Marco leads teams who provide 24/7 cyber operational support to clients around the world. Read how he tackles challenges and nurtures teams to deliver best-in-class services within the increasingly advanced and complex landscape of cyber intelligence.
Briefly explain what you do at Deloitte.
I work in Deloitte Canada’s Cyber Operate team. I manage a team of 18 engineers who serve over 30 clients, providing 24/7 coverage and support of their technologies, applications, and critical network devices. I help ensure that the processes and systems my team follow are optimized to deliver the best service for our clients across the globe.
How would you explain what you to someone who knows nothing about Operate services?
We manage end-to-end services that offer clients the latest technologies, capabilities, and resources from all over the world to bring the best of Deloitte Canada and deliver ongoing support.
Tell us about an Operate services project you're most proud of working on in your career.
I recently rolled out a new internal system to streamline how we support clients and cross-train and establish better communication across our teams. This system has defined processes and resource groupings, customized dashboards for management, and provides visibility into operational incident tickets, allowing team members to use their unique skills to better support each other and our clients. This has reduced knowledge interdependencies, created shared responsibilities, and given people confidence to disconnect without hesitation when taking vacation—and ultimately deliver better client support.
How did you end up in Operate services?
Before Deloitte, I worked at a small digital identity and access card solution company as well as doing IT consulting on the side. I joined Deloitte Canada’s Cyber Operate team four years ago in an entry-level Analyst role. Since joining, I have loved every minute. I’ve been lucky to have such supportive leaders who have nurtured my talent and looked for opportunities for me to excel and demonstrate what I can bring to the table. I am recognized for the individual value I bring to Deloitte and my clients and have been promoted a number of times, most recently into a Manager role leading one of our teams.
What does a typical day of work look like for you?
This varies by day. However, I would say I spend a large portion of time looking at ways to drive the ongoing transformation of Deloitte Canada’s Cyber Operate team—thinking about how we can offer more proactive support to Deloitte clients, alongside building connections to strengthen our relationships with them. In the event of a service or operational incident, I help coordinate the response, getting the right task force involved to help ensure it is receiving the level of urgency that is required.
What excites you most about your role? Why do you do what you do?
The opportunity to make a real difference to a critical part of our clients’ business is rewarding. I also get to work with many different people every day—with each client facing different challenges—which means no day is the same. Since I have moved into a team leader role, I also enjoy the opportunities to support my team in the way I have been supported, in a safe and open workspace.
What's the most challenging part of your job?
Tackling the responsibilities that come with being a manager. Leading a large team that is located across different geographical areas, and supporting over 30 clients around the world, as well as different technologies, can be challenging at times. But I love and thrive on the challenge. We have a strong team environment and supportive leaders.
What's a common misconception about working in Operate services?
People are sometimes apprehensive about the type of technical skills they may need when venturing into the Cyber Operate services space. However, there is a lot of on-the-job learning and a vast amount of training and resources you can tap into at Deloitte. Leaders and peers also want to help, and even if they can’t, they will always point you in the right direction.
What aspects of your career journey have taken you by surprise?
The most surprising aspect has been how supportive everyone is in terms of my growth and helping me find opportunities. My leaders took many chances on me based on my experience, and I have grown into different roles at Deloitte. They spotted something in me and helped open doors for me to prove myself.
What advice would you give your younger self about working in Operate services?
There are three pieces of advice I would give anyone: be accountable, take initiative, and be resourceful. These traits have helped me advance and showcase the passion I have for my work. It’s about showing your peers, teams, and leaders that you understand the sense of urgency and can take initiative to problem solve.
What do you like to do outside of work? And why is it so special to you?
I enjoy tennis. It’s a competitive sport and teaches responsibility and ownership, as the mistakes I make in the match are my own. I enjoy traveling with my family and playing video games to disconnect from busy days. I also enjoy house music—I used to pretend I was a DJ and mix my own stuff. I’m looking forward to getting back into that.
Note: The services and experiences described herein are intended to demonstrate Deloitte's experience and capabilities in these areas, however, due to independence restrictions that apply to audit clients (including affiliates), Deloitte is unable to provide certain services based on individual facts and circumstances. Therefore, the experiences and descriptions would not apply to services to audit clients.