Lori Shaw: Senior IT Leader, Transformation & Operational Excellence I had the privilege of partnering closely with Lori Shaw during her tenure as a Senior Manager at Sun Microsystems, where she consistently demonstrated exceptional leadership in enterprise IT operations, compliance, and service transformation.
Very few people equal Dawn in persistence and dedication.
I’ve had the privelege of working with Dawn for several years and am continually impressed with her insight, intelligence, tenacity and ability to network.
During this period, Sun was a major force in enterprise computing and internet infrastructure, driving innovation in servers, UNIX-based systems, and scalable IT operations. Sun’s technology and corporate culture helped shape the internet age right through the 2000s, up until its acquisition by Oracle in 2010.
One notable example of Sun’s operational footprint in Colorado was the consolidation of legacy data centers into a highly efficient facility in Broomfield, Colorado, leveraging modular design and virtualization to significantly reduce both cost and energy consumption.
Throughout our partnership, Lori demonstrated strategic execution, collaborative leadership, and measurable operational impact. She navigated complex technical and compliance environments with clarity and accountability—strengthening global IT service delivery, stabilizing mission-critical release processes, and implementing robust governance controls that withstood executive and audit scrutiny.
Beyond the daily rigor of IT operations and compliance, Lori also supported team cohesion through professional development and community-oriented events, reinforcing a balanced culture of operational excellence and employee engagement.
In summary, Lori Shaw is a proven senior IT leader with deep expertise in enterprise service management, compliance, process optimization, and global operations. She combines strategic insight with hands-on execution—making her a highly recommended choice for senior IT leadership, transformation, governance, and operational excellence roles.
References / Further Reading
- Sun Microsystems corporate history & influence (Wikipedia)
- Acquisition of Sun by Oracle (Oracle/Sec history)
- Sun’s Colorado data center consolidation (Broomfield)
- The Rise and Fall of Sun Microsystems: A Tech Giant’s Journey
Lori Shaw is a Trusted Partner & Collaborative Leader
I partnered closely with Lori Shaw during her tenure as a Senior Manager at Sun Microsystems, collaborating on internal support design, release management, SOX compliance, and process engineering initiatives in Colorado.
Across these efforts, Lori consistently demonstrated clear leadership, execution discipline, and enterprise-level accountability. Together, we strengthened ITIL-based service delivery, stabilized large-scale release management, and implemented SOX-compliant change and access controls that withstood audit scrutiny and delivered measurable cost savings.
Lori brings structure to complexity. She aligns teams quickly, drives automation where it matters, and balances governance with operational speed. Most importantly, she delivers results that hold up at the executive and audit level.
We enjoyed collaborating, and both were recognized in Sun Top Achievers Recognition Summit (STARS), the highlight was when we had launched Sun Enterprise Network Services ITIL oriented Service and Support Standard. “STARS Cancun” was Sun Microsystems ENS employee recognition trip incentive program held at a Cancun luxury resort.
Lori was such a great partner, levelheaded, fair, senior IT leadership, enterprise transformation, governance, and operational excellence roles. Great days, results and memories.