DG

Dermot Grady

I make technology work for the people who depend on it. For more years than I care to remember, that has meant trading floors, global banks, health plans, and small offices where I'm the whole IT department.

Danville, California

About

I grew up in the UK, where my family ran a grocery store. Serving customers across a counter every day turns out to be good training for technology work: people want the thing to work, they want to understand what happened when it didn't, and they remember whether you followed through.

I trained in electrical and electronic engineering and in computer science, wrote systems code in C and Unix early on, and spent much of my career in New York building and leading technology teams in financial services. These days I run an independent consulting practice in the Bay Area, acting as the senior technology lead for organizations that don't have one.

I also hold an MBA in Sustainable Management, and outside the server room I do electrical work, woodworking, and a steady list of projects around the house.

The path so far

  1. Early career

    Citibank. Systems work on the global ATM network.

  2. 1993 – 1996

    BSG Alliance/IT. Helped deliver the first real-time natural gas trading system after deregulation.

  3. 1996 – 1998

    JP Morgan. Technical manager focused on distributed architecture.

  4. 1999 – 2005

    Ostara. My own firm, rebuilding technology for a New York Medicaid health plan and bringing it back to full operation within two business days after 9/11.

  5. 2005 – 2012

    Morgan Stanley. Built a global operational risk technology team of 20+ people across four locations.

  6. 2012 – now

    Independent practice. Technology strategy, Microsoft 365 and cloud migrations, networks, and voice systems for Bay Area businesses, plus a growing focus on putting AI to practical use.

What I work on

Leading technology. Roadmaps, budgets, vendors, security, and the teams that carry it all out.

Keeping it running. Networks, Microsoft 365, Unix and Linux, and business phone systems, supported hands-on and on-site when that's what it takes.

Building things. From electrical panels to redwood fences, I like work where you can see the result.

Writing

Notes on technology, small business, and building things by hand.

The first posts are on their way.

Get in touch

The best way to reach me is by email at [email protected].