ABOUT

Advancing people, processes, and infrastructure to drive better business outcomes. 

Our Mission

Elevate Technology User Group is an independent, customer-led user group for Dell Technologies’ customers on the multicloud journey to modernizing their IT infrastructure. 

Open to customers, partners, and Dell Technologies employees, Elevate Technology User Group brings members together to share best practices and network with industry and subject matter experts.

Board of Directors

The Elevate Technology User Group Board of Directors are responsible for setting the vision and strategy for the organization. Comprised of both customers and Dell Technologies representatives, the Board works together to identify areas of opportunities to enhance the member experience, program development, and long-term growth for the community.

  • Chris-new

    Chris has a diverse background leading IT transformation with over a decade in the hospitality industry at The Celtic Collection. He led the IT development, going from Physical > CI > HCI for the datacenter and completed the overhaul of the network from Core to Edge. Chris was one of the key members on the Technology team for the Ryder Cup, as well as the SOC team for the NATO Summit in 2014, and was the lead on the ICCW (International Conference Centre Wales) technology design and implementation team from start to finish. In 2020, Chris joined the global cloud communications partner, LoopUp, to manage data center and cloud platform infrastructures. He currently serves as the Vice President of Network Operations to ensure all environments are robust, secure and resilient internally and externally.

Chris Stanley

Board President

  • Adam Little

    Adam Little joined the Elevate User Group in 2021 and serves as a Director on the Board. His 17-year career in IT includes extensive experience with Dell/EMC technologies. Adam is the Director, IT Operations, at New Belgium Brewing Company – Kirin Holdings Company. Prior to this role, he was the Senior Cybersecurity Administrator and a Senior Systems Administrator at New Belgium Brewing Company. With a background in infrastructure and a focus on security, Adam defined the company’s infrastructure journey onto the private cloud while leveraging Dell VxRail. VxRail offered scalability, helping to integrate remote sites in the U.S. with SD-Wan and virtualized networking, ensuring they stay within compliance standards and BC/DR requirements. Adam led the VxRail deployment projects at all three company production sites.

Adam Little

Board Vice President

  • Ian Jones

    Ian Jones a seasoned professional with 13 years of experience at NatWest Group, where he is the Private Cloud Infrastructure Product Owner. In this role, he is responsible for formulating and executing the strategic vision for the bank's private cloud and virtual infrastructure. Ian has over a decade of experience working with Dell Technologies, collaborating to tailor solutions to their specific needs and providing valuable feedback to enhance support and product experiences. His relationship with Dell extends beyond just sales, encompassing strong ties with support and professional services.

Ian Jones

Board Member

  • Susan Pickett

    Suzan is SVP Infrastructure Engineering and Operations. She is responsible for advancing Citizen’s operational excellence and transformation of platforms including Observability and Monitoring, Infrastructure SRE, and supporting delivery of quality cloud, data center, compute and storage products and services.

    Before joining Citizen’s, Suzan led Dell Digital’s infrastructure product operating model and automation adoption, as well as data science teams focused on supply chain and demand forecasting for infrastructure reliability.
     
    Prior, Suzan had roles in leading large global Infrastructure and Cloud Services teams ensuring architecture, engineering and operational success with companies including Nike, U.S. Bank, and Columbia Sportswear. Suzan relocated from Oregon to Texas in March 2020 with her husband and three Labrador retrievers.

Suzan Pickett

Board Director

  • Mike Z

    Mike Zvolanek has over 20 years of IT experience across various industries including healthcare, retail, and entertainment. Mike currently serves as the Director, Global Infrastructure, at Topgolf where he manages the strategy and infrastructure in venues, data centers and offices. Topgolf uses virtual desktop infrastructure (VDI) running on Dell hyperconverged infrastructure, to deliver truly unique and exceptional player experiences in their venues. Mike has led large scale projects for hardware refresh, VDI rollout and data center consolidation that changed the landscape for multiple organizations and rocketed them forward along their path to digital transformation.

Mike Zvolanek

Board Director

  • JT

    JT is currently the Head of Technology at Bose. Previously, he served as Vice President of Infrastructure Engineering at McKesson Corporation, a leader in pharmaceutical distribution and healthcare technology. JT was also the leader of Global Infrastructure & Cybersecurity at Mohawk Industries and spent over four years as Senior Director of Infrastructure Engineering & Operations at InComm. Throughout his career, JT has demonstrated exceptional leadership in transforming infrastructure through innovative use of Dell Technologies, consistently driving teams to achieve business success.

Jonathan Toulon (JT)

Director, Past President

  • Ann Saari

    Ann Saari has supported the user group since 2018 and currently serves as the Elevate User Group Executive Director. Ann works closely with the Board and Team to grow the community and enhance the member experience.

Ann Saari

Executive Director

Dell Products our Members Use

  • APEX
  • Data Protection
  • PowerEdge Servers
  • PowerFlex
  • PowerMax
  • PowerScale
  • PowerStore
  • XC Series
  • VxBlock
  • VxRail

History of Elevate

timeline-1

Contact Us

Elevate Technology User Group
450 Rev Kelly M Smith Way
Nashville, TN 37203

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