Pieter Berkel

Led a cross-functional team designing and delivering secure, scalable, and cost-optimized cloud infrastructure solutions for CBS Sports, News and Entertainment.

Key responsibilities

• Develop and execute a unified cloud architecture strategy across all business units, ensuring consistency, scalability, and alignment with enterprise goals.
• Adopt and enforce corporate-driven cloud and application security policies to ensure compliance and protect critical assets.

Achievements

• Championed adoption of the cloud security platform Wiz; created dashboards enumerating serious vulnerabilities in cloud applications and infrastructure.
• Initiated an audit of publicly accessible cloud resources, identifying and remediating dozens of misconfigured Kubernetes services.
• Reduced insecure, end-of-life virtual machines by 25%, lowering operational risk and improving security posture.

Managed global software engineering teams delivering a customised publishing platform and high-traffic media websites, including CBS Sports and CBS News.

Key responsibilities

• Partner with product leaders to drive new feature development and improve UX.
• Drive cloud migration and modernization initiatives to transform legacy web platforms, boosting scalability, performance, and security.

Achievements

• Migrated the CBS Sports web platform from on-premises datacentre to cloud infrastructure, achieving a 30% reduction in operational costs.
• Integrated Snyk, SonarQube, and Checkmarx into CI/CD pipelines to strengthen secure development practices.

Led global engineering teams under the CTO to design and deliver a proprietary content management system (CMS) and web framework tailored to business needs.

Key responsibilities

• Collaborate with executive stakeholders across the business to align technical solutions with high-level business strategy.

Achievements

• Delivered a scalable CMS and web framework adopted by CNET, ZDNet, TechRepublic, CBS Sports, and CBS News, yielding significant cost savings and operational efficiencies.

Managed development and operations teams in Australia and Singapore supporting regional web platforms and critical infrastructure.

Key responsibilities

• Oversee development and maintenance of a proprietary publishing platform supporting high-traffic web properties.

Achievements

• Led key aspects of a global initiative to consolidate international ZDNet properties into a unified, cloud-based platform delivered on time and within budget.

Managed daily operations of IT and engineering teams to ensure efficient delivery of technology services to the Australian business.

Key responsibilities

• Lead web development initiatives across Australian properties, from planning through deployment.
• Manage vendor relationships and negotiate contracts for technology services and solutions.

Achievements

• Implemented high-density, energy-efficient server infrastructure, reducing datacentre costs by over 40%.
• Led a major telephony migration and secured a new telecommunications contract to achieve significant cost savings.

Led technical architecture and security strategy for CNET Networks web platforms, defining best practices for scalable, secure development.