Bennie Williams
I build and lead the infrastructure teams that keep hospitals, enterprises, and mission-critical systems running. With 32 years in IT — starting from a DOS manual in the 1980s, through 12 years in the U.S. Navy, and across leadership roles at Lockheed Martin, Accenture, and Oracle — I’ve learned that the technology changes, but the fundamentals don’t: understand the system, take care of your people, and solve the actual problem in front of you.
Today I serve as Senior Manager of Data Center & Infrastructure Operations at Children’s National Hospital in Washington, D.C., where I lead a Tier 3 engineering team across eight technical domains and five sites. I came over when the hospital canceled its Oracle managed services contract and insourced its IT organization. Hired to manage the data center, the CTO expanded my scope by merging the System Management organization — Active Directory, databases, Office 365, enterprise printing, and Citrix — into my team. I lost seven engineers in the transition and rebuilt through six backfills. This is my first IT management role; my background is enterprise IT, and I bring that practitioner’s perspective to every decision.
Outside the data center, I’m a hands-on technologist. I run my own self-hosted infrastructure with Docker, Traefik, and Cloudflare. Over the last four years I’ve gone deep into AI — building with agent architectures, experimenting with automation workflows, and mentoring people who want to understand what AI can actually do for them, not just what the headlines say. I help local businesses and professionals adopt AI in practical, no-hype ways. The tools change fast, but the pattern is always the same: understand the problem first, then find the right tool. I build with AI, I teach what I learn, and I stay curious because the practitioners who don’t evolve get left behind.
Credentials: Cornell University Technology Leadership certification · PSM1 (Professional Scrum Master)
Certifications
Skills
- Data Center Operations
- Team Building & Integration
- Vendor Management
- Disaster Recovery / Business Continuity
- Agile / Scrum Leadership
- Active Directory / Microsoft Office 365
- VMware & Virtualization
- Citrix / AVD
- Enterprise Storage (Pure, EMC, NetApp, Dell)
- Backup & Recovery
- Docker
- Traefik
- Cloudflare
- Zerto
- Python
Experience
Senior Manager, Data Center & Infrastructure Operations
CNH canceled its Oracle managed services contract and insourced its IT organization; Kyndryl took over Tier 1/2 operations. I came over in that transition. Hired expecting to manage the data center only; the CTO then merged the System Management organization (Active Directory, databases, Office 365, enterprise printing, Citrix) into my team. Lost seven engineers at the transition — a VMware engineer, two Linux engineers, my only storage engineer, my Zerto engineer, a Citrix engineer, and a storage rehire who left again — and backfilled six. Now leading a Tier 3 engineering team across eight technical domains and five sites, with indirect oversight of Kyndryl’s Tier 1/2 managed services. Supporting the hospital’s Epic hosted infrastructure migration off Oracle Cerner, running through 2027. This is my first IT management role; my background is enterprise IT.
Senior Data Center Manager
Hired as an Oracle FTE on the Oracle Cerner contract for CNH. Approximately 1.5 months in — during Oracle training — the contract was canceled. Given 10 days to accept direct CNH employment; internal Oracle transfers were blocked for CNH-bound staff.
Business & Technology Delivery Manager
Managed virtualization and global data center operations supporting 800,000+ users across 17 data centers, with significant built-in redundancy. Held direct budget authority exceeding $10M.
Windows Engineering Team Lead
Returned after a brief tenure at Infinite Group. Managed large classified data centers in a classified environment. Held TS/SCI clearance at the time (inactive 15+ years).
VMware Consultant
Brief tenure delivering VMware Professional Services consulting to civilian and government clients between Lockheed Martin assignments.
Systems Administrator
Started on a classified program. Promoted to Windows Engineering Team Lead.
Disbursing Clerk
12 years across three aircraft carriers. Functioned as the de facto IT resource at every duty station throughout enlistment.