Enterprise Technology Programs, Customer Success & Transformation Leader

Enter Portfolio

Dallas–Fort Worth, TX

Vivek Issar

Enterprise Technology Programs, Customer Success & Transformation Leader

Customer Success · Cybersecurity & Technology Risk · AI Governance

About

I lead enterprise technology programs and client relationships where enablement, security, and governance have to hold up together.

For more than 25 years I have run large client engagements, IT operations, and modernization programs in healthcare, retail, energy, and telecommunications. I carried account-level accountability across multiple engagements totaling nearly $900M, working directly with SVP and CTO sponsors and with the engineering, infrastructure, security, and vendor teams that do the work.

I am known for three things: transformation that lands in regulated, physical environments; quantitative reporting that tells executives the truth early; and operating models that keep working after handover. I bring the same access-control and stage-gate discipline to AI adoption.

Years of experience
25+
Industries
4
APAC · EMEA · NA · LATAM
Global (75+ countries)

PMP · AWS Certified Solutions Architect (Associate) · CISM and ISO/IEC 42001 in progress

Focus areas

  • Customer success & executive advisory

    • Senior Customer Success Manager on a $400M+ multi-tower engagement; advised the client SVP and CTO through a full account transition.
    • Six years as senior representative on a $170M+ account that renewed and expanded instead of going to tender.
    • Co-authored a three-year roadmap a client adopted as its own and renewed on.

  • Cybersecurity & technology risk

    • Zero HIPAA exceptions across a 4,000+ device refresh at 26 healthcare sites.
    • Governed NIST and ISO 27001 aligned identity, access, and monitoring controls across a 2,200+ location estate.
    • NERC CIP-aligned utility programs, OT and ICS security knowledge, and a Google Cybersecurity Certificate. CISM in progress.

  • AI security & governance

    • Applied perspectives on agent access boundaries, prompt injection, and release and shutdown governance.
    • Framework alignment to NIST AI RMF and ISO/IEC 42001, with EU AI Act applicability checks.
    • GenAI Prompt Engineer L2 and Claude Code 101. ISO/IEC 42001 Lead Implementer in progress. See applied perspectives.

Selected business impact

  • Scale

    ~$900M

    Combined engagement value across six enterprise accounts under my delivery accountability.

  • Executive advisory

    $35M+

    Client investment and expansion decisions influenced through cost modeling and performance benchmarking.

  • Cloud modernization

    61%

    Run-cost reduction through Azure modernization for a U.S. telecommunications provider.

  • Customer success & enablement

    16+ years

    Leading enterprise client engagements at HCLTech (2009–2026), including six years on a $170M+ telecommunications account that renewed and expanded without a competitive tender.

  • Security & compliance

    4,000+

    Devices refreshed across 26 hospital and clinic sites in two months: zero defects, zero HIPAA exceptions.

  • Operations

    38% · 20%+

    Labor-cost reductions in retail (38%) and healthcare (20%+, over $2.4M annually), with no SLA degradation.

Regulated delivery record: HIPAA, NERC CIP-aligned utility programs, a state weighing-scale audit (100% compliance), and NIST and ISO 27001 controls.

Career experience

  1. Sep 2026 – Present

    Technical Program Manager & Scrum Master

    Palindrome Tech LLC · a large telecommunications client, IT infrastructure programs
    • Partner with client stakeholders on two enterprise IT infrastructure programs in Dallas and Houston, aligning IAM objectives, success criteria, milestones, and dependencies.
    • Run sprint planning, story pointing, retrospectives, and iteration reviews for security and compliance workstreams implementing identity, access, and monitoring controls aligned to NIST and ISO 27001.
    • Run engagement cadence, status reporting, and risk tracking that surface adoption blockers early.
  2. Mar 2025 – Jul 2026

    Senior Customer Success Manager

    HCLTech · a Texas health system · $400M+ multi-tower engagement, 26 sites
    • Mobilized a 4,000+ device refresh across 26 hospital and clinic sites within two months of account takeover; closed with zero defects and zero HIPAA exceptions while live support continued.
    • Advised the client SVP and CTO through a full account transition and raised risk before it became escalation. A transition governance framework cut onboarding and transition time by about nine days across every tower.
    • Governed $7M+ in program spend with EVM, variance analysis, and capacity forecasting.
    • Redesigned the end user service model with engineering leadership, removing 20%+ from the labor cost base (over $2.4M annually) with no SLA degradation.
    • Led and coached three Global Tower Managers and five Program Managers across a delivery headcount of 400+ (onsite, offshore, and nearshore).
  3. Apr 2024 – Mar 2025

    Technical Programs & Account Manager

    HCLTech · a global retail enterprise with 2,200+ locations in the U.S.A. · $110M portfolio
    • Co-authored a three-year cloud and infrastructure operating model roadmap with client executive leadership; the client adopted it as its own plan and renewed on it.
    • Governed NIST and ISO 27001 aligned identity, access, and monitoring controls across the 2,200+ location estate with security and compliance teams.
    • Influenced $15M+ in client investment decisions through cost-benefit modeling presented to C-suite stakeholders.
    • Delivered state-regulated weighing scale recertification through formal government audit at 100% completion.
    • Built an 80-vehicle field service operation outside contracted scope, cutting hardware ticket volume approximately 35–38% month over month.
    • Cut the support labor cost base 38% through operating model redesign while absorbing material scope expansion with zero SLA degradation.
  4. Jun 2023 – Apr 2024

    Technical Programs & Account Manager, North America & LATAM

    HCLTech · a global energy company · $75M cloud and infrastructure program
    • Orchestrated a multi-country Desktop as a Service (DaaS) rollout for 11,000+ users across 9 countries in the Americas region.
    • Standardized cloud delivery and automation frameworks across two regions on Azure and AWS, raising engineering productivity 34% and service reliability 15%.
    • Built working knowledge of operational technology (OT) and industrial control system (ICS) security within weeks and advised leadership on modernization sequencing and risk concentration.
  5. Mar 2017 – Jun 2023

    Technical Programs & Account Manager

    HCLTech · a U.S. telecommunications provider focused on the eastern market · $170M+ portfolio, six-year engagement
    • Served as primary point of contact and senior HCLTech representative for six years; the account renewed repeatedly and expanded rather than going to competitive tender.
    • Modernized infrastructure on Microsoft Azure with embedded security controls, cutting run cost 61%.
    • Migrated the call center desktop estate to Dell thin client architecture, saving over $1.2M in CAPEX and about $400K in OPEX.
    • Built the account delivery model from inception, improving operational efficiency 45%; it remained the account standard after handover.
    • Ran quarterly executive reviews on unfiltered performance data and influenced $20M+ in service expansion.
  6. Oct 2015 – Feb 2017

    Global Programs & Delivery Head, Field & End User Services

    HCLTech · a global FMCG enterprise operating in 72 countries · $85M portfolio
    • Built a global field and end user services organization from a standing start: four Operations Managers, eight Team Leads, and 176 technicians across APAC, EMEA, and the Americas.
    • Reduced incidents 35% by modernizing ITSM practices and making escalation low-barrier at every level.
    • Improved cost margins 15% and workforce productivity 20% with Lean and Six Sigma.
  7. Oct 2009 – Oct 2015

    Technical Program & Delivery Manager

    HCLTech · an electric utility provider in Texas · $50M portfolio
    • Directed a $50M infrastructure modernization portfolio spanning data center transformation, multi-site network rollouts, and field technology deployment under NERC CIP-aligned obligations.
    • Found 34% waste across provisioning and lifecycle management by working from raw utilization data.
    • Secured $2M in incremental investment on first submission; improved first-call resolution by 30% and reduced repeat incidents by 66%.

Earlier career

  1. Oct 2008 – Sep 2009

    Sr. Technical Lead

    Quatrro Business Solutions · India
    • Supported pre-sales and post-sales engagement for an internet security product.
    • Served enterprise and SMB clients.
  2. May 2006 – May 2008

    Technical Consultant

    British Telecom · India
    • Provided pre-sales advisory and post-sales support for network equipment.
    • Supported managed services delivered through joint offerings with Yahoo and Symantec.
  3. Oct 2005 – May 2006

    Technical Consultant

    Genpact · India
    • Supported claims auditing and approval workflows.
    • Maintained data integrity and process compliance.
  4. Jul 2001 – Jun 2003

    Sr. Application Developer

    Hayat International · India
    • Built export management applications that automated documentation, shipment tracking, and compliance workflows.
    • Earned Microsoft Certified Professional (MCP) and Microsoft Certified Solution Developer (MCSD).

Leadership case studies

Each case is framed around the Amazon Leadership Principles it shows best.

Health system device refresh at takeover speedBias for Action · Deliver Results
Situation
A Texas health system with 26 hospital and clinic sites. Two months after I took over the account, a 4,000+ device refresh had to start on partial site data.
Action
I sequenced the refresh on the data we had and corrected in flight, while live support continued. In parallel I put a transition governance framework in place for knowledge ownership, workflows, and escalation paths.
Result
The refresh closed with zero defects and zero HIPAA exceptions. Onboarding and transition time fell by about nine days across every tower.
Principles
Bias for Action: I mobilized within two months instead of waiting for complete information. Deliver Results: zero defects in a regulated environment while live support continued.
A renewal earned through candorEarn Trust · Customer Obsession
Situation
A $170M+ telecommunications portfolio where I was primary contact and senior HCLTech representative for six years.
Action
I ran quarterly executive reviews on unfiltered performance data and disclosed delivery misses before the client found them. I built the delivery model from inception: sprint cadence, backlog governance, change control, risk registers, and health scoring.
Result
The account renewed repeatedly and expanded instead of going to tender, with $20M+ in expansion influenced and 45% better operational efficiency. The delivery model remained the account standard after handover.
Principles
Earn Trust: the client heard about our misses from me first. Customer Obsession: I kept the client’s view of performance accurate, and the account renewed and expanded.
Field operations nobody ownedOwnership · Customer Obsession
Situation
A U.S. retail enterprise with 2,200+ locations. Stores could not predict when a technician would arrive, and the gap sat outside the contract.
Action
I took it on anyway. I built an 80-vehicle field service operation within existing budget: dispatch and routing, GPS tracking, warehouse restocking, and tiered P1/P2 defect resolution.
Result
Hardware ticket volume fell approximately 35–38% month over month (roughly 100–120 of ~300). Separately, support labor cost fell 38% with zero SLA degradation.
Principles
Ownership: I acted on a problem outside the contract’s scope. Customer Obsession: I fixed what the stores actually experienced, which was not knowing when help would arrive.
A 72-country organization from zeroThink Big · Dive Deep
Situation
An $85M field and end user services portfolio for a global FMCG enterprise, with no global organization in place.
Action
I stood up four Operations Managers, eight Team Leads, and 176 technicians across APAC, EMEA, and the Americas, with escalation designed so anyone could raise a problem early. When I found that several countries restricted network-gear imports, I rebuilt a seven-country router replacement around in-country procurement.
Result
Incidents fell 35%, and no shipment was held at any border. Cost margins improved 15% and workforce productivity 20%.
Principles
Think Big: I built a 72-country organization from a standing start. Dive Deep: I found the import constraint in the plan and redesigned around it.
Cross-border DaaS rolloutDive Deep · Bias for Action
Situation
A Desktop as a Service rollout for 11,000+ users across 9 countries in the Americas for a global energy company, while engineering teams built the hosted platform.
Action
I owned discovery, country sequencing, pilot validation, cutover, and stabilization. When 210 endpoint devices bound for Brazil went missing in transit, I moved Brazil to the end of the sequence and recovered the shipment in parallel. Separately, I traced recurring configuration drift to a provisioning assumption left unexamined for three years and removed it at source.
Result
The schedule was protected. Standardized delivery frameworks raised engineering productivity 34% and service reliability 15%.
Principles
Dive Deep: I traced the drift to the assumption behind it, not the symptom. Bias for Action: I re-sequenced immediately and recovered the shipment in parallel.

Technical expertise

Cloud & Infrastructure
Microsoft Azure modernization, Amazon Web Services, Desktop as a Service (DaaS), thin client architecture, data center transformation, LAN/WAN and router replacement.
End user computing & identity
Windows 10/11 refresh and imaging governance, Microsoft Intune, SCCM, Active Directory, Azure AD, Remote Desktop, Citrix; Dell, HP, Lenovo, and Zebra estates.
Service management & reporting
ServiceNow, JIRA, MS Project, Power BI, Microsoft 365; EVM metrics (ETC, EAC, SPI, CPI).
Field operations & supply chain
Dispatch routing, GPS fleet tracking, Glovia inventory management, warehouse restocking, in-country procurement.
Technology risk & resilience
Governance across HIPAA, ISO 27001, NIST, SOC 2, SOX, and NERC CIP-aligned environments; identity, access, and monitoring control programs; vendor and third-party risk; regulatory audit readiness.
Leadership & delivery
Program and portfolio leadership, operating model design, service transition, stage-gate governance, Agile, Waterfall, and hybrid delivery, executive and quarterly business reviews, renewal and expansion strategy, Lean Six Sigma.

AI security & governance

Applied perspectives

How access-control, modernization, and governance experience from prior programs applies to AI adoption.

  • Agent and tool access boundaries. Extend least-privilege and identity governance to AI assistants and agents: scoped credentials, read-only defaults, and human approval for high-impact changes.
  • Data exposure and prompt injection. Treat public-facing and internal AI workflows as separate trust zones, and test for prompt injection before release.
  • Framework alignment. Map AI use cases to NIST AI RMF functions and ISO/IEC 42001 controls, check EU AI Act applicability, and name an accountable owner for each system.
  • Release and shutdown governance. Carry stage-gate and cutover discipline into AI releases: read-only pilots, audit logging, rollback, and a tested shutdown path.
  • Compromise and recovery readiness. Plan for a compromised AI account as infrastructure programs plan for incidents: MFA coverage, fast revocation, and rehearsed recovery.

Credentials

Education

Bachelor of Engineering, Computer Engineering · The Institution of Engineers, India

Certifications

  • Project Management Professional (PMP)
  • AWS Certified Solutions Architect – Associate
  • ITIL v3 Foundation
  • Agile Scrum Master (EXIN)
  • Six Sigma Green Belt
  • Lean IT
  • Scrum Fundamentals Certified
  • Google Cybersecurity Certificate
  • GenAI Prompt Engineer L2
  • GenAI Foundation
  • Claude 101 and Claude Code 101 (Anthropic)
  • Microsoft Certified Professional (MCP)
  • Microsoft Certified Solution Developer (MCSD)

In progress

  • CISM
  • ISO/IEC 42001 AI Governance Lead Implementer
  • AWS Certified AI Practitioner

Contact

Complex technology. Trusted outcomes. Let’s talk.