Technology Leadership · Austin, TX

I turn IT into
operating leverage.

Fourteen years building and running global technology at Take-Two Interactive — service delivery at scale, identity and vulnerability management, relentless automation, and AI deployed where it compounds.

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Identity automation·Service delivery at scale·Applied AI·Vulnerability management·Cost optimization·Team building· Identity automation·Service delivery at scale·Applied AI·Vulnerability management·Cost optimization·Team building·
01 — Profile

I build technology organizations that scale through systems, not headcount — and I keep my hands on the work, from identity automation to shipping AI software in production.

I spent 14 years at Take-Two Interactive (2K), growing from systems administrator to running global IT — a 20–25 person org across the US and Canada, ~8,000 assets, and the automation that removed entire categories of manual work.

My operating model is simple: run IT as a measured service — SLAs, KPIs, CSAT — own the security posture through identity governance and vulnerability management, automate the repeatable, and deploy AI where it compounds. I led 2K's GenAI platform rollout, and I ship LLM software in production myself.

Tareq Abbassi
Tareq AbbassiAUSTIN, TX
$1M
Annual spend eliminated
20–25
Org led · US & Canada
~2,000
Monthly ticket volume
8,000
Assets under management
02 — Selected work

Things I've built
and shipped.

Flagship · Live interactive demo

Executive IT
Command Center

A single pane of glass across the technology estate — security, infrastructure, assets, service delivery — with an AI layer that surfaces risk and writes the executive briefing. Built on the automation I ship, including zero-touch onboarding: ServiceNow → Workday → Active Directory → 1Password, hands-off.

CHART.JS · FASTAPI DESIGN · LLM BRIEFINGS · SERVICENOW · TENABLE · SENTINELONE
Open the live demo →
ta-command-center
Executive IT Command Center dashboard
iOS · Generative AI · In production

Drexo

A generative-AI iOS product I designed, built, and operate — Swift client, FastAPI backend, LLM integration. Live in production, with real users and real uptime accountability. Proof of AI capability, shipped end to end.

SWIFT · FASTAPI · LLM APIS · CLOUD BACKEND
drexoapp.com →
Drexo
Live · drexoapp.com
Identity & risk automation · Shipped at 2K

Automation that
removes the toil

Zero-touch onboarding wired through Workday → Active Directory → 1Password via API, plus an Okta SCIM mover/leaver lifecycle that keeps access accurate and offboarding instant. Vulnerability remediation runs through ServiceNow and Tenable against NIST CSF — backlog cut 20–30% in year one.

OKTA WORKFLOWS · SCIM · WORKDAY · ACTIVE DIRECTORY · 1PASSWORD API · TENABLE · NIST CSF
vulnerability-management · ai-assessment
Vulnerability management with AI assessment
03 — Track record

Fourteen years,
one company, real scope.

2023 — NOW

Senior Information Technology Manager

Take-Two Interactive (2K) · Austin, TX
  • Lead a distributed IT team of 20 to 25 across offices in the US and Canada, owning operations and service delivery for roughly 8,000 assets and about 2,000 tickets a month. Set the SLAs, track KPIs and CSAT, and coach the team toward real ownership and accountability.
  • Serve as the connective tissue between IT and the business, partnering across Security, People, Finance, Legal, and the Endpoint team. Own the IT budget and vendor lifecycle. Consolidated a sprawling tool stack into fewer, better-fit platforms and took roughly $1M out of annual spend.
  • Designed and built the identity and access program in Okta — SSO, MFA, and automated mover/leaver workflows with SCIM — keeping access accurate as people changed roles and fully deprovisioned on departure, tightening security across the SaaS portfolio.
  • Run the vulnerability management program end to end in ServiceNow and Tenable, from prioritization through remediation and validation, against NIST CSF and CIS benchmarks. Cut the open backlog by 20 to 30% in the first year and carried internal audits through evidence collection and access reviews.
  • Built the IT governance and service-management framework from scratch — SLAs, KPI and CSAT reporting, CAB change approvals, and a communications cadence — giving leadership real visibility into service delivery.
  • Automated end-to-end onboarding across HR, HRIS, and IT — a ServiceNow request flows through Workday → Active Directory → 1Password via API, provisioning permissions, display name, and a rotated credential for fully hands-off, day-one-ready access.
2019 — 2023

Information Technology Manager

2K · Los Angeles, CA
  • Stood up IT support across six new office locations, hiring the team in each and building the training and documentation behind them. Grew a multi-site organization spanning Los Angeles, Las Vegas, and Vancouver that earned a reputation for service quality and technical depth.
  • Led an end-to-end JAMF/Intune MDM migration for a mixed Mac and Windows fleet on Google Workspace and Microsoft 365, standardizing deployment to improve compliance and reduce configuration drift.
  • Administered SentinelOne EDR and Okta, partnering with security to strengthen endpoint protection; led the end-to-end rollout of hardware-key (YubiKey) MFA and stricter Okta access policies.
2018 — 2019

IT Supervisor

2K · Los Angeles, CA
  • Managed the regional support team, setting escalation paths and service standards while rolling out ITIL-aligned incident, change, and CMDB practices in ServiceNow that improved asset accuracy.
2012 — 2018

Systems Administrator

2K · Novato, CA
  • Supported developer teams and multiple studios with systems administration, server maintenance, build environments, and engineering tooling; automated core tasks with PowerShell to reduce manual workload, and coordinated technical onboarding for new studio staff.
04 — Capabilities

The toolkit.

Team building & coaching SLAs / KPIs / CSAT IT budget & vendor management ITIL / ITSM Okta & Okta Workflows SSO · SCIM · MFA Active Directory Google Workspace · Microsoft 365 JAMF · Intune · SCCM macOS & Windows fleets Vulnerability management · Tenable SentinelOne EDR NIST CSF · CIS PowerShell · API integrations GenAI platform management LLM app development ServiceNow workflows CAB & change management
05 — Let's build

Open to the
right seat.

Director-level technology leadership · Austin, TX or remote

abbassi.t@gmail.com LinkedIn Résumé (PDF)