Chris Bentz
Engineering Strategist and Cloud Technology Expert
Chris Bentz is a proven leader in engineering and cloud technology, with over 20 years of experience architecting and implementing scalable systems for enterprise-level applications. Throughout his career, Chris has delivered transformative results across industries, including finance, e-commerce, and logistics, leveraging platforms such as AWS and Kubernetes to build resilient cloud-native infrastructures.

Chris Bentz
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A standout achievement in Chris’s portfolio includes leading the migration of a global financial services platform from a monolithic legacy system to a microservices architecture. By deploying containerized services through Docker and orchestrating them with Kubernetes, Chris achieved a 40% improvement in system uptime, a 30% reduction in operational costs, and improved scalability to handle seasonal traffic spikes of over 300%. Additionally, his leadership on multi-cloud strategies utilizing AWS and Azure ensured reliability while reducing vendor lock-in risks.
Chris’s expertise extends to CI/CD pipeline implementation and DevOps practices, enabling teams to deploy code 50% faster while minimizing downtime. He’s a champion of Agile methodologies, fostering cross-functional collaboration to deliver projects on time and under budget. His technical arsenal includes proficiency in Python, Java, Terraform, and Ansible, making him an invaluable resource for developing scalable, automated solutions.
Chris attributes his engineering philosophy to his passion for puzzles, which shapes his tactical approach to problem-solving. He sees engineering challenges as opportunities to create elegant, efficient, and sustainable solutions. This mindset, combined with his deep technical expertise, makes Chris a go-to expert for mission-critical projects that demand both innovation and precision.
Beyond his professional pursuits, Chris is a devoted husband and father. He finds balance and inspiration through his family and enjoys mentoring aspiring engineers to help shape the next generation of technology leaders. With a rare combination of technical depth, strategic vision, and a practical, hands-on approach, Chris Bentz continues to push the boundaries of what’s possible in cloud technology and scalable programming.
Education:
BS Specialist in Computer Science & Mathematics, University of Toronto
Certifications:
AWS Certified Cloud Practitioner
AWS Certified Solution Architect
Google Associate Cloud Engineer
Skills:
Programming: Java, Python, SQL, Bash, Gradle, Maven, Ant, JSP, JavaScript, CSS, HTML, C#, C++, Spring Boot, .NET Core, PHP, Ruby, TCL, Rest APIs, Web Services, SSH, Flask, Apache Cordova
Software: OpenStack, VMware, Amazon EC2, Cacti, MySQL, PostgreSQL, Nagios, Mrtg, OpenView, Nerve Center, Unicenter, Intermail, Sphera, Plesk, Bind, Sendmail, Qmail, OpenRadius, Imail, IIS, Apache2, NGINX, JSON, Grafana, XML
Tools: Eclipse IDE, SQL Developer, Git, SVN, Jenkins, HP ALM, TeamForge, JIRA, Terraform, Vault
Servers: JBoss, Tomcat, Apache, Nginx, Flask, Django
Databases: PostgreSQL, MySQL, Oracle, MongoDB, Elasticsearch, Cassandra, NoSQL
Cloud Experience: AWS, Azure, GCP, Ericsson CEE, OpenStack, Terraform, Kubernetes, Mirantis Fuel, Helm, Docker, VMware, OPNFV, Rancher, MAAS, Kubernetes CNI
Equipment: Cisco, Foundry, Juniper, F5, Brocade, HP, IBM, Checkpoint, Coyote
Monitoring: ELK, SolarWinds, Nagios, Zabbix, Cacti, Wireshark
DevOps Tools: Jenkins, GIT, TFS, Puppet, Ruby, Perl, Python, Salt, Ansible, SSH, Azure DevOps, Ant, Maven, Selenium, Chef, Terraform
Operating Systems: Linux (Redhat/Centos, Ubuntu/Debian, Suse, Solaris) and Windows


Ericsson,a multinational telecommunications innovator, engaged itPODS to support the Ericsson team in Switzerland at one of their top cloud customers, Swisscom. itPODS' background with Ericsson's NFVi as well as experience with cloud and platform automation enabled the team to provide industry-leading solutions to Swisscom, which catapulted their productivity. The platform automation has significantly reduced the effort required to launch new systems while at the same time reducing costs and improving platform performance.