Alan DeBekker Engineering executive and operator

I build what's needed to solve real business problems.

I break down complex situations to understand what's really required. Then I bring the right capabilities together and stay close through delivery, making sure what we build works now and can evolve with the business.

Open to VP Engineering, SVP Engineering, and CTO roles, along with selected advisory and board work.

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What I do

When people understand the mission and what they own, the work moves differently.

Leaders make decisions with confidence, customers see progress, and the organization can deliver what the business needs.

I get clear on what's really happening before deciding what needs to change. Sometimes the answer is technology. Sometimes it is the team or the way the work gets done. Usually it's a combination.

I shape the work around the mission, stay close enough to guide decisions and remove barriers, and adapt as the situation unfolds.

I'm not committed to a particular approach.I'm committed to solving the problem.

Selected impact

Customers were leaving Kyndryl out of RFPs it should have been competing for

I saw that Kyndryl's portfolio was stale and lacked the modern services customers expected. Even existing customers were leaving us out of competitive RFPs because they did not understand what we could do for them now.

I built the Client Innovation practice from zero so we could show up differently. We worked alongside customers, earned their trust, and co-created and delivered first-of-a-kind solutions. Then we turned the repeatable patterns into services and products that modernized the portfolio.

Outcome$1.1B in new client signings

At Atos, I inherited a platform effort that had been stalled for two years

What existed could observe some AWS events, but it was not the multi-cloud management platform enterprise customers needed. The work had moved forward without enough input from customers or the market, and many of the people involved believed it was already close.

I had heard directly from customers what they needed. I made the gap visible without dismissing the work already done, reset the mission around those needs, and brought the teams, partners, and a design customer into one effort.

We launched with the first enterprise client six months later.

OutcomeA $350M platform business

Customers were returning to private cloud, but the business was not built for what they needed next

When I took responsibility for Kyndryl's declining Private Cloud business, I saw customers moving workloads back from public cloud. They wanted private cloud to feel more like public cloud, with flexible consumption and modern services, while regaining control of their technology, data, and spend.

They also wanted AI capabilities they could run privately so their models and data stayed in house.

I recognized that the business was not simply losing demand. Customer needs had changed. I focused the organization on Modern Private Cloud and Private AI. We built the platforms and services, then co-created solutions with customers around those needs.

Outcome11% growth in two quarters, with a forecasted $1.6B annual run rate

Leadership

Clear mission. Real ownership. High standards.

Leadership starts with clarity. People need to understand the mission, why it matters, and what they own.

I lead close to the work and close to the people doing it. I get to know them as people and understand what they do best. I give them room to own the work and stay close enough to coach, challenge, or step in when the situation requires it.

I care about people, and I expect a lot from them. Those are not competing ideas. I am direct about what is working, what is not, and what we need to do next. If we say we are going to do something, we follow through.

Capability built across different roles

600platform engineering practitioners mobilized around a repeatable operating model

1,500members in an Everything as Code community created from zero

300+graduates moved into client-facing roles within six months

I take a lot of pride in hearing from people years after we've worked together. They remember the support, the honesty, and the belief I had in them. Helping someone see what they are capable of, achieve something important for the company, and create opportunity for themselves and their family is the part of leadership that matters most to me.

“He balances strategic vision with strong execution, bringing clarity to complex situations while empowering teams to think critically and take ownership. What stands out most is his ability to connect the why to the how.”

Dana Jaroun, former direct report

“He has a rare combination of transparency, honesty, and genuine care for his people. Alan has a natural ability to recognize the unique strengths in each individual and bring those qualities forward.”

Monique de Leeuw, former direct report

Technology and AI

Great technology without a problem to solve is just expensive software.

Engineering is where much of my work has lived. Business outcomes are the reason for the work.

I judge technology by what it makes possible for the business and the people doing the work.

The same applies to AI. It matters when it improves how people think, build, decide, manage risk, and deliver.

In practice, I've introduced AI-assisted development and AI agents into software delivery while keeping people responsible for the decisions. In regulated environments, I've brought AI and infrastructure together so customers could use AI while keeping their models and data inside their own environments.

The larger opportunity is in business processes. I start with the outcome the business needs to improve, then look for where the process is being held back. If the work only needs a rule, automation is the better tool. If the right answer depends on judgment and changing context, that is where AI can make a difference. When the outcome improves, the value becomes measurable.

About

I don't walk in with a fixed playbook.

I've spent more than 25 years in engineering, from hands-on systems work to leading global organizations through change. I've built capabilities from zero, turned around declining businesses, and taken stalled efforts through to delivery.

That's what keeps the work interesting to me. I like learning how a business really works, getting capable people connected to what matters, and building something useful together.

Outside of work, I'm a husband and dad who loves being on the water, usually boating or fishing, and I've got a soft spot for classic Volkswagens. I have a 1971 Beetle that I'm always tweaking and improving, and I do all the mechanical work myself in my garage.

Contact

Let's talk about what you're working through.

We can start with what you're seeing.

Or reach me directly[email protected]