Resume

Infrastructure Leader | Data Center Design, Build & Operations

Dallas, Texas | chet@chetlwilliams.com | (240) 450-2920

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Professional Summary

I’m the person organizations send in when they don’t know what to do—when the facility design doesn’t exist yet, the process needs building, or nobody wants to own the problem. I solve what others won’t or can’t.

20+ years leading mission-critical data center infrastructure across three continents. I’ve built facilities from greenfield through M&A integration (Commerce Cloud, Pardot), maintained 99.99% uptime at 8.5MW hyperscale operations, and prevented $2M+ in cost overruns through strategic capacity planning.

What sets me apart: I work effectively at every organizational level—I brief executives, coordinate with facilities teams, partner with engineering, and hold vendors accountable. I meet people where they are and show them how to get where they want to go.

US Air Force veteran | DCIS, DCOS, DCOM certified | Currently Principal at Salesforce

Infrastructure Leadership Highlights

Extensive Data Center Build Experience – Greenfield and brownfield projects across three continents
International Deployments – Led infrastructure projects across US, EMEA, and APAC regions
M&A Integration Expert – Commerce Cloud and Pardot infrastructure integration
Team Development – 5 direct reports, trained 50-60 engineers, led 4-6 remote teams
US Air Force Veteran – 1996-2000, Presidential communications infrastructure

Core Competencies

Data Center Design, Build & Operations

DCIM & Knowledge Management Platforms

Infrastructure Operations & Leadership

Strategic Planning & Program Management

AI/ML Infrastructure & Innovation

Technical Expertise

Team & Organizational Leadership

Professional Experience

Salesforce | Principal, Data Center Operations

Dallas, Texas | August 2020 – Present

Data Center Build & Operations Leadership: Led extensive data center infrastructure projects including facility design, physical infrastructure coordination (PDU/busway/UPS/generator planning, space planning, CRAC/CRAH cooling, hot/cold aisle containment, structured cabling fiber/copper), commissioning and acceptance testing, general contractor management, and international deployments across US, EMEA, and APAC regions
M&A Infrastructure Integration: Successfully integrated Commerce Cloud and Pardot acquisitions into core infrastructure; coordinated cross-business unit teams; established new product deployment patterns with zero service disruption
International Program Leadership: Coordinated data center deployments across multiple continents including EMEA and APAC regions; managed distributed engineering teams; delivered equipment installation, structured cabling (fiber/copper), and local team training
Team Development & Leadership: Led 5 direct reports managing daily operations; coordinated 4-6 remote engineering teams for international builds; trained 50-60 engineers on hardware repair and operational processes (10-20 hours per engineer)
Asset & Vendor Management: Coordinated 20,000+ equipment pieces from M&A acquisitions into asset management systems; consolidated vendor budgets achieving 15% recurring cost savings; managed Dell, Computacenter, Equinix, Digital Realty partnerships
Operational Excellence: Led operations for 8.5MW, 40,000 sq ft facility maintaining 99.99% uptime over 4 years; achieved 100% uptime across all critical infrastructure in 2025
Change Management Architecture & ITIL Leadership: Owned DC Engineering Change Management program during 2019-2020 ‘Get Out of Red’ initiative; developed and ratified three policy frameworks; modified 130+ logical categories; established cross-team guidelines that became standard for ITIL compliance enforcement across global operations
Single Source of Truth Implementation: Established Confluence as mandatory SSOT for tribal knowledge and processes; developed documentation systems and workflow policies; enforced data integrity discipline across DC Engineering organization
AI Infrastructure & Operational Intelligence: Led AI adoption across DC Engineering organization; developed and documented best practices for LLM-based operational tools; shared knowledge across ISDO teams; received company-wide recognition from Director (Michael Cassisi) for transformation impact (30% triage reduction, 25% faster planning)
Strategic Facility Management: Built second Dallas data center preventing $2M/month cost overruns through strategic consolidation and capacity planning
Complex Program Leadership: Coordinated 40+ stakeholders across 6 teams to execute multi-million dollar data center exit involving 158 applications with zero downtime and 100% on-schedule delivery
Technology Modernization: Led network refresh program upgrading datacenter fabric from 100G to 400G, supporting next-generation AI/ML workload requirements with 3-5x power density increases

Salesforce | Director, Data Center Operations

Dallas, Texas | May 2020 – August 2020

Contributed to Salesforce’s 99.99% uptime by leading Dallas operations team, implementing best practices, and optimizing team structure and training aligned with workload demands
Managed power and space planning for data center expansion and future AI infrastructure readiness; trained junior personnel in system troubleshooting, equipment deployment, and compliance adherence
Joined cross-functional team establishing and refining processes to improve interaction between data center engineering teams and internal networking/system engineering groups
Directed integration and deployment of newly acquired company hardware into existing data centers, achieving significant cost savings through infrastructure consolidation

Salesforce | Senior Manager, Data Center Operations

Dallas, Texas | October 2017 – May 2020

Facility Operations Leadership: Oversaw daily operations and strategic planning for 8.5MW, 40,000 sq ft facility including budgeting, purchasing, and vendor management while leading team of 5 engineers
Global Infrastructure Deployment: Led data center engineering teams deploying infrastructure across US, EMEA, and APAC regions; coordinated physical infrastructure builds including power distribution, cooling systems, and structured cabling; managed general contractors for multi-million dollar projects
M&A Integration Programs: Led Commerce Cloud infrastructure integration (pods 71, 73, 74) and Pardot acquisition (26+ cabinets); established deployment patterns adopted company-wide; coordinated cross-functional teams with zero business disruption
Strategic Decommissioning Program: Led team decommissioning 22 legacy facilities following acquisitions, achieving $200K recurring cost savings through structured six-phase framework; managed asset disposition and compliance requirements; led Commerce Cloud datacenter exits for cost optimization
Training Program Development: Developed comprehensive training plans for DC Engineering teams; created documentation and knowledge systems; delivered hands-on training across three continents (50-60 team members, 10-20 hours per engineer)
Asset Management at Scale: Coordinated integration of 20,000+ pieces of inherited equipment from acquisitions into asset management database; ensured data structure alignment and audit compliance; established inventory tracking standards
Stakeholder Management: Conducted customer, security, and compliance tours of data centers, assuring clients and auditors of physical security measures while addressing technical inquiries
Infrastructure Architecture: Designed, installed, maintained, and supported corporate data center architectures in highly available, mission-critical environments with comprehensive documentation and best practices compliance

Salesforce | Lead Data Center Engineer → Senior Data Center Engineer → Data Center Engineer

Dallas, Texas | August 2014 – October 2017

Progressed through engineering roles managing day-to-day data center operations, equipment installations, and infrastructure maintenance supporting mission-critical systems
Developed technical expertise in power systems, cooling infrastructure, network architecture, and physical security implementations
Built foundation for future leadership roles through hands-on operational experience and technical problem-solving

Verizon Business | Consultant – Network Engineer

Ashburn, Virginia | November 2006 – October 2014

International Data Center Operations: Extensive international travel (>50% of time for 7 years) supporting infrastructure deployments across US, EMEA, and APAC regions; managed vendors for hardware installations at remote facilities across multiple continents; delivered cost savings and faster service delivery
Large-Scale Deployment Programs: Spearheaded 30-site upgrade effort encompassing hardware installation, equipment upgrades, and comprehensive documentation creation; coordinated cross-regional teams and vendor partnerships
Network Architecture & Design: Designed and implemented multi-node transport networks connecting customer locations utilizing MPLS and IP transport technologies; delivered 576-fiber optical solution connecting multiple sites
Technical Infrastructure: Installed, repaired, and performed initial configurations on Juniper, Cisco, Dell, and HP systems in customer-facing environments; developed documentation for non-standard transport network solutions
Infrastructure Efficiency: Increased data center installation efficiency through new documentation development (MOPs, drawings, rack layouts) in collaboration with project managers, engineers, and clients

Education & Certifications

Northeastern University

Bachelor of Science in Technical Communications Boston, MA | 2010 – 2013

International Data Center Authority (IDCA)

DCIS | Data Center Infrastructure Specialist – November 2016 DCOS | Data Center Operations Specialist – November 2016 DCOM | Data Center Operations Manager – November 2016

United States Air Force

Wideband Technician | Andrews Air Force Base, Maryland – 1996 – 2000

Mission-critical communications infrastructure supporting Presidential radio station, Joint Chiefs of Staff communications, and Defense Information Systems Agency circuits. Foundation for data center operations excellence and disciplined technical approach.

Key Achievements & Impact

International Infrastructure Leadership: Extensive data center deployments across US, EMEA, and APAC regions; >50% international travel for 7 years at Verizon Business
M&A Integration Success: Commerce Cloud and Pardot infrastructure integration with zero business disruption; established deployment patterns adopted company-wide
Operational Excellence: 99.99% uptime maintained over 4 years; 100% uptime achieved 2025; serving millions of users daily
Cost Optimization: $2M facilities cost avoidance through strategic CAPEX; $200K recurring savings via 22-facility decommissioning; 15% vendor cost reduction through budget consolidation
Program Leadership: 158-application migration with 100% on-time completion; coordinated 40+ stakeholders across 6 teams with zero downtime
Team Development: Led 5 direct reports; coordinated 4-6 remote engineering teams; trained 50-60 engineers (10-20 hours each)
Asset Management: 20,000+ equipment pieces coordinated from M&A acquisitions; established tracking and compliance standards
Physical Infrastructure: Power systems planning, space planning, cooling systems coordination, structured cabling (fiber/copper) across all projects
Budget Authority: $2M+ monthly budget responsibility for facility operations and infrastructure investments
Facility Scale: 8.5MW / 40,000 sq ft operations with multi-redundant power and cooling systems

Let’s Connect

Email: chet@chetlwilliams.com LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/chetwilliams1 Mastodon: @chetwilliams@fosstodon.org Telegram: @chetwilliams Signal: Signal Message

I respond to all inquiries within 24 hours.