EVP of Media & Technology · INSP

John
Rouda

A Geek Leader. 25+ years turning complexity into clarity — building world-class tech teams, launching innovative products, and inspiring the next generation of leaders.

View My Work Download CV
25+
Years of Leadership
15+
Years Teaching
$500M
Acquisition Led
40+
Broadcast Stations
About Me

Leader. Innovator.
Educator. Creator.

As the leader of a technology department, I oversee software development (DevOps), application support, help desk, network infrastructure, system administration, and cyber security. I thrive on managing and leading technical and creative thinkers.

Our mission is to "Make The Complex Seem Simple." I'm constantly striving to find new ways to simplify and streamline work — delivering business value through technology that actually makes sense to people.

Beyond the office, I'm a devoted family man. My wife, also in tech, and our three children bring me immeasurable joy — we train in martial arts together and cheer on our kids' sports teams year-round.

Software Engineering DevOps Cloud Architecture Cyber Security Agile / Scrum Team Leadership Digital Transformation Public Speaking
John Rouda
Mission Statement
"Make The
Complex
Seem Simple."
🎙️
A Geek Leader
Podcast Host
🎤
TEDx Speaker
Motivating Creatives
📱
App Developer
iOS & Android
🥋
Martial Artist
Family Tradition
Expertise

What I Do

Deep technical fluency combined with business acumen — the full stack of modern tech leadership.

☁️
Cloud Architecture
AWS & Azure multi-tenant hybrid cloud environments, migrations, and infrastructure-as-code.
🔄
DevOps & Agile
Scrum, Kanban, CI/CD pipelines, and DevOps methodologies across engineering teams.
🛡️
Cyber Security
Security policy creation, disaster recovery planning, and threat mitigation strategies.
📡
Media Technology
Broadcast engineering, media storage, on-air operations, and digital distribution.
💻
Software Engineering
.NET, LAMP stack, mobile (iOS/Android), SharePoint, and enterprise application development.
🌐
Infrastructure
VMware, SAN, network design, and large-scale server administration.
👥
Team Building
Hiring, mentoring, and scaling culturally diverse technical teams from startup to enterprise.
📊
Digital Transformation
End-to-end program director experience delivering data governance, metadata standards, and modernization.
Career

Experience

May 2024 – Present
EVP of Media & Technology
INSP, LLC · Fort Mill, SC
Executive leader overseeing Media and Technology teams across media storage, editing, distribution, on-air engineering, software engineering (DevOps), infrastructure, networking, cyber security, application support, and helpdesk. Manages multiple on-premise SANs, VMware, and Cloud (AWS/Azure) environments.
Led technology component of a $500M acquisition of 12 Broadcast Markets (40+ stations across the US) in 2022.
Program Director for company-wide Digital Transformation Initiative with data and metadata governance.
Architected migration to Multi-tenant Hybrid Cloud Infrastructure (Azure + AWS).
Chair of Application Software Steering Committee.
Spearheaded creation of Disaster Recovery plan and Cyber Security Policies.
Reduced technical operational budget by 10% in first full year of leadership.
⭐ Employee of the Month – July 2020
Jan 2021 – May 2024
VP of Technology
INSP, LLC · Fort Mill, SC
Promoted from Director of IT. Led all technology strategy and operations across a growing media company undergoing significant digital transformation and geographic expansion.
Implemented DevOps Methodology and Agile Project Management to IT and Software Dev teams.
Implemented new Service Desk and reduced helpdesk ticket counts while improving resolution quality.
Upgraded SharePoint and MS Dynamics environments.
Sep 2016 – Jan 2021
Director of Information Technology
INSP, LLC · Fort Mill, SC
Built the IT organization from the ground up — creating new roles, establishing processes, and transforming the department's reputation from cost center to strategic partner.
Created new positions: Desktop Support Manager, Cyber Security Engineer, Systems Engineer, IT Voice Engineer.
Implemented Scrum and Kanban for seamless multi-cloud application migrations.
Improved customer service perception of IT across the organization.
Dec 2009 – Sep 2016
Manager of Web & Mobile Development
Comporium Communications
Turned around a workgroup with the highest turnover in IT — from 60%+ open/contract positions to zero turnover for 3+ consecutive years. Delivered dozens of innovative products on time and under budget.
Built the first mobile-controlled fountain jets in the world (Fountain Park).
Launched ZipStream (gigabit internet to the home), mobile ticketing, and self-service portals.
20-30% year-over-year growth in electronic payments for 4+ consecutive years.
Lean Six Sigma Green Belt — advocate on multiple cost-saving projects.
Managed 6 and 7 figure project budgets across teams of full-time and contract developers.
May 2007 – Dec 2009
Linux Systems Engineer → IT Systems Engineer IV
Comporium Communications
Hired after selling a startup to migrate DNS and email management in-house. Within 6 months, migrated 100,000+ mailboxes, stood up a new network, and built a customer web-hosting environment.
Migrated 100,000+ mailboxes from outsourced to in-house in under 6 months.
Managed SharePoint, MS SQL, MySQL, and customer portal development.
Mentored developers and engineers across the organization.
Projects

Beyond the Office

Side projects, creative pursuits, and public contributions that define the "Geek" in Geek Leader.

Podcast
A Geek Leader
A popular podcast exploring the intersection of technology, leadership, creativity, and business. Conversations for technical leaders and aspiring innovators who want to make an impact — not just ship code.
Listen now
Mobile Development
iOS & Android Apps
A portfolio of mobile applications crafted in spare hours. From utilities to creative tools — building things because making software is genuinely fun.
View on App Store
TEDx Talk
Motivating Creatives
A TEDx Talk delivered at TEDx Hickory on the art and science of motivating creative people — drawing from 25 years of leading technologists, designers, and engineers to do their best work.
Education

Giving Back Through Teaching

15+ years at the college level — shaping the next generation of technologists and creative leaders.

🏆 Adjunct Professor of the Year 2020
Winthrop University
August 2009 – Present · Rock Hill, SC
Developed and teaches "The Business of the Web" — covering management, leadership, marketing, finance, accounting, and information design for entrepreneurs and small business. Also teaches Digital Information and Computer Science courses for the College of Business.
Certificate Program Creator
York Technical College
August 2004 – December 2019
Developed the IT Security certificate program from the ground up — writing all curriculum and teaching the courses. Created and taught 20+ different courses in software development, network security, and computer science over 15 years.
Subjects Taught
Digital Information Design Computer Science Network Security C# & SQL IT Security Leadership Business of the Web
Get In Touch

Let's Connect

Whether it's a speaking opportunity, collaboration, or just a great conversation about technology and leadership — I'd love to hear from you.

Contact John →
Podcast App Store Resume / CV TEDx Talk