— Architect. Leader. Artist. —
Rafael
Más
Enterprise IT Architect & Cloud Security Leader
— Origin Story —
The story of a kid who never stopped.
Career
Two Decades of
Building Things That Matter
2022 – Present
VP of IT Operations
EnFlyer Email Marketing — Miami, FL
Built and led 30+ person IT org spanning service desk, cloud infrastructure, security, and reliability engineering. Zero Trust architecture. AWS/Azure/VMware hybrid cloud. SOC 2 / ISO / NIST compliance.
2020 – 2021
Sr. VP & Director of IT
First National Bank South Miami — Miami, FL
Head of IT in regulated financial environment. Jack Henry core banking. GLBA/FFIEC/SOC compliance. Zero critical findings across all regulatory exams. $150K+ annualized savings.
2018 – 2020
Sr. Director, IT & Operations
Strictly Technology — Fort Lauderdale, FL
IT operations and service desk for enterprise and regulated healthcare clients. ITIL-aligned SLAs. Executive escalation owner for critical incidents.
2016 – 2018
Sr. Director, IT Infrastructure & Operations
Intermex Wire Transfers — Miami, FL
$10M IT budget. SAP + NetSuite ERP. Zero Trust network segmentation. Global distributed finance infrastructure supporting wire transfer compliance.
2014 – 2016
Sr. Regional Delivery Manager
HCL Technologies / Brightstar Corp — Doral, FL
IT operations across 14+ countries, SAP ERP, OT environments, global device distribution supply chain. $4M annual cloud spend reduction.
2012 – 2014
Sr. Enterprise Monitoring Systems Manager
Royal Caribbean Cruises — Miramar, FL
Enterprise monitoring for 40+ ships and multiple global data centers. Senior escalation authority for mission-critical incidents across a global fleet.
2010 – 2011
Sr. IT Infrastructure Manager
GMMI – A Generali Company — Pembroke Pines, FL
ISO 27001 / NIST security framework. AWS disaster recovery architecture. VMware Horizon VDI. Data center migrations with zero downtime.
2007 – 2010
Director of IT & Security + IT Instructor
Simple Health Plans / Fast Train — Miami, FL
Built IT department from zero at Simple Health Plans — $8M budget, HIPAA compliance, HA private cloud. Simultaneously taught IT certifications at Fast Train — same thing I did for free in Cuba, now professionally.
2005 – 2007
Sr. Systems Engineer
Citrix — Fort Lauderdale, FL
First six-figure salary in America. Global enterprise XenDesktop/XenServer support. Escalation engineer for enterprise environments. The moment the trajectory became undeniable.
2004 – 2005
Systems Admin / Data Center Engineer
Affinity Dedicated Web Hosting — Miami, FL
Graveyard shift. 3 AM tickets. Hands in servers. The unglamorous foundation every real engineer needs. No complaints — just work.
Expertise
The Stack
25 years of certifications, frameworks, and hard-won expertise.
☁
Cloud & Infrastructure
AWS Solutions Architect Pro, Azure Architect Expert, Hybrid Cloud, VMware, IaC, DR/BCP, Data Center Ops
🔒
Security & Compliance
NIST 800-171, CMMC Level 2, ITAR/DFARS, HIPAA/HITRUST, SOC 2, ISO 27001, Zero Trust Architecture, IAM
⚙
Enterprise Systems
SAP ERP, NetSuite, Jack Henry Banking, Syteline, EDI Integration, Microsoft 365/GCC, ITSM/ServiceNow
◈
Engineering & AI
TypeScript, Next.js, Firebase, GCP, Cloud Run, LLM Integration, AI Governance Frameworks, 300K+ lines production code
◆
Leadership & Teaching
Teams of 30+, $10M budgets, 14 countries, Audit readiness, C-suite partnership — and a lifelong instinct to teach
Verified Certifications
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Education
2003
B.S. Computer Engineering — High Honors
Instituto Superior José Antonio Echeverría
Havana, Cuba
Left Cuba the same year at age 21.
2005
Microsoft Certified Systems Engineer (MCSE)
New Horizons
Manhattan, NY
Finished 3rd in class of 20+. Only Spanish speaker.
2020
Azure Architecture & AWS Architecture
New Horizons
Miami, FL
Philosophy
How I Think
Security Philosophy
Security is architecture, not policy
Most organizations bolt security on after the fact. I treat it as structural — it belongs in the design, not the documentation.
Zero Trust is a worldview, not a product
Never trust, always verify — at every layer, without exception. I've implemented it across financial institutions, healthcare orgs, and SaaS platforms.
Compliance is a floor, not a ceiling
NIST, CMMC, HIPAA, GLBA — I've lived in all of them. But frameworks tell you the minimum. Attackers don't read the checklist.
OT/IT convergence demands different thinking
Manufacturing environments have risk most practitioners ignore. Downtime in those environments isn't a business issue — it's a safety issue.
Leadership Philosophy
I've never waited for permission
Not to learn. Not to teach. Not to leave. Not to build. That started at age 9 in a Joven Club in Cuba and it hasn't changed.
Servant leadership is the only kind that scales
My job is to remove obstacles for my team, then get out of the way. The best signal a team is performing? They solve problems before I hear about them.
Teaching is embedded in how I lead
I was teaching adults computers at 15 for free. I taught certs professionally in Miami. Every team I've led has grown — not just delivered.
Operational discipline is a competitive advantage
Most IT orgs are reactive. I build systems — monitoring, runbooks, change management — that prevent fires from starting. Invisible IT isn't underperforming. It just works.
What Others Say
MANAGERS · PEERS · DIRECT REPORTS · STUDENTS
Rafael is a 'disruptor' and a true technologist with a deep understanding of the business process and how IT can play a leading role in business transformation. Rafael is skilled in business management, process and change management, an IT infrastructure guru and all around team player.
Frazer Langley
Managing Director, Strictly Technology
Rafael is a passionate technologist, a strong manager, and a fast paced result driven individual. Always looking for new innovative solutions, he will not only help with the selection of the best budget-driven solution, but also drive the implementation.
Florent Secula
CIO, MSH Group / COO, MSH Americas
It's rare that you come across standout talent like Rafael. He is extremely innovative with a keen eye on IT problem solving. Has a strong work ethic and get the job done mentality. Is a strong manager and with his team strived to and delivered every time.
Shafraz Branudeen
CIO/CTO, IT Transformation Leader
His ability to effortlessly acquire new certifications and his mastery of multiple platforms is truly impressive. Rafael's fearless commitment to maintaining high standards is truly exceptional. His mentorship skills are commendable — he guides with wisdom and patience.
Frank Jantunen
Site Reliability Engineer & Author, SEV1.org
My commander in chief. He has been the best boss and leader I have ever had — always up to date with all tasks, our teacher, our mentor, able to gather and organize the best team of specialists I have seen. It has been a real honor to work with you.
Enrique Reyes Hernandez
IT Specialist, TSA
If there's someone I have to thank for being one of the people who helped me be who I am today as a professional, it is Rafael Mas. As a trainer, he breaks every established parameter of education, encouraging students to climb goals that make us professionals.
Ramon Ruiz-Rivera
Senior System Administrator
What separates Mr. Mas from others in his field is the pride in and commitment to the quality of work he is responsible for. I would absolutely hire Rafael Mas knowing full well that I would have a very difficult time finding someone who could match both his technical expertise and exceptional work ethic.
Dennis Misigoy
Manager, Software Engineering
Rafael's classes have been overwhelmingly positive. So much so that more than once, students have been spotted remaining outside his classroom doors listening to his lessons.
Ana Collado
Director of Education, FastTrain
— DJ & Producer —
Ralph Mas
Progressive · Melodic House · Techno · Afro House · House
The same mind that architects enterprise infrastructure spends its nights engineering sound. Hundreds of mixes, original productions, and a debut album born from Cuban roots and late-night sessions. DJ sets that move floors. Tracks written from the soul. One philosophy: take people somewhere they didn't know they needed to go.
La Habana Eterna
12 original tracks written by Ralph Más. Born from Cuban roots, late-night sessions, and a lifetime of building things that move people — whether it's systems or souls.
Pre-Save & FollowTrack List
GAME OVER
C:\RAFAELMAS\HIGHSCORES.EXE
HIGH SCORES
Rafael Más ............................ ∞
INSERT COIN TO CONTINUE
or just reach out directly
Currently building
MiAngel — The Trust Layer for AI