Hi A***e, I’m J***e, an HR recruiter at StrategyBrain. I came across your profile and was impressed by your track record at D***s and C***k,especially your CISSP-backed security leadership, virtualization expertise, and success in doubling revenue through strategic IT initiatives. We’re partnering with A***s on a Vice President of Information Technology and Security role that seems like a natural next step for someone with your background. Would you be interested in a brief conversation to learn more?

Hi A***e, that’s great to hear,sounds like we’re on the same page. Would you be available for a 20-minute call this week? During our chat, I’ll share more about A***s’s vision for their IT & Security organization, including: • Developing and executing a security strategy aligned with business goals • Ensuring 99.9% uptime across architecture, virtualization and cloud environments • Leading governance, compliance (HIPAA, ISO, PCI) and disaster-recovery planning • Managing a multi-million-dollar budget, vendor relationships and asset lifecycles • Partnering with the executive team on digital transformation and cost optimization Please let me know a few time slots that work for you, or feel free to send a calendar invite to my address at j***e@***.com. Looking forward to our conversation!

Hi A***e, thanks for sharing your availability. Let’s plan our 20-minute call for Tuesday at 3:00 PM PST,I’ll send a calendar invite to j***e@***.com shortly. In the meantime, here’s a quick overview of the VP of IT & Security role at A***s and how it aligns with your background: • Company & Impact , A***s is a fast-growing, mid-size enterprise software and cloud services firm (200+ employees) delivering secure, scalable digital transformation solutions across finance, healthcare, and logistics. , This role reports directly to the CEO and sits on the executive leadership team, meaning your decisions on architecture, security, and governance will shape our growth trajectory. • Key Responsibilities 1. Develop and execute a comprehensive IT and cybersecurity strategy aligned with business objectives. 2. Oversee on-prem, virtualization, and cloud environments to ensure 99.9% uptime. 3. Lead information security governance, compliance (HIPAA, ISO, PCI), vulnerability management, and disaster-recovery planning. 4. Manage a multi-million-dollar IT budget, negotiate vendor contracts, and direct asset lifecycle and procurement. 5. Collaborate with C-level peers on digital transformation, cost-optimization, and continuous process improvement. • Why This Is a Great Fit , Your track record modernizing networks, moving from physical to virtual servers, and building security roadmaps directly addresses our legacy-hardware challenges. , You’ll have the budget and leadership mandate to implement a clear security governance framework and high-availability architecture. , There’s room to build out the team, influence policy, and drive innovations that double as both uptime guarantees and robust security controls. • Resources & Growth , You’ll have a direct reporting line to the CEO, a dedicated budget for tools and training, and support from a lean operations team. , Competitive salary, performance bonus, equity options, and a professional development stipend. , Clear path to CTO or broader operational leadership as A***s continues to scale. Does this capture what you’re looking for? Feel free to let me know if there’s anything you’d like me to expand on before our call. Looking forward to diving deeper on Tuesday! Best, J***e

Hi A***e, Great questions. Here’s a high-level snapshot: 1. Team Size & Structure - You’d inherit a lean but capable IT/security organization of six full-time professionals: • IT Manager (day-to-day ops) • Two Senior System Administrators (network, virtualization & on-prem) • Cloud Engineer (public cloud migration & automation) • Security Engineer (vulnerability management, threat monitoring) • Compliance Analyst (ISO, PCI, HIPAA checkpoints) - All currently report up through the IT Manager, who will transition to a direct report under your leadership. 2. Cloud Migration Roadmap - Phase 1 (Core Infrastructure) , complete: ~60% of our services now running in AWS. - Phase 2 (Apps & Databases) , in progress: migrating legacy apps to containers and managed database services. Target completion: end of Q4. - Phase 3 (Optimization & Cost Tuning) , planning now, to follow once migrations stabilize. 3. ISO/PCI Compliance Status - ISO 27001: Gap analysis & risk assessment completed in Q1; remediation of high-priority findings underway. We’re on track for formal audit in Q4. - PCI DSS: We passed our SAQ-D assessment last cycle and are tightening controls around segmentation and logging now, with full re-assessment planned early next year. This structure and roadmap gives you a solid platform to accelerate both uptime and governance. Happy to dive deeper when we chat on Tuesday,let me know if there’s anything else you’d like ahead of time. Best, J***e

Hi A***e, Great questions,here’s how incident response and budget flexibility look today: 1. Incident Response & Escalation - Tiered Ownership: • Tier 1 (IT Manager + Sysadmins) field and triage alerts via our ITSM tool (Jira Service Management). • Tier 2 (Security Engineer) investigates severity, runs forensics and coordinates containment. • Tier 3 (VP of IT & Security,you) owns major incident declarations, executive communication, and post-mortem sign-off. - SLAs & Tracking: • We target a 15-minute acknowledgment for critical events and a 4-hour resolution for Sev 1 incidents. • All metrics are tracked in Jira dashboards with daily/weekly reports. - Your Role: • You’ll refine the playbook, set SLA thresholds, chair the post-incident review board, and drive continuous improvement. 2. Phase 2 Budget for Automation & Security Tooling - Core Budget: We’ve allocated a multi-million-dollar cloud-migration fund that covers lift-and-shift, container orchestration, and managed DB services. - Contingency & Flexibility: • Approximately 10,15% of the Phase 2 budget is reserved for new automation or security tools. • You’ll have authority to reallocate within this envelope,subject to a brief ROI/impact review with the CFO and CEO. - Next Steps: Once you’re on board, you can submit a tooling proposal and, given strong business justification (e.g., improved MTTR, reduced manual effort), we’ll fast-track approval. Let me know if you’d like any more detail before Tuesday’s call. Looking forward to diving deeper! Best, J***e

Hi A***e, Happy to dive into those details before our call: 1. IR Stack & Playbook Automation - SIEM/EDR: We currently run Splunk Enterprise Security as our SIEM and CrowdStrike Falcon for EDR, with both feeding into Splunk Phantom (our SOAR platform) to automate containment, enrichment and ticketing workflows. - Forensics Tooling/Licensing: We maintain EnCase licenses in-house for routine investigations and partner with a vetted digital forensics lab for deeper dive analyses. All licensing and basic vendor support are covered under our annual security budget. 2. Phase 2 Reserve: ROI & Scope - Payback Window: The CFO/CEO typically target a 12-month payback horizon with at least a 1.5× ROI, measured via MTTR improvements, reduced manual effort and risk avoidance. - Budget Coverage: That 10,15% contingency can be used for new automation or security tooling,including third-party integration or consulting,so long as the proposal aligns with our cloud migration and security objectives. Let me know if you’d like any additional detail or metrics before Tuesday’s 3 PM PST chat. Looking forward to it! Best, J***e