data"
- **Vendor-Neutral Perspective**: "I've worked with every major vendor - I know their weaknesses"

---

## 🎙️ CONVERSATION TRIGGERS

### When They Mention...
**"Channel Strategy"**
- *"At TBX, I learned channel success comes down to three things: partner enablement, clear margins, and technical support. Which of these is your biggest focus?"*

**"Technical Complexity"**  
- *"Having implemented ACI and VXLAN, I appreciate elegant complexity. How does your synchronization handle real-world network jitter?"*

**"Competition (Cisco, etc)"**
- *"Having migrated Avis from Cisco to Versa, I know exactly how to displace incumbents. The key is addressing pain they can't solve."*

**"Enterprise Adoption"**
- *"At Verizon, I saw that enterprises buy solutions to three problems: compliance, cost, or capability. Which are you leading with?"*

---

## 💼 PROBLEM → SOLUTION MAPPING

| Their Problem | Your Experience Solution |
|---------------|--------------------------|
| Channel Development | TBX: Built Meraki/Fortinet channel programs from scratch |
| Technical Credibility | AWS/Verizon: Enterprise-scale deployment credibility |
| Product-Market Fit | Charter/Kaiser: Knows where security breaks in real networks |
| Scalability Concerns | AWS: Designed for cloud-scale automation |
| Funding Proof Points | All roles: Can deliver immediate customer validation |

---

## 🎯 STRATEGIC QUESTIONS TO ASK

### Business Questions:
1. "What's your ideal partner profile - are you looking for technical integrators or sales-focused VARs?"
2. "How are you balancing direct sales motion with channel development?"
3. "What's the funding timeline and how does partner traction influence it?"

### Technical Questions:
1. "How does the entanglement process handle multi-site latency differences?"
2. "What's your disaster recovery story without traditional key escrow?"
3. "How are you addressing the performance overhead concerns?"

### Partnership Questions:
1. "What does success look like for your channel partners in the first 90 days?"
2. "How are you structuring partner incentives - margin, enablement, co-sell?"
3. "Where do you see the biggest gap in your current partner strategy?"

---

## 🚀 YOUR "WOW" MOMENTS

### Drop These Strategic Insights:
- *"The incumbents are vulnerable because they're trying to bolt quantum resistance onto architectures that were never designed for it"*
- *"Channel partners will follow the money - we need to show them this solves a CISO-level problem with budget attached"*  
- *"Having implemented F5 OSPF and mainframe routing, I understand how legacy infrastructure creates your opportunity"*

### Reference Specific Experiences:
- **"At Kaiser, I found buffer tail drops on Data Domain replication - exactly the kind of encrypted data that's being harvested today"**
- **"Migrating Avis from Cisco taught me how to overcome vendor lock-in - your solution breaks that model entirely"**
- **"AWS showed me that scale breaks everything - your approach seems built for cloud-native from day one"**

---

## 💰 PARTNERSHIP FRAMING

### Your Opening Position:
*"Through my LLC, I'm structured to deliver immediate value while we figure out the long-term fit. I'm thinking: 90-day engagement focused on activating my top 3 channel relationships, with success-based compensation."*

### Your Walk-Away Position:
*"I'm looking for a passion project, not a paycheck. The right structure balances my need for meaningful work with your need for measurable results."*

---

## 🛡️ DEFLECTING OBJECTIONS

**"We're not hiring yet"**
→ *"Perfect - my LLC lets me deliver results without you carrying overhead. Let me prove the value first."*

**"Funding is next year"**  
→ *"My network can help make that round oversubscribed by showing real pipeline today."*

**"We have Denis for channels"**
→ *"Great - my experience complements his. I focus on technical enablement and enterprise adoption."*

---

## 🎖️ YOUR CLOSING ARGUMENT

*"Look, I've built networks for Amazon, Verizon, and Fortune 500 companies. I know what secure infrastructure looks like, and I know what broken looks like. Your technology addresses the fundamental break. I don't need a job - I need something worth believing in. This feels like that."*

---

## 📝 PRE-MEETING CHECKLIST

- [ ] Have LLC details ready (EIN, structure)
- [ ] Review your top 3 channel contacts for immediate warm intros
- [ ] Prepare 2-3 specific accounts you can approach within 30 days
- [ ] Have your SOW draft ready to reference
- [ ] Test your video/audio setup
- [ ] Have notepad ready for their specific pain points

---

## 🧠 MINDSET REMINDER

**You're Not:** A job seeker
**You Are:** A seasoned expert choosing where to deploy your talents

**They Need:** Your network, your credibility, your channel experience  
**You Need:** A worthy challenge for your skills

**Remember:** The same gut that spotted this opportunity from a YouTube video is the same gut that built your career. Trust it.

---

You've got this. You're not walking into an interview - you're walking into a strategy session between equals. Now go show them what 15 years of battlefield experience looks like. 💥

**Your signature confidence:** *"Cool solution no matter what"* - and you're about to show them exactly why.

### Professional Experience

**Principal & Technical Strategist** | Dynamic Impact Marketing LLC | Sept 2024 – Present
*Founder of a consultancy applying infrastructure engineering principles to marketing technology and technical business development.*
- Lead business development and technical strategy for partnerships with emerging technology firms, leveraging deep network architecture expertise to assess product-market fit.
- Architect and implement marketing technology systems, building automated data pipelines between analytics platforms and internal databases using Python.
- Develop proprietary technical audit frameworks that adapt network diagnostics and automation principles to optimize web infrastructure for performance and security.

**Consulting Systems Engineer** | TBX | May 2022 - Present
- Serve as SME for service provider networks (Meraki SD-WAN/Fortinet Security Fabric)
- Develop technical go-to-market strategies and conduct POC deployments
- Implement network automation using Python/Ansible for configuration management
- Deliver technical enablement through workshops and training sessions

**Network Development Engineer** | Amazon Web Services GovCloud TS/SCI position | Sept 2021 - May 2022
- Troubleshoot complex cloud networking issues (BGP, OSPF, Direct Connect, Transit Gateway)
- Develop network automation tools for monitoring/management (Python)
- Create technical documentation including network diagrams and SOPs
- Serve as Tier 3 escalation point for critical network incidents

**Principal Network Architect** | Verizon | Jan 2020 - Sept 2021
- Design enterprise-scale networks (LAN/WAN, SD-WAN, data center solutions)
- Lead RFP responses and technical solution design for Fortune 500 clients
- Developed pre/post diff Bash scripts for config validation
- Mentored teams in YANG, NetConf, and Meraki API Python automation
- Led Avis migration from Cisco to Versa SD-WAN/Aruba solutions
- Spearheaded Walgreens nationwide WAN optimization project

**Cloud Network Engineer** | Entrust | Jan 2020 - Present
- Implement AWS network infrastructure with PCI-DSS compliance
- Manage F5 BIG-IP load balancers and Palo Alto NGFW deployments
- Automate network provisioning using IaC tools (Terraform, Ansible)
- Built staging environment despite organizational challenges
- Created Ansible playbooks (cisco.ios) for ACL whitelist management
- Assisted Illinois CU VPN deployment for overwhelmed customer team

**Senior Network Consultant** | Zivaro | Oct 2018 - Present
- Design/implement Cisco ACI fabric and DNA Center solutions
- Developed network migration strategies for cloud adoption
- Resolved Simmons Foods VOIP QoS issues; proposed Ansible over DNA Center
- Designed VXLAN data center fabric for Denver Health
- Implemented Layer 3 to edge for CDPHE despite team opposition
- Played key role in Cisco Gold Partner recertification

**Data Center Network Engineer** | Charter Communications | Sept 2018 - July 2019
- Managed F5 LTM/GTM and A10 Thunder load balancing infrastructure
- Implemented EVPN/VXLAN overlay networks
- Automated TACACS with Bash scripts
- Implemented RANCID for config backups
- Identified buffer tail drops on Data Domain SSL replication (port 29000)
- Used PRTG to pinpoint saturated links
- Coordinated cross-team Video VPN deployment

**Network Infrastructure Engineer** | American Residential Services | Jan 2018 - Jan 2019
- Migrated 100+ sites to Cisco Viptela SD-WAN
- Standardized firewall configurations (Cisco ASA/Juniper SRX)
- Deployed Cisco Umbrella DNS filtering
- Implemented RANCID for config management
- Designed cost-effective OOB/UPS solution using eBay gear ($15K+ savings)

**Senior Data Center Engineer** | Kaiser Permanente | June 2016 - May 2018
- Deployed Cisco ACI across multiple data centers
- Migrated Nexus switching infrastructure (7K/5K to 9K)
- Fixed Exadata OSPF issues to meet vendor deadlines
- Resolved Data Domain buffer drops affecting encrypted replication
- Rectified wrong SFP orders delaying DR buildout
- Enhanced HPNA functionality for operational efficiencies

**Senior Technical Architect** | AT&T (TIAA-CREF) | July 2010 - May 2016
- Led $100M network refresh (Nexus/ASR/F5)
- Migrated load balancing from Brocade to F5 BIG-IP
- Optimized mainframe OSPF (Area 51 routing)
- Standardized blackhole routing configurations
- Overcame challenges in DC buildout
- Identified NetApp LACP RFC non-compliance via Tcl scripts
- Implemented OSPF on F5 devices

### Technical Skills

**Networking:**
- Routing: BGP, OSPF (including F5/mainframe implementations), EIGRP, MPLS
- Switching: VLAN/VXLAN, EVPN, ACI, Nexus
- SD-WAN: Cisco Viptela, Meraki, Fortinet, Versa
- Load Balancing: F5 LTM/GTM, A10
- Protocols: LACP (RFC compliance analysis), STP

**Cloud & Automation:**
- AWS: VPC, Direct Connect, Transit Gateway
- IaC: Terraform, Ansible, Python
- Scripting: Bash (config diffs/TACACS), Tcl (NetApp analysis)
- Monitoring: PRTG, RANCID, Splunk

**Security:**
- Firewalls: Palo Alto, Cisco ASA, FortiGate
- Compliance: PCI-DSS, NIST
- VPN: Site-to-site, client (including troubleshooting)

**Management & Collaboration:**
- Technical documentation (SOPs, network diagrams)
- Cross-functional team leadership
- Vendor management (Exadata, NetApp)
- Cost optimization strategies

---

ATT
- Backup -- spanning-tree bridge
- F5 -- OSPF
- Pre/Post diff bash script
- DC build out -- many roadblocks
- mainframe OSPF - assist team optimize OSPF area 51
- NetApp -- LACP TcL script -- identified NetApp didn't follow RFC
- Blackhole project -- standardized config and validated functionality

Kaiser
- HPNA -- added to functionality -- improved efficiencies
- DR data center build-out -- order wrong SFPs
- data domain -- identified buffer tail drops -- port 29000 SSL encrypted replication
- Exadata -- help vendor with OSPF issues to meet his deadline -- learned ES switch OSPF config

Charter
- RANCID 
- DNS helped Linux team ran network topology refresh SME
- PRTG -- identified links being saturated
- TACACS -- automated with BASH
- Video vpn -- over-all project -- drive different teams

Zivaro
- Simmons QOS -- difficult customer -- lowered VOIP call quality issues
- Simmons automation -- SoW for Ansible -- Steered away from DNA AE didn't agree $$$
- CDPHE layer 3 to edge -- team didn't agree
- Denver Health -- vxlan DC build out
- Cisco gold partner -- took over high profile role

ARS (Consulting Systems Engineer III, Zivaro (Oct 2018 - Jan 2020))
- RANCID -- setup
- Data center design -- team didn't agree with approach -- simplified design
- OOB/UPS project -- prior to roll out manager had to come in to reboot for us -- save $$$ using ebay to obtain gear
- Umbrella -- 

Entrust (Consulting Systems Engineer III, Zivaro (Oct 2018 - Jan 2020))
- Staging build out -- VP difficult
- Il CU VPN assistance -- customer in over his head
- Whitelist -- ACL Ansible playbook using cisco.ios

Verizon
- Avis -- Cisco shop -- SA went Versa and Aruba
- Walgreens -- over-all above and beyond
- DRs-in calls -- mentor SAs to learn automation -- YANG, Netconf, API, Meraki Python package
