Annual IT budget reduction
Reset infrastructure, cloud, and support costs while maintaining service quality.
WELLBORE INTEGRITY SOLUTIONS A TECHNICAL MIND. A BUSINESS LEADER.
I build the teams
that move
business forward.
I’m Charles Sparks. I connect enterprise strategy, strong leaders, and deep technical judgment to turn complex challenges into business results.
Currently VP, Infrastructure & IT Operations at IEMHouston, Texas Global perspective
THE OPERATING SYSTEM+
01 / STRATEGY02 / PEOPLE03 / TECHNOLOGY
Good systems start with good leadership.✳Clarity.
Ownership.
Momentum.
BUSINESS IMPACT ↗Ownership.
Momentum.
LEADERSHIP AT SCALE
Real responsibility.
Every day.
44IT professionals led
6,075employees supported
32sites across 3 countries
01 / THE IMPACTThe results behind the leadership.
Strategy is only as good
as what it changes.
Across manufacturing, financial services, and energy, I’ve built operating models that make technology a stronger partner to the business.
Annual cloud storage savings
Directed migration of 600 TB to immutable cloud storage, reducing the on-premises footprint.
STEWART TITLECustomer satisfaction sustained
Maintained service quality while support ticket volume increased 68% year over year.
IEMSTEWART TITLE / GLOBAL INSOURCINGBuild capability.
Build capability.
Keep the business moving.
Moving infrastructure support in-house meant creating a global organization while protecting the services the business depended on.
I defined the insourcing strategy and led the transition across the United States, India, and Pakistan, aligning teams, operating practices, and executive communication.
THE OUTCOME
55technical resources onboarded
25 daysahead of schedule
↗ Zero P1 incidents affecting more than 100 users during the transition.
WELLBORE / GLOBAL GROWTHScale the business.
Scale the business.
Rethink the cost structure.
Rapid expansion demanded an IT organization that could support a global enterprise with financial discipline.
I partnered with senior leadership on technology direction and led infrastructure and service optimization, vendor renegotiation, and global technology deployment.
THE OUTCOME
$3Mannual operating IT budget reduction
1,400+employees supported as the business expanded
↗ Technology scaled from a 30-person startup to a global enterprise.
IEM / CURRENT LEADERSHIPGive growth
Give growth
a stronger foundation.
Manufacturing growth and emerging AI capabilities call for clear architecture, accountable teams, and deliberate investment.
I set infrastructure and operations direction with the CIO, lead the internal support transition, and shape governed cloud and AI infrastructure with business and security partners.
THE WORK IN PROGRESS
44 peopleled through five direct reports
32 sitesacross the US, Canada, and Belgium
↗ Building organizational capability for the next stage of enterprise growth.
02 / THE APPROACHFluent in business.
Fluent in business.
Grounded in
technology.
The best work happens when strategy is understood, leaders have ownership, and technical decisions serve a clear business purpose.
Start with the business.
Understand where the organization is going. Build the roadmap, investment priorities, and partnerships to get it there.
Give leaders ownership.
Set clear expectations, develop people, and establish accountability. Build a team that can make decisions and deliver together.
Know the architecture.
Stay close enough to the technology to ask better questions, weigh tradeoffs, and connect infrastructure, cloud, security, and operations.
Measure what matters.
Use cost, service quality, resilience, and business outcomes to understand whether the strategy is working.
03 / THE EXPERIENCEDownload the full resume (PDF, opens in new tab)
A decade of
building what’s next.
Increasing responsibility. Different industries. A consistent focus on stronger teams and better business outcomes.
2025 — PRESENTCURRENT
IEM
Industrial Electric ManufacturingVP, Infrastructure & IT Operations
Lead enterprise infrastructure, operations, regional support, cloud strategy, and IT financial management. Report to the CIO and lead through five direct reports.
2021 — 2025
Stewart Title
Financial servicesDirector, Cloud Infrastructure
Led 10 operational teams, 53 staff, and 24/7 global service delivery. Directed insourcing, cloud strategy, engineering modernization, and business continuity.
2019 — 2021
Wellbore
Wellbore Integrity SolutionsGlobal IT Infrastructure Manager/Director
Set global IT strategy during rapid enterprise expansion and delivered a $3M annual operating budget reduction.
2018 — 2019
Westlake Chemical
Chemicals and manufacturingPrincipal Infrastructure Analyst / Project Manager
Led cross-functional infrastructure and acquisition-integration programs.
2015 — 2018
Lockwood
Lockwood InternationalDirector, Information Technology
Directed global IT, reduced service backlog 80%, and led ERP consolidation delivering $600K in annual savings.
THE FOUNDATIONBusiness education.
Business education.
Technical depth.
Continuous growth.
Information Technology
Western Governors University
Information Technology
Western Governors University
Certifications & leadership development
- AWS Certified Cloud Practitioner
- ITIL v4 Certified
- CompTIA Security+
- CompTIA Project+
- CompTIA A+
- Linux Essentials
- Certified Scrum Master
- Foundations of Leadership Certificate
- Effective Manager Certificate
THE NEXT CONVERSATIONLet’s build
Let’s build
what’s next.
Exploring the right VP or CIO opportunity. If you need a leader who connects people, strategy, and technology, let’s talk.
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