Daniel Vaughn

Atlanta, GA linkedin.com/in/danieljvaughn
Profile

Strategic IT leader with deep technical roots and experience directing comprehensive corporate IT engineering, operations, and support functions. Proven track record of building resilient, high-performing teams that deliver scalable, secure, and business-aligned technology solutions. Leverages cross-functional leadership to architect adaptable IT ecosystems that drive operational continuity across startups, high-growth companies, and enterprise environments.

Core competencies: IT Strategy & Service Delivery  ·  Identity & Endpoint Management  ·  SaaS Operations  ·  Vendor Governance  ·  Agile Project Delivery  ·  Cross-Functional Leadership

Experience
OneTrust Jul 2023 – May 2026
Atlanta, GA  ·  Market-leading AI-ready governance platform
Director, IT Operations
  • Led a global IT Operations team responsible for IT Service Management, productivity and collaboration tooling, endpoint administration, asset management, AV, networks, and workplace security for a 2,000+ employee organization.
  • Managed regional managers and senior ICs, driving clear ownership models, operational maturity, and metrics-driven execution across all IT Operations practices.
  • Owned IT service delivery and operational strategy, balancing scale, employee experience, security, and spend discipline in a lean, AI-forward SaaS environment.
  • Led major incident response, executive IT risk management, and cross-functional operational dependencies with Security, Workplace, Legal, People, and Engineering teams.
  • Drove tooling and vendor strategy for IT-owned platforms, accountable for $5.5M in annual IT spend.
Notable accomplishments
  • Built and scaled outsourced 24/7 Tier 1 IT support, shifting 50%+ of ticket triage and 30%+ of ticket resolution while improving response speed and employee satisfaction.
  • Standardized core ITSM practices in Jira Service Management, implementing incident, change, problem, and knowledge workflows to improve service visibility and operational control.
  • Increased IT Operations per-employee project delivery capacity by 350% by automating support workflows, outsourcing processes, and developing talent.
  • Established IT strategy and delivery operating model, aligning goal setting, prioritization, execution tracking, and delivery governance to improve predictability and business alignment.
BlockFi May 2022 – Jul 2023
Remote  ·  Unicorn crypto startup offering lending, trading, and yield products
Director, Corporate IT
  • Led the IT Service Desk, IT Engineering, and IT Logistics teams supporting ~1,000 remote users.
  • Owned IT operational continuity through extreme business volatility, including mass downsizing and bankruptcy proceedings.
  • Drove identity, endpoint management, security posture, automation, business continuity, and operational efficiency initiatives across macOS, Windows, and core SaaS platforms (Okta, Google Workspace, Atlassian, Slack, Jamf, Intune, Ivanti MobileIron, Microsoft 365/Entra ID).
  • Managed $3.5M IT budget.
Notable accomplishments
  • Secured 95% of applications behind Okta SSO with device trust, adaptive authentication, and MDM-based BYOD access controls.
  • Automated ~90% of onboarding/offboarding workflows using Okta Workflows and Zapier, reducing access removal time from days to seconds.
  • Cut ticket resolution time by 15% and increased ticket deflection by 30% with a Slack-based service agent.
  • Removed $600K of annualized software spend by improving SaaS license management, minimizing unused AWS resources, and negotiating vendor contracts.
Govalo Dec 2021 – Apr 2022
Remote  ·  Early-stage fintech startup reinventing the digital gifting experience
Director, Information Technology and Security
  • Built IT and cybersecurity infrastructure, policies, and procedures from the ground up for a cloud-first, fully remote fintech startup.
  • Managed endpoint, SaaS, and infrastructure operations while managing and coaching a Cybersecurity Engineer responsible for threat monitoring and incident response.
Notable accomplishments
  • Conducted NIST-based risk assessment across 30+ SaaS tools and remediated key findings, including backup and disaster recovery gaps for critical systems and data.
  • Cut change-related incidents by 50% through introduction of ITIL-aligned change management.
  • Built a custom Privileged Access Management solution using Okta and 1Password to reduce password sharing and enable access governed by the principle of least privilege.
Intercontinental Exchange (ICE) Jul 2015 – Dec 2021
Atlanta, GA  ·  Global leader in financial exchanges and technologies
Manager, End User Computing May 2018 – Dec 2021
  • Recruited and led a distributed End User Computing organization of 16 employees responsible for end user experience across the North American region of a 10,000+ employee organization.
  • Owned administration and support of endpoints, IT infrastructure, and productivity and collaboration tooling, along with several mission-critical vendor relationships.
  • Built and led a global physical security systems team responsible for access control and video surveillance across 30 offices and datacenters.
Notable accomplishments
  • Planned and delivered $2M+ in global IT and physical security initiatives.
  • Managed IT systems integrations and delivery for two acquisitions and two new office builds.
  • Architected IT services for Bakkt upon its creation in 2018 through its spinoff from ICE in 2021.
  • Spearheaded migration of 1,000+ workstations from Windows 7 to Windows 10 ahead of deadline despite operational delays caused by COVID-19.
Engineer, IT Support Feb 2017 – Apr 2018
  • Supported and engineered user-facing IT systems across multiple U.S. regions.
  • Modernized and expanded physical access control infrastructure and developed SQL/PowerShell tooling supporting NYSE security reporting.
  • Delivered IT workstation and infrastructure setup at Nashville office build and Atlanta HQ expansion.
  • Created IT systems standards and processes that provided crucial manageability when the company tripled in size over subsequent years.
Analyst, IT Support Jul 2015 – Feb 2017
Hitachi Construction Machinery Jun 2013 – Jul 2015
Kennesaw, GA  ·  Manufacturer and distributor of wheel loaders and excavators
MIS Support
  • Led IT hardware, software, network, and technical support for 100+ employees.
  • Completed several IT projects including Windows 7 upgrades and deployment of a new dealer portal.
Education
University of Georgia 2021 – 2023
MBA — Leadership
Kennesaw State University 2008 – 2012
BBA — Management, minor in Information Systems
Certifications
ITIL Strategic Leader Mar 2023
AWS Certified Cloud Practitioner Mar 2023
Jamf Certified Tech Mar 2022
Okta Certified Professional Feb 2022
ITIL 4 Foundation Jan 2021