Mark Guadagnini joins the CyKor team following time spent in business development at Immersion Consulting and more than a decade in the U.S. Navy.
Mark Guadagnini is the newest member of the CyKor team, joining as Director of Operations in December 2023. In his role, Mark will lead the oversight of regular operations, ensuring company-wide efforts align intentionally with strategic goals. He will examine workflow processes to identify and implement efficiencies, fostering a culture of continuous, sustainable growth.
Immediately prior to coming on board as Director of Operations, Mark Guadagnini was Principal in business development at Immersion Consulting in Annapolis, MD. There he managed the company’s daily operations and long-term growth strategy.
Before Immersion, Mark served in the U.S. Navy as a Naval Aviator for 11 years, still serving today in the Navy Reserve. In his capacity as a Naval Officer, Mark supported U.S. interests across four global deployments and on senior staffs emphasizing policy refinement, budgetary execution, and personnel development. He was consistently recognized for his ability to build cohesive, collaborative teams and align work efforts to efficiently accomplish mission requirements.
CyKor President Mike Guadagnini says Mark brings a level of confidence that inspires those around him to take ownership and achieve ambitious goals.
“Mark is an expert when it comes to taking a holistic view of organizations, putting the right systems and teams in place, and successfully executing,” says Mike Guadagnini. “He is dependable, trustworthy and organized. He fails fast and knows how to show humility. He is a winner and the perfect fit to our dynamic team.”
Mark Guadagnini attended the United State Naval Academy, where he received his Bachelor of Science degree in Quantitative Economics and was a varsity baseball athlete. He has a strong competitive side—particularly with himself on the golf course—and is a budding culinary phenom. Mark is most passionate about his wife, two sons, and the rest of his amazing extended family, which includes his brother, Mike Guadagnini.
“Mark and I always wanted to be in business together,” says Mike Guadagnini. “It’s truly a blessing to work alongside my brother. Our mom is proud, and I know the Dadmiral is smiling from ear-to-ear up in heaven. #time2work”
Guadagnini discusses his transition and top priorities in the comments below:
WHAT EXCITES YOU ABOUT YOUR NEW ROLE AS DIRECTOR OF OPERATIONS?
Throughout my career I have really enjoyed building collaborative, agile teams that solve dynamic challenges across stakeholder ecosystems. I feel very fortunate to be joining such a highly competent team of professionals that has established loyalty and trust in every relationship. What excites me the most is the opportunity to co-create value at so many different levels – internal, with our partners, for our customers – by implementing adaptive processes informed by data-driven insights. CyKor’s culture provides the opportunity and freedom to redefine what great looks like. I am excited to continue to push CyKor’s vibe through our technology offerings and authentic delivery.
WHAT ARE SOME OF YOUR TOP PRIORITIES FOR YOUR FIRST SIX MONTHS IN THE ROLE?
Alignment. Standardization. Empowerment.
In order to scale effectively and sustainably, ensuring workflows are aligned to the appropriate functional areas and are prioritized based on the business criticality is an ongoing must. Standardizing repetitive activities will enable automation and free our talented people to expend their energy in more creative and valuable ways for our partners and customers. Finally, and most importantly: empowering our people with the confidence to find creative solutions to complex problems and make decisions at the right level will be the force multiplier. From what I’ve seen so far with our across-the-board A-team, there is not a challenge that CyKor-ians will not only meet, but exceed.
ARE THERE ANY CHALLENGES YOU SEE AHEAD, AND IF SO, HOW ARE YOU PREPARING TO ADDRESS THEM?
Given our talent and focus, CyKor is poised for continued, rapid growth. Scaling the incredible CyKor culture will be the challenge when it comes to sustainability. Aligning, standardizing and adapting new processes will be important, and we’ll be relentless in that pursuit. But we must be obsessed with the continuous development of our people. This is vital to scaling successfully. In the world we live in, challenges abound no matter your role, size, or industry. Embracing that and recognizing each challenge as an opportunity for success is my way of playing the game of business and life.
