I have always been drawn to a challenge, especially when it takes me somewhere unfamiliar and gives me a chance to discover what I am capable of. That mindset carried me through nearly nine and a half years in the United States Marine Corps, into VMware consulting, through the uncertainty of the Broadcom acquisition, and eventually to ClearBridge Technology Group.
Since leaving the Marine Corps in November 2022, I have gone from Staff Sergeant and Data Systems Chief to VCF Architect, Broadcom Knight, and Practice Manager. I worked hard for that growth, but I did not get here alone. Mentors helped me see a path forward, and ClearBridge invested in potential I was still learning to recognize in myself.
Leadership Started Before the Job Title #
My professional foundation was built in the Marine Corps. I served as a Data Systems Chief, spent time as a Marine recruiter, and reached the rank of Staff Sergeant. The work taught me that technical ability is only part of leadership. People need clear expectations, preparation, accountability, and a leader who remains composed when circumstances change.
Romania and Norway reinforced those lessons. I completed two six-month deployments to Romania with 2nd Battalion, 8th Marines as part of the Black Sea Rotational Force. Those rotations included training and military events alongside Romanian partners, time in Bucharest, and the opportunity to visit Bran Castle, popularly known as Dracula’s Castle.
I later deployed to Norway with 8th Communication Battalion for Cold Response. The winter environment was demanding and unfamiliar. In February 2022, Russia’s invasion of Ukraine changed the atmosphere around us. Our unit in Trondheim was placed on standby for a possible movement to Poland. We were never sent forward, but with Norway sharing a border with Russia, a deployment that had included plans to explore quickly shifted toward heightened readiness.
Amid that uncertainty, I remember joining a Zoom call from Norway with a VMware mentor to plan my next steps after the Marine Corps. That conversation gave me something constructive to work toward while the situation around us remained unpredictable.
Looking back, those experiences established a pattern that still shapes how I approach life and work: step into the unfamiliar, prepare as well as I can, keep moving when things become uncomfortable, and stay curious enough to look beyond the surface.
From Staff Sergeant to VMware Consultant #
From June through November 2022, while still an active-duty Marine, I participated in VMware Federal SkillBridge. The program translated years of technical leadership, mission focus, and accountability into a new professional environment before I left the Marine Corps.
VMware’s federal team welcomed me with mentorship and a genuine understanding of the move from military service into enterprise technology. Several mentors were former Marines who understood the transition personally. They treated SkillBridge as the beginning of a career, not a temporary internship, and one of the team’s architects ultimately referred me for a Senior Consultant position.
During SkillBridge, I shadowed VMware’s Solutions Engineering team serving Marine Corps and Navy accounts. I gained exposure to customer conversations and learned from experienced federal leaders. Today, as a partner, I still have the privilege of supporting many of those leaders and customers.
In November 2022, I officially joined VMware as a Senior Consultant supporting Air Force and Space Force programs. That opportunity kept me connected to missions I understood while expanding my technical scope from vRealize into Aria, automation, operations, networking, NSX, Kubernetes, vSphere Kubernetes Service, and the broader VMware Cloud Foundation platform.
That work opened my eyes to what a career in professional services could offer. I supported Nellis Air Force Base and Space Force engagements connected to Peterson and Schriever Space Force Bases. Other assignments took me to Rancho Bernardo for Northrop Grumman, El Segundo’s aerospace district, Huntsville for the Missile Defense Agency, and Newport for the Naval Undersea Warfare Center. I also supported remote engagements for NASA and the Defense Logistics Agency through Wright-Patterson Air Force Base.
I spent roughly six months supporting the National Air and Space Intelligence Center at Wright-Patterson near Dayton with NSX and the Aria suite. There I met Will Whaley, who became a great friend. He showed me Cincinnati, took me to a Reds game, and reminded me that relationships can matter as much as the technical work. Will now works at ClearBridge too.
Travel also reconnected different parts of my life. While supporting the Naval Undersea Warfare Center project in Newport, Rhode Island, I was able to drive to Plymouth and spend time with family. I am originally from the Plymouth and Cape Cod area of Massachusetts, so when ClearBridge later entered my story, joining a company with strong Boston roots felt unexpectedly fitting.
Every assignment brought a new environment, a different technical challenge, and another opportunity to earn a customer’s trust. I still had plenty to learn. Military leadership did not mean I automatically understood enterprise consulting, and I had to become comfortable admitting what I did not know and asking the right questions.
Then the Broadcom acquisition reshaped the VMware community. Roles, programs, and partner relationships shifted, and like many people, I wondered what would happen next. I had built meaningful customer relationships and real momentum, and I did not want to lose either.
ClearBridge Turned Disruption Into Opportunity #
I joined ClearBridge Technology Group on May 12, 2025, as a Senior Consultant in its federal VMware practice. ClearBridge supported my clearance transfer and gave me continuity with the technology, customers, and federal missions I cared about.
Tim Anderson played a major role in bringing me in. His honesty and genuine interest in my future made ClearBridge feel like a place where I could trust the leadership and grow. The transition was also easier because some of the relationships were already there. Larry Wingfield, my final manager at Broadcom, became my manager again at ClearBridge. After I became a Practice Manager, I was reunited with another former Broadcom manager, Jay Rue. Jay is also a Marine, so we share a perspective on accountability, leadership, and developing people.
Debra Korol has broadened my perspective as well. I am always learning something from her about how technical delivery, staffing, leadership, and company priorities fit together. That kind of guidance made it clear that ClearBridge was investing in my career, not simply placing me in a billable seat.
What became my most rewarding ClearBridge engagement started as a short-term replacement for a Navy customer in Dahlgren, Virginia. One extension became two, then three, as I helped the team understand more of the VCF stack and how it could support their goals. After the third extension, my promotion led to a new six-month VCF Architect engagement with the same customer, with most of the work now performed remotely.
Today, I divide my time between supporting Dahlgren as a VCF Architect and serving as a Practice Manager for a team of federal consultants. That balance lets me remain technical while developing people, helping with staffing decisions, and contributing to the broader business. CEO and co-founder Joe Wetmore, VP of Delivery Tim Powell, Practice Director Paula Temple, and many teammates have shown that they genuinely care about my future. In a little more than a year, ClearBridge gave me room to bring customer architecture, people leadership, and business improvement together in one role.
What Professional Services Made Possible #
Across VMware and ClearBridge, professional services has connected me with meaningful missions, unfamiliar architectures, and problems that do not come with scripted answers. It has also taken me to places I might never have experienced otherwise, including Pikes Peak and the San Diego coastline. Travel was never the reason for the work, but it became a memorable part of the journey and broadened my perspective along the way.
Professional services can be demanding. It requires preparation, discretion, flexibility, and the ability to deliver in unfamiliar situations. It also develops judgment quickly because every customer brings different people, missions, and constraints. ClearBridge has helped make that career sustainable by combining meaningful federal work and purposeful travel with remote flexibility and time for family.
The human connection matters too. ClearBridge brought me to Tampa for a team gathering at Topgolf, where I finally met coworkers I had previously known only through screens, messages, and shared work.
That investment continues at VMware Explore in Las Vegas, where I will join fellow Knights Chelsea Bumgarner, Bernard Smith, and Jeremy Forguson. At booth 111, ClearBridge will feature a prerecorded presentation I created about my one-node nested VCF environment. I will be there afterward to answer questions and talk with anyone curious about how I built the lab. The week will also include technical sessions, conversations with product experts and the partner community, and a special Knights event at BattleBots.
ClearBridge Gave Me Room to Build #
One of the clearest examples of ClearBridge’s culture began with a problem I thought we could solve. We needed better visibility into employee skills, certifications, availability, and staffing, so I invested more than 100 hours building an SSO-authenticated skills and resource-management platform while continuing my customer responsibilities.
Jay Rue helped refine the concept, shape its business vision, and prepare it for a leadership funding proposal. He would describe what the platform could become, and I would make those ideas real. That collaboration was one of the most enjoyable parts of building it.
I do not come from a traditional software-development background. What I do have is curiosity, resourcefulness, and a willingness to learn how to use new tools responsibly. AI-assisted development expanded what I believed I could build, and the platform now helps ClearBridge understand its skills, make more informed staffing decisions, and connect people with work that fits their capabilities.
ClearBridge surprised me by recognizing the platform with its Q2 2026 Distinguished Achievement Award, the company’s highest recognition tier, and a $1,000 payment. I built the platform to solve a problem, but the recognition showed me that the company noticed initiative and backed it with action.
Knighted Across Three VCF Disciplines #
ClearBridge’s support also extended to my technical development. The company nominated me for the Broadcom Knights program, and I earned recognition in VCF Automation, VCF Networking, and vSphere Kubernetes Service.
Together, Automation, Networking, and VKS reflect the breadth of modern VCF work. The Knights program also provided VMUG Advantage membership and access to personal home-lab software entitlements, while ClearBridge supported relevant certification expenses.
Broadcom Knights Recognition
Broadcom Knight - VCF Automation
Issued by Broadcom
Issued August 20, 2026 · Expires August 20, 2028
Verify on CredlyBroadcom Knights Recognition
Broadcom Knight - VCF Networking
Issued by Broadcom
Issued July 31, 2026 · Expires July 31, 2028
Verify on CredlyBroadcom Knights Recognition
Broadcom Knight - vSphere Kubernetes Service
Issued by Broadcom
Issued July 31, 2026 · Expires July 31, 2028
Verify on CredlyRecognition also creates responsibility to keep learning, share what works, and help the next person move faster.
A New Investment in Broadcom Knights #
On August 27, 2026, ClearBridge announced its Broadcom Knights Certification Incentive Bonus and Maintenance Allowance Plan for eligible members of the Client Solutions Group. This is a ClearBridge compensation and development policy, not a Broadcom corporate compensation program.
According to the supplied policy, eligible employees may receive:
| Investment | Policy provision |
|---|---|
| New Knight achievement | One-time $5,000 incentive payment, subject to plan eligibility |
| Maintaining or revalidating Knight status | Up to $2,500 annually for qualifying home-lab equipment, training, and education |
| VMware Explore | Paid time and eligible expenses |
| Annual recognition | ClearBridge Broadcom Knights swag drop |
The annual allowance matters because realistic enterprise home labs are expensive. My VCF 9.1 lab gives me a safe place to deploy, fail, troubleshoot, and rebuild management domains, NSX networking, Automation workflows, Virtual Network Appliance services, Supervisor, VKS, upgrades, and recovery. The one-time incentive recognizes an achievement; the annual support lowers the cost of remaining technically prepared for customers.
Turning Growth Into Opportunity for Others #
Learning has never been limited to the technology in front of me. At Excelsior University, I earned an MBA and a Master of Science in Cybersecurity with a 4.0 GPA in both programs. This past year, I applied to UNCG’s PhD in Business Administration program with a planned concentration in Information Systems. The cohort filled with earlier applicants, but I was encouraged to reapply next year. I am considering it, especially with in-state tuition and ClearBridge’s education support. Greensboro has a personal connection too: my wife attended UNCG, and I played baseball at Greensboro College before joining the Marine Corps.
ClearBridge offers eligible regular full-time employees up to $5,250 annually for approved tuition, books, and fees. Courses require advance manager and HR approval, with documentation due within 30 days of completion. Although the benefit does not automatically approve a degree or course, it creates a meaningful path for continued education.
At this point in my career, growth cannot be only about my own goals. As a Practice Manager, I have the opportunity to help federal consultants build their skills, pursue certifications, accept new challenges, and work toward Broadcom Knight status. When they grow, our customers benefit from better decisions, deeper hands-on experience, stronger staffing alignment, and knowledge that spreads across the team.
For People Considering What Comes Next #
I never imagined this path when I left the Marine Corps. If your role was affected by changes in the VMware and Broadcom ecosystem, your experience still has value in the partner community. The same is true for veterans entering technology, cleared consultants seeking meaningful federal work, and hands-on technologists ready to lead.
ClearBridge is also working toward participation in the Department of Defense SkillBridge program, which, if approved, could create another path into consulting for transitioning service members.
ClearBridge works across cloud and data-center modernization, infrastructure, cybersecurity and GRC, DevOps, data and AI, application development, end-user computing, IT service management, and program delivery. Its VMware expertise includes VCF, vSphere, NSX, Operations and Automation, VKS and Kubernetes, vSAN, recovery, private and hybrid cloud, Private AI, Horizon, and Workspace ONE. Specific opportunities and requirements vary.
If this sounds like the opportunity you are looking for, send me your résumé or explore the ClearBridge Career Portal and working at ClearBridge. I believe in looking beyond a résumé and recognizing what someone could become. I will always be grateful that someone took that chance on me, and I want to help open similar doors for the people coming behind me.