IT LEADERSHIP · BANKING TECHNOLOGY
Strategy in mind.
Hands on the technology.
I connect business priorities with the systems,
security, and automation that make them work.
West Coast Community Bank
01 / THE PERSON BEHIND THE SYSTEMS
My career started on the
front lines of banking.
I began as a Personal Banker at Wells Fargo in 2011, then worked with business clients at Lighthouse Bank and Golden 1 Credit Union. In late 2017, I moved into IT at the help desk. From there, I progressed through help desk and systems administration to technology leadership.
Today, I’m Vice President of IT Operations at West Coast Community Bank, formerly Santa Cruz County Bank. That path gives me a perspective shaped by the customer, employee, operational, and technology sides of banking.
I partner with leadership and business teams on modernization, integrations, and automation, while staying hands-on with the systems that support their work. My focus is turning inefficient or repetitive processes into secure, scalable solutions.
My career so far02 / WHERE I FOCUS
Connecting the systems, processes, and people
that keep an organization moving.
Reliable platforms and connected identities across on-premises and cloud environments.
Practical security operations and thoughtful controls in a regulated banking environment.
Scripts, workflows, and integrations that turn repetitive processes into dependable operations.
Business priorities translated into clear plans, accountable execution, and better service.
03 / SELECTED WORK
A few examples of turning complex technology
and business requirements into working solutions.
MODERNIZATION ACROSS THE BANK
Migrated all users and systems from 1st Capital Bank and Lighthouse Bank through mergers and acquisitions. Also led the move from on-premises Exchange to Microsoft 365.
Delivered the April 1, 2025 rebrand from Santa Cruz County Bank to West Coast Community Bank across the tenant and all applications.
Ongoing work includes helping lead the transition from legacy infrastructure and on-premises Active Directory toward Azure, Entra ID, and Intune.
Deployed teller cash recyclers (TCRs) across all 11 branches and converted the bank from end-of-day check capture to teller capture at each teller station.
Technology changes designed around how branch teams work with customers and process transactions.
Created the company intranet as a central place for employees across the bank to communicate ideas and share files.
A common platform connecting people, information, and day-to-day collaboration.
Helped open a brand-new office in under a month using a branch-in-a-box approach.
Brought branch technology deployment into a focused delivery effort to get the new location operational.
FEATURED PROJECT / DATA MIGRATION
Built a PowerShell and SQL pipeline to match CreditQuest records with customer files, then move the document collection to SharePoint using the SharePoint Migration Tool.
The migration brought structure to a large collection of legacy documents by connecting source records, files, and customer relationships before transfer.
My work centered on the matching pipeline, organizing the migration data, and the SharePoint transfer process.
CREDITQUEST / SHAREPOINT
Converted banking operations and loan operations PDF forms into full customer-facing and employee-facing workflows, connecting submissions with the actions needed to process them.
The broader work covers banking operations, loan operations, and Treasury Management, with tailored experiences for customers and employees.
The Treasury Management workflow connects intake, manager approval, document generation, DocuSign signatures, and centralized storage. Conditional sections, entity-specific document requirements, and validation support consistent submissions.
The original Treasury workflow completed an end-to-end validation. Further enhancements include AI-assisted review of submitted information and documents, with testing and signature-flow refinement continuing.
Built Nintex/Kryon bots for Fiserv Precision account opening and maintenance, with checkpoints, exception handling, and per-record execution logs.
Excel-driven batches, restart logic, and structured logs made it possible to track progress and handle exceptions during operational work.
Cumulative RPA work now covers 1,000+ account and CIF records. Earlier completed batches included 314 officer-code updates in one run and 92 DDA and loan account updates. Access-restricted CD exceptions were routed for separate handling.
Implemented an Entra ID-to-HubSpot integration using Azure Automation and Microsoft Graph to maintain employee contact information and active status.
The integration reads an employee group in Entra ID and updates contact records and status in HubSpot.
A documented run included 10 activations and two inactivations. The Azure Automation runbook was subsequently configured for a daily schedule.
BUSINESS FIRST. TECHNOLOGY WITH PURPOSE.
I work at the intersection of IT and business operations, using automation, AI, cloud technology, and system integration to improve how work gets done. I still enjoy the hands-on work, from writing scripts and investigating security issues to designing workflows with the teams who use them.
View my experience04 / THE PATH SO FAR
A career built on curiosity,
responsibility, and getting things done.
FEB 2025 – PRESENT
West Coast Community Bank
Lead IT operations strategy, infrastructure, vendor management, team development, and technology modernization. Partner with executive leadership and business teams on security, automation, and the bank’s operational needs.
2024 – APR 2025
West Coast Community Bank · Internal promotion
Advanced into IT leadership following successive internal promotions in systems administration. Responsibilities spanning infrastructure, IT operations, service delivery, and technology modernization.
2022 – 2023
West Coast Community Bank, formerly Santa Cruz County Bank · Internal promotion
Promoted from Systems Administrator, progressing in technical responsibility before moving into IT leadership in 2024.
2019 – 2021
Santa Cruz County Bank, now West Coast Community Bank
Joined the bank as a Systems Administrator, beginning a progression into senior systems administration and IT leadership.
AUG 2018 – DEC 2019
Golden 1 Credit Union · Promotion
Supported employees and vendors through desktop troubleshooting, device deployment, workstation imaging, WSUS, and PowerShell. Administered RSA remote access and supported routers, DHCP reservations, ATMs, printers, and branch terminals.
OCT 2017 – AUG 2018
Golden 1 Credit Union · Promotion
Moved into IT, providing first-line technical support across the credit union. Resolved application, hardware, printer, and network issues while auditing role-based access and delegated permissions.
MAY 2016 – OCT 2017
Golden 1 Credit Union
Selected to help open the flagship open-concept branch, supporting members across transactions, account maintenance, loans, and trusts in a pilot environment with new lobby-management technology.
NOV 2013 – MAY 2016
Lighthouse Bank
Worked with local businesses and developed a practical understanding of the banking processes I now help improve through technology.
2011 / CAREER START
Wells Fargo
Began on the front lines of banking, building the customer-service and operational perspective that continues to shape my approach to technology.
05 / ALWAYS BUILDING
Outside of technology, I’m a father, guitarist, songwriter, and recording musician. From 2004 to 2010, I toured internationally as a professional musician, and I still spend much of my free time writing and recording music.
I also build personal software projects, exploring new ways to turn an idea into something useful.
A certification study app exploring focused practice, clear explanations, and accessible learning tools for technical learners.
Explore FinallyPassTECHNICAL PROFILE / JUST THE FACTS
Vice President of IT Operations
West Coast Community Bank · Aptos, California
IT operations, infrastructure, identity, endpoint security, cloud migration, banking systems, and automation. Leadership responsibilities with hands-on implementation.
Active Directory · Entra ID · Entra Connect · AD CS
Microsoft 365 · Azure · Intune · Exchange Online
PowerShell · SQL · Microsoft Graph · Azure Automation · APIs
Nintex / Kryon RPA · Fiserv Precision · Citrix · Excel
Nintex Forms / Workflow · SharePoint · DocuSign
SentinelOne · Arctic Wolf · Tenable · Purview · Veeam
TCRs · Teller capture · Zoom · Windows · Network infrastructure
Microsoft Copilot · AI-assisted workflow design
West Coast Community Bank
West Coast Community Bank · Internal promotion
West Coast Community Bank, formerly Santa Cruz County Bank · Internal promotion
Santa Cruz County Bank, now West Coast Community Bank
Golden 1 Credit Union
Golden 1 Credit Union
Golden 1 Credit Union
Lighthouse Bank
Wells Fargo
06 / RÉSUMÉ
IT operations leadership grounded in banking. Explore my experience in infrastructure, cloud modernization, security, M&A integration, and business automation.
Joel Horner
Vice President of IT Operations
Aptos, California | joelfhorner@gmail.com | joelhorner.com
Banking technology leader with financial-services experience since 2011 and progressive IT responsibility since 2017. Earned successive internal promotions from Systems Administrator to Vice President. Combines operational knowledge with hands-on expertise in infrastructure, cloud, cybersecurity, and automation to deliver bank integrations, modernize branch systems, and replace manual processes with connected digital workflows.
West Coast Community Bank
Formerly Santa Cruz County Bank | 2019 - Present
Vice President of IT Operations | Feb 2025 - Present
Lead IT operations, infrastructure modernization, vendor coordination, and team development. Partner with executive leadership and business teams on technology strategy, security, and operational priorities.
Assistant Vice President, Information Technology | 2024 - Apr 2025
Coordinated technology projects, vendors, and change delivery across banking operations. Supported infrastructure, security, and automation initiatives while translating business needs into technical requirements.
Senior Systems Administrator | 2022 - 2023
Administered Microsoft infrastructure and identity services, resolved escalated technical issues, and supported system migrations, security controls, and PowerShell automation.
Systems Administrator | 2019 - 2021
Maintained Windows systems, Active Directory, user access, and endpoints. Troubleshot infrastructure and application issues and supported updates, backups, and daily system availability.
IT operations and delivery: Technology strategy, infrastructure modernization, vendor management, team development, service management, change coordination, and M&A integration.
Cloud and identity: Microsoft 365, Azure, Entra ID, Active Directory, Entra Connect, Intune, Exchange Online, Conditional Access, MFA, and AD Certificate Services. Help lead the transition toward a cloud-first environment.
Security and resilience: Endpoint protection, investigations, vulnerability remediation, audit policies, business continuity, and disaster recovery. SentinelOne, Arctic Wolf, Tenable, Veeam, and Purview, including eDiscovery and legal holds.
Automation and integration: PowerShell, SQL, Microsoft Graph, Azure Automation, APIs, Nintex Forms and Workflow, Nintex/Kryon RPA, SharePoint, DocuSign, and HubSpot. Build workflows with validation, approvals, structured logging, and exception handling.
Banking platforms and support: Fiserv Precision, Treasury Management, CIF/DDA workflows, Citrix, teller cash recyclers, teller capture, Windows administration, remote access, and network troubleshooting.
Applied AI: Microsoft Copilot for research, troubleshooting, scripting, and workflow design; AI governance in banking. Developing AI-assisted document inspection within Treasury Management workflows.
Golden 1 Credit Union | Sacramento, California
IT Desktop Technician | Aug 2018 - Dec 2019
Help Desk Coordinator | Oct 2017 - Aug 2018
Member Solutions Specialist | May 2016 - Oct 2017
Business Banker | Lighthouse Bank | Nov 2013 - May 2016
Supported local business clients with banking needs and account service, building relationships and coordinating assistance with banking operations.
Personal Banker | Wells Fargo | Career began 2011
Assisted customers with everyday banking and account needs, provided customer service, and supported branch banking operations.
Cabrillo College: Computer science studies. Creative work: International touring musician, 2004-2010; guitarist, songwriter, and recording musician.