Director of Information Technology · BICSI RCDD

Kenneth
Kehler

IT leader with 25+ years across infrastructure, software, and security, designing from the physical layer up: cabling plants, networks, systems, applications, and the policies that hold them together.

View experience Get in touch
0+
Years across every layer of technology
0+
Endpoints supported across four campuses
0%
Infrastructure uptime sustained
0
Consecutive passed PCI DSS assessments
0K+
Sq ft of greenfield facilities, on time & on budget
Portrait of Ken Kehler in a navy suit on an outdoor balcony
Ken Kehler Director of IT, R&R Solutions

01 — About

Every system should
earn its place in the business.

I’ve spent 25+ years working across every layer of technology, from pulling fiber and designing cabling plants to architecting software platforms and running security programs.

It started in 1999, in high school. I built a web-to-print demo for my family’s direct-mail business so their customers could design and approve pieces online. It caught on, and in May 2000, the month I graduated, we incorporated Printing Automation, Inc. with me as a co-founder. I balanced the company with college until we brought on an investor in 2001, then went full-time to lead engineering and helped grow the team to 18. After a year of consulting, I joined R&R Solutions in 2009. Those years taught me to see technology from the owner’s side: every system should earn its place in the business.

Today, as Director of IT at R&R Solutions, I lead our Development, Network, Systems, Security, and QA teams, supporting 1,200+ endpoints across four campuses for customers like Walmart and AutoZone. Recent work includes delivering two greenfield facilities on time and on budget, building disaster recovery across every business system, and passing five consecutive PCI DSS assessments. As a BICSI RCDD, I connect decisions from the cabling plant to the application layer.

I’m still hands-on, too: I built the docs-as-code pipeline my team uses for our work instructions, and I’m a co-inventor on a U.S. patent.

What I care about most is building teams and systems that last: clear architecture, solid documentation, and a culture where people keep learning.

02 — Core Competencies

Full stack. Literally.

My work spans the whole stack, from the cabling plant to the application layer and the budget behind it. Select a layer to explore it.

03 — Trajectory

From founder to director.

Over 25 years: a startup co-founder, an independent consultant, and then field technician to development manager to Director of IT at a single company.

04 — Experience

Where the work happened.

R&R Solutions

IT deployment, asset disposition, logistics, and warehousing provider (~250 employees) serving national clients including Walmart, AutoZone, NEC, and Golden Corral.

Gravette, AR
Aug 2009 — Present

Director of Information Technology

Sep 2017 — Present
  • Department Leadership. Lead 8 direct reports across Development, Network, Systems, Security, and QA, supporting ~250 employees and 1,200+ endpoints; own the department’s operating and capital budgets.
  • Greenfield Buildouts. Delivered complete technology provisioning for two greenfield facilities of 150,000+ sq ft each, on time and on budget, including vendor selection, structured cabling, server clusters, and physical security (CCTV / access control).
  • Infrastructure & Reliability. Plan, map, and document IT infrastructure across four campuses, sustaining 99.995%+ uptime.
  • Disaster Recovery. Designed and implemented disaster recovery across all business systems, where none previously existed.
  • Security & Compliance. Lead the technology side of the annual PCI DSS assessment, with five consecutive passed assessments; adopted and enforce an ISO-based Information Security Policy.
  • Security Monitoring. Centralized security monitoring by feeding network, identity, productivity-suite, and endpoint logs into a SIEM.
  • Knowledge Management. Led the team in writing Standard Work Instructions (SWIs) for nearly every repeatable process; personally built the docs-as-code pipeline (Markdown in Git, auto-published on merge to a searchable Jekyll site).
  • Hiring & Retention. Interviewed dozens of candidates and hired ~20 technical staff, with consistently low turnover.

Development Manager

Aug 2012 — Sep 2017
48h30m

Database disaster recovery time, through automation and improved architecture.

~7×

Productivity per worker on one customer picking line after the WMS modernization.

  • Software Architecture. Designed full-stack mobile and web applications supporting internal staff and remote accounts.
  • Team Growth. Built the development department, hiring and training developers and managing external specialists.
  • Legacy Modernization. Led the refactoring of a legacy Warehouse Management System with backward compatibility, deploying mobile tablet solutions. On one customer picking line, output rose from 30,000 to 80,000 pieces per week while staffing dropped from 18 to 7.
  • Disaster Recovery. Reduced database disaster recovery time from 48 hours to 30 minutes through automation and improved architecture.
  • Innovation. Co-inventor of a child safety seat mobile alarm (U.S. Patent No. 9,424,728); led the prototyping of electronics, embedded software, and Android application integration.
  • EDI Integration. Built GS1-standard EDI integrations with nearly 50 trading partners, now processing ~80,000 transaction documents per year and generating millions in new revenue.

Lead Technician

Aug 2009 — Aug 2012
  • Enterprise Deployment. Executed nationwide on-site infrastructure projects for Fortune 500 clients, including fiber optic / copper cabling and server rack installations.
  • Process Documentation. Wrote the procedure technicians used to Wi-Fi map a retail client’s stores nationwide.
  • Pilot Lead. Regularly selected to lead pilots and new projects, refining processes before handing them off to technician teams.

Independent Technology Consultant

Orlando, FL
Mar 2008 — Aug 2009
  • Architected a touch-screen kiosk system for outdoor shopping centers, integrating map APIs and designing the hardware chassis in 3D modeling tools.
  • Delivered custom web solutions for small businesses and provided database expertise for data recovery during an IRS audit.

Printing Automation, Inc.

White-label web-to-print SaaS platform with wholesale manufacturing and drop-ship fulfillment.

Springfield, MO
May 2000 — Mar 2008

VP Engineering & Co-Founder

  • Co-founded the company from a 1999 web-to-print prototype; owned the full stack (servers, database, UI/UX, analytics) for online design software used by tens of thousands of users.
  • Helped scale the company to 18 full-time employees, contributing to marketing strategy and new business lines.

05 — Credentials

Certification & education.

BICSI Certified RCDD badge

Certification · BICSI · May 2021

Registered Communications Distribution Designer

A global credential for the design of ICT infrastructure, covering structured cabling, telecommunications spaces, pathways, and the physical foundation that every network runs on.

Education

Missouri State University

Springfield, MO · 2000–2001

Computer Science, Public Speaking & Ethics coursework.

Honors Missouri Governor’s Scholarship, a four-year full academic scholarship.

Left in 2001 to join Printing Automation, Inc. full-time after it secured outside investment.

Innovation

U.S. Patent No. 9,424,728

Co-inventor of a child safety seat mobile alarm. Led prototyping across electronics, embedded software, and Android application integration.

View on Google Patents ↗

06 — Contact

Let’s build something
that lasts.

I’m always glad to connect with other IT leaders, infrastructure professionals, and anyone solving hard operational problems.

Email Email address requires JavaScript LinkedIn in/kenkehler ↗
Location Centerton, Arkansas