Brandon Korous
Technology Leader | Enterprise Architect | Cloud & AI Innovator
Executive Summary
Strategic and results-driven Technology Executive with 15+ years of leadership experience in enterprise architecture, cloud transformation, DevOps/DevSecOps, and AI-powered innovation across insurance, healthcare, legal, and mid-market sectors. Proven ability to align technology strategy with business objectives, delivering secure, scalable solutions that accelerate time-to-market, enhance customer experiences, and reduce operational risk.
Trusted cross-functional leader with expertise in architecting hybrid and multi-cloud platforms and fostering security-first cultures to ensure compliance with HIPAA, PCI DSS, DOJ, NYDFS, and NAIC standards. Known for driving CI/CD and Infrastructure as Code initiatives, enabling 90% reduction in deployment effort and RTO/RPO SLAs under 4 hours.
Collaborative partner to executive leadership and engineering teams, building high-performing organizations and promoting continuous improvement through initiatives like Hackathons and Architecture AMA sessions. Proven Track record of expanded AI adoption, including Azure OpenAI integrations and intelligent self-service solutions.
Key Strengths & Focus Areas
Enterprise Architecture & Cloud Transformation
DevOps / DevSecOps & CI/CD Automation
AI & Intelligent Process Automation
Cybersecurity & Regulatory Compliance (HIPAA, PCI DSS, DOJ, NYDFS)
Business Continuity & Disaster Recovery (RTO/RPO Optimization)
Cross-Functional Leadership & Talent Development
Innovation & Change Management
Vendor & Partner Relationship Management
Career Highlights
- Accelerated enterprise integration delivery by 40% by transforming the EIS team with Agile methodologies, DevOps, and CI/CD practices, reducing post-deployment issues by 25%.
- Designed and deployed enterprise-wide Business Continuity and Disaster Recovery (BC/DR) capabilities, reducing recovery time from 48+ hours to under 4 hours.
- Led the enterprise adoption of Azure Kubernetes Services (AKS) and Azure API Management (APIM), increasing deployment frequency by 50%, reducing time-to-market for new features by 30%, and improving application scalability and resiliency.
- Implemented intelligent process automation by integrating Microsoft Teams, Azure OpenAI, and Azure DevOps, empowering engineering teams with secure self-service pipeline creation, reducing time-to-market for integrations by 20-30% without service desk dependencies.
- Promoted DevSecOps practices across IT engineering teams, eliminating 100% of late-stage security gating issues and ensuring zero auto findings for systems under my leadership, while fostering a security-first culture compliant with HIPAA, PCI DSS, NYDFS, and DOJ regulations.
- Directed enterprise-wide integration of Salesforce and internal core systems, enhancing customer experience and expanding business capabilities through streamlined processes and improved data availability.
- Migrated legacy infrastructure and applications from on-premise systems to Azure cloud, supporting multi-tenant architecture during organizational restructuring, ensuring secure data separation and regulatory compliance across distinct business units.
- Established and led a cross-functional Architecture Review Board and Enterprise Hackathons, driving organizational innovation, continuous improvement, and improving team morale by 30%.
Professional Experience
Enterprise Integration Systems Manager
Berkshire Hathaway Homestate Companies – Sacramento, CA
August 2023 – Present
Team Transformation & Agile Delivery
- Transformed the Enterprise Integration Services (EIS) team by implementing Agile methodologies and standardizing development, QA, and deployment practices, accelerating project delivery by more than 40% and aligning outputs with key business objectives.
- Designed and implemented a new organizational structure, introducing Principal Engineers, Lead Engineers, and Product Owners across our Claims, Underwriting, Finance, and Analytics portfolios, resulting in enhanced domain expertise and 60% improvement in operational efficiency.
- Instituted a culture of continuous improvement, launching innovation days, lessons-learned sessions, and team engagement, resulting in a 60% boost in team morale and 80% increase in innovation initiatives.
DevOps, CI/CD & Integration Excellence
- Integrated Agile and DevOps into the EIS processes and workflows, building CI/CD pipelines that increased deployment frequency by 80% and reduced time to market for new features by 60%.
- Implemented an enterprise-wide transaction logging framework for all ETL/ELT processes, enabling end-to-end data traceability and reducing root cause discovery time by 80%. Improved development debugging and insights by 60%, contributing to a 20% increase in time-to-market for key integrations.
- Directed a cross-functional team of engineers and architects to design and implement an enterprise-wide Business Continuity and Disaster Recovery (BC/DR) program, reducing recovery time from 48+ hours by achieving recovery time objective (RTO) of 4 hours and recovery point objective (RPO) of 5 minutes.
Leadership & Cross-Functional Collaboration
- Managed a cross-functional team of QA Analysts, Engineers, Product Owners, and Scrum Masters, optimizing resource allocation and ensuring high-quality integration services across multiple business units.
- Authored, educated, and enforced an enterprise-wide Standardization of Practices, improving project consistency and cross-team collaboration, leading to: 40% decrease in new project delivery time, 30% decrease in onboarding time, and a 30% reduction in critical post-deployment issues.
- Served as a trusted advisor and problem-solver across the entire IT organization, providing strategic and technical leadership to Data Analytics, IT Operations, and Application Development teams, helping them overcome complex challenges and consistently deliver critical project on time.
Architecture Manager, DevOps Manager, & Platform Engineering Manager
Berkshire Hathaway Homestate Companies – Sacramento, CA
February 2021 – August 2023
Cloud Strategy & Platform Transformation
- Designed and Led the implementation of a hub-and-spoke cloud architecture with Zero Trust Security, enabling the secure migration of brownfield and greenfield application to Azure, creating a nimble, scalable, and resilient platform for enterprise workloads.
- Trained and mentored internal teams across our IT organizations in cloud technologies, accelerating our Azure adoption and increasing cloud proficiency across IT by 80%.
- Championed and led the enterprise-wide adoption of Azure Kubernetes Services (AKS), reducing time-to-market for new products and enhancing platform resiliency and stability.
DevOps, CI/CD & Security Delivery Acceleration
- Built and led a team of DevOps engineers, implementing Infrastructure as Code (IaC) with Terraform, Azure CLI, PowerShell, and Azure DevOps (ADO), reducing manual processes by 30% and repetitive tasks by 80%.
- Designed and Led the implementation of Managed DevOps processes, improving CI/CD visibility, reducing deployment effort by 90%, and decreasing time from ideation to production from weeks to minutes.
- Promoted DevSecOps practices, embedding security-first principles into pipelines and accelerating secure deployments.
Observability, Governance & Security
- Spearheaded the enterprise Splunk implementation, enhancing observability and reducing incident response time, minimizing business impact.
- Launched Cloud and Data Governance initiatives, ensuring data integrity, security, and compliance across all platforms and cloud services.
- Evangelized security-first culture across IT teams, fostering security best practices and reducing cybersecurity risks.
AI, Data & Analytics Innovation
- Led a senior engineering team in deploying Azure OpenAI and Cognitive Services, gathering requirements and driving innovative AI solutions.
- Managed the automation and integration of Snowflake, ensuring seamless data operations, improving analytics capabilities, and empowering data-driven decision-making.
- Developed intelligent self-service integrations between Microsoft Teams, Azure OpenAI, Azure Cognitive Services, and Azure DevOps, enabling engineering teams to autonomously create common repository structures and CI/CD pipelines without service desk intervention – reducing time-to-market by 20-30% and accelerating development cycles.
Leadership, Talent Development & Cost Optimization
- Collaborated with HR to design strategies that attracted and retained top IT talent, fostering high-performing teams and improving employee engagement.
- Built employee confidence and engagement to new highs, increasing productivity and job satisfaction across the IT landscape.
- Implemented and evangelized Cloud cost optimization strategies, achieving efficient resource allocation and reducing Cloud spend by 40%.
- Advised sister companies within Berkshire Hathaway on Cloud and Platform best practices, ensuring consistent standards and sharing strategic guidance across business units.
- Promoted and mentored cybersecurity best practices across IT engineering teams, eliminating 100% of late-stage security gating issues and fostering a security-first culture that accelerated cross-functional delivery.
- Led secure-by-design initiatives, resulting in zero findings on systems under my guidance during the annual security audit, while other systems were flagged for risk – demonstrating effective governance and risk mitigation.
Enterprise Architect
Berkshire Hathaway Homestate Companies – Sacramento, CA
May 2017 - February 2021
Legacy Modernization & Application Development
- Designed and implemented new .Net MVC applications to replace legacy systems (C++, Delphi, WinForms, XML Web Services), driving the organization's transition to modern technologies and improving application maintainability and performance.
- Developed a centralized .Net Proxy Gateway to serve as the data and operations backbone for new applications, promoting standardization and scalability.
- Implemented a companywide design and branding system in .Net, Bootstrap, and SCSS, standardizing UI/UX across all web applications and accelerating development consistency and efficiency.
Agile Transformation & Delivery Enablement
- Championed the organization's transformation from Waterfall SDLC to Agile methodologies, collaborating with product owners, developers, analysts, and QA teams to foster an Agile mindset focused on incremental delivery and continuous improvement.
- Launched the first-ever Architecture "Ask Me Anything" (AMA) series to increase transparency, awareness, and collaboration between architecture and engineering teams, demystifying architectural decision-making processes.
Head of Information Technology
Employer Driven Solutions (Formerly BEN-E-LECT) – Visalia, CA
March 2010 - May 2017
Infrastructure Modernization & Cloud Transformation
- Led the enterprise-wide modernization of IT infrastructure, migrating from legacy POTS/T1 systems to ShoreTel VoIP solution and fiber connectivity, improving network reliability and enabling secure, remote connectivity across multiple locations and external agents.
- Migrated proprietary applications and infrastructure to Azure, including Active Directory, SQL Server, and App Services, enabling multi-tenant architecture with strict data separation and security compliance, supporting the company's restructuring and separation process.
Security, Compliance & Governance
- Ensured enterprise-wide compliance with HIPAA, PCI DSS, NAIC, FIO, DOJ, and California DOI/DOL regulations, implementing secure systems and protocols to protect sensitive customer data and ensure regulatory readiness.
- Led security governance initiatives, including role-based access control (RBAC), VPN enhancements, firewall management, and MFA adoption, reducing the organization's risk profile and strengthening cybersecurity posture.
Partner – Chief Technology Officer (CTO)
GMO Developing – Visalia, CA
February 2009 – February 2010
Technology Strategy & Leadership
- Co-founded and served as Chief Technology Officer (CTO) for a boutique software development firm, overseeing technology strategy, solution architecture, and end-to-end delivery of custom Web, Desktop, and Mobile applications.
- Defined technical vision and roadmaps, ensuring alignment with client business goals and market opportunities, while maintaining high standards for quality, security, and scalability.
Full-Stack Development & Solution Delivery
- Directed and developed full-stack solutions using C#, PGP, C++, Objective-C, and JavaScript, delivering Web, Desktop, and Mobile applications across, Windows, macOS, iOS, and Android platforms.
- Designed and implemented relational database architectures in SQL Server, MySQL, PostgreSQL, and SQLite, ensuring reliable data management and secure access.
Tech Stack
Cloud Platforms
Azure, AWS, DigitalOcean, Cloudflare, Salesforce, Snowflake
DevOps & CI/CD
Azure DevOps, GitHub Actions, Jenkins, Terraform, PowerShell, Python, YAML
Application Development
.Net, C#, JavaScript, Python, WinForms, NextJS, React, Express, NodeJS, C++, Java, Objective-C, Swift, GraphQL, REST, SOAP
Design
Bootstrap, DaisyUI, TailwindCSS, MaterialUI, SCSS, FontAwesome, Lucid
AI & Automation
OpenAI, Azure OpenAI, Azure Cognitive Services, Intelligent Process Automation
Security & Compliance
OAuth2, JWT, Zero Trust Architecture, DevSecOps, MFA, HIPAA, PCI DSS, DOJ, NYDFS, CCPA
Data & Analytics
SQL Server, Snowflake, MySQL, PostgreSQL, SSRS, PowerBI
Monitoring & Observability
Splunk, Dynatrace, Graphana, Azure Monitor, Snyk, LogRocket, Sentry, Solarwinds, Clarity
Collaboration Tools
Microsoft Teams, Salesforce, Zoom, Slack, GSuite, Figma, Miro, monday.com
Project & Process Frameworks
Agile, Scrum, Kanban, Architecture Review Boards, Hackathons
Education
Bachelor of Science in Management Information Systems & Business Administration
Utah State University – Logan, UT
Let's Connect
Interested in discussing how my expereience can benefit your organization? Let's connect and discuss how we can work together.
Schedule a meeting or send me a message to get started.