BRANDON EDLING
brandon@edlings.org

As a forward-thinking technologist and instructional designer with more than 20 years of experience in the media and technology industries, I have planned, implemented, and managed global training programs, IT infrastructures, and key strategic initiatives. I deeply understand the intersection of technology and learning, have a curious mind, and execute a rigorous work ethic.

My passion is creating cutting-edge environments that utilize traditional as well as emerging platforms. Technology and training, when implemented thoughtfully, can have a profound impact on user efficiency and productivity. Ultimately, they should enhance people's lives, not make it harder or more complicated.

 

EXPERIENCE 

DROPBOX, INC.
GLOBAL CHANNEL TRAINING MANAGER | NEW YORK, NY | 2016 – PRESENT

  • Developed, launched, and oversaw a comprehensive and global Partner enablement curriculum with high impact and scalable training programs. Over one hundred training videos and dozens of training guides were created and localized for use by thousands of people in several different countries, including Brazil, Denmark, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, Netherlands, Norway, Spain, and Sweden.

  • Built learning path frameworks, cadence of regional programs (over Asia-Pacific, EMEA, and AMER), and communicate to audiences via marketing.

  • Evaluated effectiveness of global channel training programs and implement adjustments as necessary to improve performance and ensure objectives are met by maintaining dashboards.

COMCAST NBCUNIVERSAL
SENIOR DIRECTOR, INNOVATION MANAGEMENT | NEW YORK, NY | 2012 – 2015

  • Conceived concept and managed team that implemented the NBCUniversal Smart Bars, a new support model that provided users with one-on-one support and training. Similar to Apple’s Genius Bars, the Smart Bars enabled NBCU IT to interact with NBCUniversal users in a dynamic way, improving the customer’s efficiency and productivity. The first Smart Bar is located in Englewood Cliffs, New Jersey and locations are slated to open in Los Angeles, New York City, Orlando and London in 2015-2017.

  • Co-led the team that implemented the Technology Service Desk, a domestic helpdesk that provided technical assistance to over 40,000 users worldwide. Shared responsibility for technical leadership, policy development, project oversight and support. Reported operational achievements in progress to the management team on a regular basis including statistical analysis and improvements of action plans.

  • Led team that implemented Airwatch Mobile Device Management for 25,000 iOS devices and team that implemented JAMF’s Casper Suite for 6,000 Macintosh computers. These initiatives called for the development of a new profile-based management strategy based on Apple’s Best Practices.Managed 10 person team to design and develop the first internal iOS application for NBCU, Inside Tech. This universal app, utilized by over 10,000 people at NBCUniversal, authenticated to Active Directory and featured internal news feeds, shuttle schedules, a reservation system for the Smart Bars, and a Featured Apps and eBooks section.

  • Produced, edited and scripted series of training videos and screencasts for employees to learn how to use technology safely and efficiently.

  • Featured in Apple-produced Business Profile Videos, highlighting the innovations of the NBCUniversal Technology Center (http://bit.ly/techcentervideo) and Smart Bar (http://bit.ly/smartbarvideo).

COMCAST NBCUNIVERSAL
DIRECTOR, WORKPLACE TECHNOLOGY | NEW YORK, NY | 2008 – 2012

  • Managed team of 15 senior engineers to modernize 30,000 PCs by standardizing on Windows 7, Office 2010 and Internet Explorer 8. This initiative had a direct impact on improving the workflows of over 40,000 employees and led to a yearly desktop refresh initiative with an $8M capital budget.

  • Managed 12 person team that created and updated 10 desktop software images and over 3,000 application installers.

  • Project managed the virtual desktop and application engineering team in both engineering and support for an 500 seat international VM environment (India, Mexico, and the United States) based on VMWare vSphere ESX and ESXi. The project budget was $2M and saved the company $7.5M.

  • Assisted in managing 75 L2 and L3 analysts and ensured proper hand–offs were in place between L1, L2 and L3 support teams.

  • Established hardware and software standards and configurations for 30,000 Windows and Macintosh computers, leading to a yearly cost savings of $2M.

  • Ensured that workplace systems and services were fully scoped, planned, project managed, implemented, tested, documented and met the expectations of the 45 NBCU businesses based in the United States, England, Japan and Australia.

  • Created long–term strategy framework for NBCU Workplace Technology.

  • Featured in Apple’s “Execs Talk iPad” Podcast Series.

GENERAL ELECTRIC NBC UNIVERSAL
MANAGER, BROADCAST TECHNOLOGY INITIATIVES | NEW YORK, NY | 2006 – 2008

  • Engineered, implemented and maintained over 650 TB of Xsan/Stornext Storage, spread over 9 workgroups (The Tonight Show with Conan O’Brien, Saturday Night Live, Late Night with Jimmy Fallon, NBC News, NBC Sports, NBC Olympics, SyFy/USA, LX.TV, NBC.com) used by over 300 people in New York and Los Angeles.

  • Managed team of over 30 analysts whose responsibility was the service and support of over 3,000 Macintosh computers in the United States, London, Japan and Australia.

TEKSOLUTIONS, INC.
SYSTEMS INTEGRATOR / SALES | KANSAS CITY, MO | 2005 – 2006 

  • Provided consulting, technical and sales support for over 50 businesses and educational institutions in the midwest.

  • Educated key decision makers (SVPs, CTOs, CIOs) on how Apple technologies could be integrated into their existing environment. These environments often consisted of many different technologies, which made every integration an exciting challenge.

APPLE, INC.
MAC GENIUS | KANSAS CITY, MO | 2004 – 2005

  • Performed troubleshooting for end-users related to Mac desktops, laptops, and basic network troubleshooting.

  • Ensured customer requests were promptly addressed, documented and resolved in a timely and professional manner consistent with customer service and professional/technical standards.

GEAR FOR SPORTS / CHAMPION CUSTOM PRODUCTS
WINDOWS AND MACINTOSH SYSTEMS ADMINISTRATOR | LENEXA, KS | 2000 – 2004 

  • Developed, managed and supported 5 Macintosh servers and 350 desktop systems used for content creation. Also responsible for 3 RAID systems, network architecture and backup/recovery architecture for 25 Windows and Macintosh servers.

  • Managed 75 Windows NT and Windows 2000 servers, administrated Symantec AntiVirus Enterprise and MacDesign’s Web Help Desk.

SKILLPATH / COMPUMASTER SEMINARS
TECHNICAL TRAINER | LENEXA, KS | 1999 – 2000 

  • Designed and presented custom training to enterprise IT analysts and engineers on how to effectively and efficiently support mixed Windows and Macintosh environments.

  • Trained over 5,000 people throughout the continental United States and United Kingdom.

 

EDUCATION / CERTIFICATIONS

  • University of Phoenix, John Sperling School of Business, Graduate School of Business and Management — Master of Business Administration, 2012

  • University of Kansas, Lawrence, Kansas — Bachelor’s Degree, Film and Video Production, 1999

  • Apple Certified System Administrator

  • Apple Certified Technical Coordinator

  • Apple Certified Macintosh Technician

  • Apple Certified Xsan Administrator

  • Microsoft Certified Professional

  • General Electric: New Management Development Course; Finance for Non–Financial Professionals; Building Essential Leadership Skills

  • Massachusetts Institute of Technology: Negotiating for Executives