Director · IT Operations & Infrastructure

Engineering the
infrastructure behind modern trading.

Twenty years of building, scaling, and leading the technology that powers a top-tier proprietary options trading firm — from low-latency networks and trading systems to the teams that keep them running.

20+
Years in IT
15+
Years at Belvedere
10+
Datacenter Migrations
About

Technology leadership for electronic market making.

The intersection of resilient systems, strong teams, and operational excellence is where high-stakes markets are won or lost — and where I've spent the last two decades.

I am Director of IT Operations & Infrastructure at Belvedere Trading, where I lead the teams that keep our production trading environment running and shape the technology roadmap that supports it.

I started at Belvedere on the systems and network side and grew with the firm, becoming a Capital Partner in 2011. The breadth of that journey — from rack cabling to executive strategy — is what I draw on every day.

My through-line is the same in every role: well-monitored systems, clear and automated workflows, and teams that own their outcomes.

What I bring to the table

  • Deep operational experience in low-latency, regulated environments
  • Exchange colocation, Layer 1 switching, FPGA-accelerated trading, PCAP capture, and GPS-disciplined time precision
  • Hybrid cloud done right — Azure Entra ID with conditional access and MFA across SSO apps, plus GCP peering and private interconnect for analytics workloads
  • A bias for automation, observability, and clear runbooks
  • Multi-site infrastructure across Chicago, Boulder, NY, and Singapore
  • Vendor & contract negotiation across hardware, market data, and connectivity
  • Coaching and growing technical leaders within the organization
Experience

A career built inside the markets.

From the help desk to the executive team — every role has deepened my understanding of the technology, regulation, and people that drive a successful trading business.

Sep 2017 — Present
Director, IT Operations & Infrastructure
Belvedere Trading, LLC · Chicago, IL
  • Oversee Infrastructure, Release, Support, and Trading Desk Technology teams.
  • Steward the firm's low-latency edge: exchange colocation, Layer 1 switching, FPGA-accelerated trading platforms, line-rate PCAP capture, and GPS-disciplined time precision.
  • Modernized identity and access with Azure Entra ID — conditional access, MFA, and Entra-registered apps for the firm's SSO portfolio.
  • Built out the firm's Google Cloud footprint — VPC peering & private interconnect for BigQuery-backed analytics — alongside the on-prem trading stack.
  • Produce annual budget forecasts, authorize expenditures, and negotiate multi-year service contracts.
  • Manage firm-wide projects spanning trading systems, exchange connectivity, and operational risk.
Mar 2013 — Sep 2017
Business Intelligence Team Lead
Belvedere Trading, LLC · Chicago, IL
  • Launched the Business Intelligence function from the ground up.
  • Normalized data across proprietary software systems to deliver reporting metrics and trading desk dashboards.
  • Built a complete employee review platform used by 175+ employees.
Jan 2011 — Present
Capital Partner
Belvedere Trading, LLC · Chicago, IL
  • Invited into the partnership in recognition of long-term contribution and impact to the firm.
  • Participate in firm-level strategy, risk, and growth discussions.
Dec 2007 — Mar 2013
Infrastructure & Support Lead
Belvedere Trading, LLC · Chicago, IL
  • Led the team responsible for the firm's trading desks, internal users, and core infrastructure — 400+ endpoints across six sites in mixed Linux and Windows environments.
  • Built out the firm's trading edge: HP servers, Force10 (Dell) / Arista switching, exchange colocation, Layer 1 / cut-through switching, and GPS-disciplined NTP/PTP time sources.
  • Implemented and supported options trading systems including OptionsCity, ProOpticus, Orc, Trading Technologies, and Actant.
  • Built PCAP capture and tick-to-trade measurement to quantify network and application latency end-to-end.
  • Introduced proactive monitoring and SLA reporting that improved uptime and time-to-resolution.
Dec 2006 — Dec 2007
IT Specialist
Belvedere Trading, LLC · Chicago, IL
  • Performed all IT functions to support the business as the sole IT resource — application support, systems administration, network administration, telecom, and more.
May 2005 — Dec 2006
Level II Desktop Support & Special Projects
  • Promoted to the Special Projects group after six months.
  • Led the mobile command center initiative and a company-wide infrastructure upgrade.
Expertise

A stack tuned for trading.

Two decades of hands-on work across the full technology stack — from physical connectivity in the cage to the dashboards on the trading desk.

Selected Impact

Projects that moved the firm forward.

A sample of initiatives I've led or partnered on — work that shaped how the firm operates day-to-day.

Workflow Automation

Designed and shipped the Belvedere Software Authorization System, Employee Management System, and Employee Change Notification platform.

External Trading Group Integration

Embedded external trading groups into Belvedere's environment, accommodating diverse software stacks and exchange access requirements.

Performance Monitoring

Built custom monitoring, PCAP-based tick-to-trade measurement, and load-testing tooling to surface latency regressions and inefficiencies before they affected trading.

Low-Latency Trading Edge

Drove the firm's colocation footprint across major options exchanges, delivered Layer 1 cut-through switching, FPGA-accelerated market data and order entry, line-rate PCAP capture, and GPS-disciplined PTP/NTP time distribution.

Internal Tooling Suite

Delivered company directory, crypto positions tracking, interview rooms coordination, Belvedere office maps, and automated authorization workflows driven by org-chart updates — including market data entitlement and software access request approval automations.

Datacenter & Office Build-outs

Led 10+ datacenter and office migrations, moves, and expansions across multiple offices and trading venues.

Environment Segmentation

Implemented secure development and production environment separation to safeguard trading systems from unauthorized access.

Education & Credentials

Formal foundation.

Bachelor of Science, Information Management

Western Illinois University

2000 — 2004

FINRA Registered Representative

SIE & Series 56, 57 & 99 registrations · Belvedere Trading, LLC

View BrokerCheck report

Off the Clock

Beyond the office.

Happily married with four kids and a bernedoodle — most evenings and weekends are spent at baseball/softball diamonds, flag football fields, gymnastics, and soccer fields.

When I am off the family clock, you'll find me on the golf course, out for a steak dinner with my wife, tinkering on a personal tech project, walking Rosie and/or enjoying the occasional cigar.

Let's talk.

I am always happy to connect with peers in trading technology, leaders building infrastructure teams, and folks earlier in their careers looking for advice.