Leslie Maclachlan
Senior Network and Systems Engineer
Johannesburg, South Africa
+27 74 434 4337
Skills
Service Management
Azure
IT Management
Itil V3
Exchange Server
Office 365
Networking
Virtualization
Backup Solutions
Languages
English
Afrikaans
Professional Summary
Having consulted on and implemented many business solutions, Leslie brings 25 years of broad experience to the table. Together with the teams he has managed, he has driven technology projects through to successful completion, proving himself a capable, resourceful and hands on leader.
Comfortable dealing with stakeholders at all levels, Leslie has implemented solutions for both small and global businesses, ranging from Cloud migrations (Office 365) to messaging solutions using Exchange as well as Active Directory design. While managing helpdesks, Leslie transformed them into efficient, ITIL based service desks. Leslie is a motivated leader, able to operate autonomously as well as with his team, he is not afraid to get his hands dirty as the need arises.
Whether starting a new business or being part of one, Leslie has always tenaciously searched for solutions to business needs. His experience in a wide range of technologies has stood him well during both his technical and management career.
He is an effective communicator and a natural networker and leader. He is resourceful, resilient, ambitious, curious, creative, reliable, accountable and passionate. He believes in integrity, team efforts and in making the right business decision.
He leads through mutual respect, honest communication and trust. He keeps his eye on the bottom line, maintain a strong work ethic and governance. He has a healthy competitive attitude and thrives under pressure.
Work Experience
Nov 2017 - Current
Sector: Finance
Senior System and Network Administrator
In his position as Senior administrator, Leslie is responsible for maintaining Peregrine's Microsoft server infrastructure. Reporting directly to the CIO, he manages a small team through projects including:
- Installation and configuration of Aruba switches in a new building. (14 floor switches and 2 Core switches in a VSX pair)
- Migration of mail from Exchange to Office 365
- Azure Active Directory sync
- Dealt with stakeholders to manage the technical side of a company merger worth 1 Billion ZAR.
- Reducing RTO and RPO by implementing an Arcserve UDP backup solution.
- Maintained a strict SLA for a trading subsidiary
Sept 2013 - Oct 2017
Sector: IT Service Provider
Service Delivery Manager / Senior IT Consultant
Leslie dramatically increased customer service by transforming the business from a reactive, on-site support company to a pro-active Managed Service Provider. Team productivity was improved by his implementation of a ITIL based helpdesk and an RMM (n-able) solution. He increased company revenue by creating two new products;
- an off-site backup solution for their clients using Veeam backup
- Hosted Virtual machines
Leslie provided high level consulting services to the companie's clients. This included solution design, network Architecture as well as technical management services. Other projects he managed were:
- Increasing server availability by implementing Hyper-V clusters - Storage solutions using DAS and iSci
- He was part of a team that installed a new network from scratch to allow an Australian film to run in the African bushveld
- Managed the Exchange server configuration during a company merger
- Migrated clients from Exchange to Office365
Dec 2009 - Aug 2013
Sector: IT Service Provider
IT Manager
Leslie assisted in starting a new company in Cape Town for a German company opening a local branch. As there was only one client – the South African Golf Association, Leslie was involved in setting up the SLA, including response times, etc.
- Leslie was responsible for maintaining the security for their Public facing servers. He configured a high available VMWare cluster, a cluster of firewalls (Sonicwall) so as to mitigate downtime in their 24/7 environment.
- Leslie reduced company telephony costs by almost 40% by designing and implementing a SIP telephony solution.
- Increased team productivity by imple ITIL standards at the service desk
- Maintained a budget of R400000
Feb 2002 - Nov 2009
Sector: IT Service Provider
IT Director
Leslie moved to London from South Africa to bring his considerable skills to bear on the clients of London technology firm i-Layer Assist. Providing technical account management, consultancy and solution implementation management to London Fund Management companies, Leslie was pivotal in raising the profile of the business and in aiding its client’s growth.
Returning to South Africa in 2002, he started up a South African branch office in order to provide remote support for his London head office.
He managed a multi-disciplinary, geographicly seperate service desk supporting clients both in London and South africa. He pioneered remote server monitoring using IBM Director.
He provided high level consulting and solution design to their clients. For his company (and the London based head office), he reduced telephony costs by implementing least cost routing between two Avaya pbx’s.
He managed projects like:
- Reducing server sprawl by virtualizing many of his clients server infrastructure.
- IBM System Director installation, configuration and the subsequent management of remote servers
- Site to site VPNs
- Enabled Directors of their clients to work from home using VPN and SIP-based handsets.
Technical Proficiencies
| Microsoft Exchange | Microsoft Servers | Active Directory |
| IT Service Management | ITIL | IT Operations |
| Azure | Hyper-V | Veeam Backups |
| Firewalls | Budgeting | VPN |
| Service Desk Management | IT Management | Vendor Management |
Certifications
- Certified Sonicwall System Administrator
- ITIL V3 Foundation
- IBM Certified expert – System X
- MCSE
- CNE – Novell 3.11
- National Higher Diploma – Economic Geology