IT Executive · CIO · VP of Technology
Phil Norris
I turn aging technology into modern, cloud-native platforms, and I build the teams that keep them moving forward.
About Phil
Phil Norris is a technology executive with more than 20 years of experience leading IT strategy, digital transformation, and high-performing engineering teams in both government and private industry. He has sat on executive leadership teams, built IT organizations from the ground up, and taken on modernization projects that others had put off for decades.
His career runs from fast-growing fintech and e-commerce companies to the United States Air Force. In every role he has followed the same approach: tie the technology roadmap directly to business goals, replace fragmented processes with clear priorities, and invest in people. As Chief Information Officer at The Business Backer he helped scale monthly new deals from $3M to $8M. At Boost Engagement he supported $33M in annual sales across four business lines. Today he serves as WFR Technology Chief for the Air Force, where he led the retirement of a 1984 mainframe system and brought AI into mission-critical workflows.
Phil is just as committed to the people side of technology. He has rolled out Scrum across entire divisions, redefined roles to fit new ways of working, and mentored engineers from internship to full engineer status.
By the Numbers
20+
Years leading technology strategy and teams
$2M+
Annual costs cut by moving a legacy mainframe to AWS
$3M → $8M
Monthly new-deal volume growth as an executive team member
$33M
Annual revenue supported across four business lines
Career Journey
WFR Technology Chief, United States Air Force
May 2023 – Present
As Chief Architect and Technology Lead, Phil is modernizing the platforms, processes, and workforce across the Air Force’s WFR portfolio.
- Cut $2M in annual system costs by migrating a 1984 legacy mainframe to cloud-native services on AWS.
- Built an intelligent RAG model that quality-checks the LOA process, improving compliance and reducing operational bounce-back.
- Added AI interpretation and automation to the acquisition platform, speeding up rules changes and reducing dependence on developers.
- Directed cloud migration planning for the AFSAC portfolio: 4 major capabilities and 50 applications.
- Replaced fragmented planning with one division-wide priority board and reintroduced Scrum across every branch.
Vice President of Information Technology, SentriLock, LLC
June 2022 – April 2023
Led all IT operations (product development, infrastructure, security, QA, and production support) with 5 direct and 40 indirect reports.
- Launched a new product line into the UK market, with full compliance with local law.
- Introduced Scrum and aligned release schedules across the product portfolio to shorten delivery cycles.
- Introduced skip-level meetings and manager mentoring to improve engagement and visibility.
Chief Information Officer, Boost Engagement, LLC
May 2017 – May 2022
As a member of the executive team, Phil ran the technology behind four business lines generating $33M in annual sales and led a team of 18.
- Connected previously siloed systems, giving leadership full revenue-to-close visibility for the first time.
- Consolidated several e-commerce platforms into one, and moved the network to the cloud to achieve PCI compliance.
- Deployed HubSpot CRM and Tableau analytics as one unified data platform, and integrated the ERP with suppliers.
Chief Information Officer, The Business Backer, LLC
March 2014 – April 2017
Built the company’s entire IT infrastructure from the ground up and helped grow monthly new deals from $3M to $8M.
- Launched an online credit application with a best-in-class quoting model that routed top-tier deals straight to contract.
- Built a deal-management platform with instant decisions, integrating Experian, Equifax, and Intuit for credit modeling and fraud prevention.
- Implemented Salesforce, automated underwriting to shorten time-to-fund, and moved infrastructure to AWS.
Areas of Expertise
- Strategic IT planning and execution
- Cloud migration and cost optimization
- Legacy technology modernization
- AI platform development and process automation
- Data warehouse and analytics platforms
- Agile and Scrum transformation
- Building and leading top-talent teams
Education & Certifications
- B.S., Information Technology, Western Governors University
- Certified ScrumMaster (Scrum Alliance)
- ITIL Foundations · Six Sigma Green Belt
- Sun Certified Java Programmer
- CompTIA A+, Network+, Security+, Project+
- CIW and Microsoft MTA certifications