ABOUT RKON

Practitioner-led since 1998.

We help mid-market and PE-backed companies make the technology decisions that shape enterprise value.

Practitioner-led. Security-first. Built to stay.

Over twenty-five years ago, our founders started RKON in Chicago with a specific belief: the best technology partner is not the one with the most complex sales deck, the loudest brand, or the newest product. It is the one whose people have done the work. That belief has shaped every engagement since.

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Our values

Nine things we hold ourselves to.

The way we work is not a methodology. It is a set of values our practitioners agreed on and still hold each other to. When a client asks us what it’s actually like to work with RKON, this is what we point them to.

We Win When Our Clients Win

Their goals are our goals. If our work isn’t showing up in their results, it isn’t finished.

We Sweat the Stuff No One Sees

Security isn’t a feature we sell. It’s the standard we hold ourselves to, even when no one’s watching.

Talent Over Titles

The best idea in the room should win, no matter whose mouth it comes out of. We back our people, not our org chart, because the practitioners closest to the work usually see the answer first.

We Show Up for Each Other

Trust isn’t given. It’s earned, one interaction, one client call, one hard problem at a time.

Relationships, Not Transactions

Anyone can close a deal. We’re here for the ones that last, with clients, partners, and each other.

We Bet on Our People

Your growth is our growth. We invest in you, push you, and expect you to keep getting sharper. Standing still isn’t an option in this business.

We Go Further Than We Have To

When the job’s technically done but the client still needs help, we stay. And we back each other up when that extra effort is needed.

We Own Our Mistakes

We’re going to get things wrong sometimes. That’s real work. What matters is we say so, fix it, and learn out loud, together.

HOW WE WORK

Start or finish
anywhere.

Every RKON relationship maps to a five-phase lifecycle. Some clients work with us across every phase, from advisory through ongoing acceleration. Others engage us for one phase only. Others come to us in the middle of the story, when a prior partner did not stay through it.

01 Advise — Understand the whole picture, name what is happening, set priorities.

02 Design — Architect the operating model that gets you there.

03 Build — Implement, migrate, integrate, with practitioners who have been through it.

04 Manage — Operate the environment steadily so your team focuses on the business.

05 Accelerate — Keep optimizing so the technology keeps compounding value.

Explore the Lifecycle → See Where to Start →
Team Meeting Sticky Note on Window

ABOUT THE NAME

RKON was named in 1998 by our founder for Remote-CONnectivity, with a K instead of a C. At the time, connecting people and systems across distance was where our founders spent their careers, and it was hard. A quarter-century later, remote connectivity is not a category anymore. It is the environment. Cloud, hybrid, AI, distributed workforces, and every SaaS application every business now runs on are the same problem in different forms.

The name aged into itself. The K stayed distinctive.

Industries

Where our work
does its best work.

We work across five industries where the stakes are high, the regulation is real, and the technology decisions carry weight. Mid-market and PE-backed leaders in each of these industries make up the majority of our practice.

01

Private Equity

The industry we are best known for. 150 plus transactions, portfolio-scale support, and a body of practice built specifically around the PE moment.

See working with private equity
02

Healthcare

Regulated, complex, high-scrutiny. Compliance frameworks that do not tolerate improvisation. Technology decisions that touch patients and clinical operations directly.

See working with healthcare
03

Finance

Regulator-facing, examiner-facing, and customer-facing security posture. Modernization under audit pressure.

See working with finance
04

Manufacturing

Hybrid environments across factory, warehouse, and corporate. Cost pressure and modernization pressure in the same conversation.

See working with manufacturing
05

Technology

High-growth technology firms navigating scale, complexity, and enterprise-grade posture. Often the first serious technology partner they engage.

See working with technology

OUR LEADERSHIP

Practitioners who have done the work.

RKON is led by senior practitioners who held CIO, CTO, CISO, and lead architect seats before joining us. Our executive team runs the business. Our practice leaders run the work. Both spent decades in the roles our clients now hold, which is why the advice you get from us tends to sound different from the advice a slide-deck consultant would give.

 

The team behind them (senior architects, security engineers, GRC specialists, delivery leads, and operators) is the same practitioner community that has kept the mid-market and PE-portfolio motion running for over twenty-five years.

 

We do not have a bench of consultants waiting to be booked. We have a practice of practitioners in the work, held to the nine values above.

David Wright-1

David Wright

President

Wendy Kazlusky-13

Wendy Kazlusky

Chief Administrative Officer / CFO

Gerald Ornorato-9

Gerard Onorato

Chief Information Security Officer

aaron-wilson

Aaron Wilson

Chief Technology Officer

Marsha-6

Marsha Wilson

Chief Customer Officer

Jon Weber

Jonathan Weber

Chief Information Officer

Alan Sulima

Alan Sulima

Managing Director, Advisory Services

Bill Gardner-3

William Gardner

Managing Director, Managed Services

Jeff Lavrinaitis-5

Jeff Laurinaitis

Chief Sales Officer

Emily Ryan-8

Emily Ryan

Chief Revenue Officer

Joe Knape-6

Joe Knape

Deputy CISO

Sarah-9

Sarah Marinnaci

Director, Human Resources

RKON AVATAR

Bruce Bothwell

Managing Director, PE Advisory Services

Larry Fitzgerald

Larry Fitzgerald

Managing Director, PE Advisory Services

Kate Kiely-2

Kate Kiely

Director, Talent Management

Anthony DiMarco

Anthony DiMarco

Principal Advisor, Cloud Services

Greg Peterson-11

Greg Peterson

Principal Consultant, Compliance

Joe-Mullarkey

Joe Mullarkey

Principal Consultant, Professional Services

aaron-rea

Aaron Rea

Principal Consultant, Cloud Security

Pisciotta Headshot 3

Greg Pisciotta

Principal Consultant, Professional Services

Jim Ferguson

Jim Ferguson

Principal Consultant, Professional Services

Kusum Reddy Headshot

Kusum Reddy

Director of Microsoft Partner Practice

Bob Stewart

Bob Stewart

Director, End User Engineering

Joshua Grove

Joshua Grove

Director, Engineering

Beth Wells

Beth Wells

Director, Renewals & Success at Scale

Todd Johnson

Todd Johnson

Director, MSP Operations

Kevin Headshot 2

Kevin Creed

Director, PE Advisory Services

Todd Mull

Todd Mull

Director, Service Delivery Optimization

Alec Andringa-11

Alec Andringa

Senior Manager, SOC Services

Duane_Clouse_HeadShot_Color

Duane Clouse

Senior Manager, IAM and ZeroTrust

Elizabeth Dagres1

Elizabeth Dagres

Senior Manager, Sales and Vendor Operations

Paul Margiotis

Paul Margiotis

Microsoft Security Architect

ECOSYSTEM PARTNERS

We partner with Microsoft, AWS, Google, Netskope, Ingram Micro, and a curated ecosystem of security, cloud, and identity platforms. Our practitioners are certified where it counts. Our engagements are engineered around the platforms your business already relies on. Our recommendations follow your business, not the vendor logo.
  • Microsoft Security Solutions Partner
  • RKON Identity and Access Management
  • Modern Work_Specialization_Color
  • RKON Microsoft Solutions Partner - AI Business Solutions Badge
  • RKON Microsoft Solutions Partner - Cloud & AI Platforms Badge
  • RKON Microsoft Solutions Partner - Cloud Badge
  • AWS Partner - Security Services Competency
  • apn_light_adv
  • cert-02
  • cert-03
  • cert-04
  • PCI Professional

1998

Founded in Chicago

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Private Equity

Transactions supported.

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Years serving

Mid-market technology, security, and cloud.

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Industries

Private Equity, Healthcare, Finance, Manufacturing, Technology

WORKING WITH US

Two ways to start.

Every RKON relationship begins the same way. Either book a strategy call for a broader conversation about what you are trying to do, or start with one of our four advisory engagements if you already know which situation you are in. Both paths land you with a senior practitioner in the first meeting.

Book a Strategy Call

A 30-minute call with a senior practitioner. We listen. We name what we hear. We tell you honestly whether we are the right partner for what comes next.

Book a Strategy Call

Start an Assessment

Choose from four advisory engagements: Technology Due Diligence, Cloud Confidence, Identity Foundations, or The Security Leadership Program.

See all Where to Start engagements →

CONTACT

Chicago born. We work wherever you need us.

Our practice is headquartered in Chicago and works with clients across North America. However you engage us, a senior practitioner is your named contact and your accountable partner.

  • (312) 654-0300
  • info@rkon.com
  • 1 S Wacker, STE 2640, Chicago, IL 60606, United States

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