Chris Marko

Activist
DISC Type : Cd

Executive Director, Research IT at Vanderbilt University Medical Center

Greater Boston, United States

Overview

Chris is a creative IT leader specializing in transforming technology landscapes for data-intensive life sciences organizations like Vanderbilt University Medical Center and the Broad Institute. He has deep expertise in cloud and HPC solutions and holds certificates from MIT and Harvard. Colleagues describe him as honest, highly motivated, and a well-respected voice.

Outside of his primary roles, Chris has demonstrated a commitment to community service, volunteering as a board member for the Town of Pepperells Information Systems Technology Committee. In this capacity, he provided strategic oversight for the towns IT systems and supported grant funding efforts.

At the Broad Institute, he spearheaded initiatives that delivered substantial performance gains while reducing costs by nearly $20 million.

Personality Overview

Logical And Quick

Value Conscious

Meticulous

They can be nudged to make faster decisions by offering what they value.  They respond well to confident salespeople. They focus on objectivity in a pitch and pay little attention to bells and whistles.

Topics They Care About

Research Computing
His career at Vanderbilt, Broad, and Novartis has focused on building and optimizing High-Performance Computing (HPC) and GPU capabilities to accelerate scientific research.
Hybrid Cloud Solutions
He has extensive experience architecting hybrid on-prem/cloud solutions (GCP, AWS, Azure) to enhance performance and reduce costs in data-intensive research environments.
Accelerating Science
His work is driven by the goal of providing advanced technical capabilities to accelerate scientific discovery and improve human health in leading research organizations.

Media Appearances

Chris has no verified media appearances

Work History

1-2025
Executive Director, Research IT at Vanderbilt University Medical Center
11-2021 - 11-2024
Senior Director of IT Infrastructure & Operations at Broad Institute of MIT and Harvard
10-2017 - 12-2021
Director of Infrastructure Engineering at Novartis Institutes for BioMedical Research (NIBR)
9-2009 - 9-2019
Board Member, IST Committee at Town of Pepperell, Massachusetts
9-2013 - 8-2017
Director of Technology Transformation at Litle & Co.

Education

2022 - 2023
Leadership & Innovation from Massachusetts Institute of Technology
2023 - 2024
Certificate of Specialization from Harvard University

More Information

Social Presence :

Prographics :

Exp : 15 Location : Greater Boston, United States Job Level : Senior Designation : Executive Director, Research IT at Vanderbilt University Medical Center
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Insights For Selling To Chris

During A Call Or A Meeting

DO's

  • Make sure that you you respond to any queries from them quickly
  • Highlight the competitive differentiation of your product
  • Tell them that you are there to help them create visible impact within their organization

DONT's

  • Do not give up if they are not convinced, try again with a different approach
  • Don’t expect them to change their mind quickly if they say no once
  • Don’t try to be an alpha salesperson, give them equal space

When Cold Calling

When Writing An Email

While Negotiating & Closing

    The secret to closing fast with Chris is

  • Conviction in the product matters to them, followed by proof points and strong testimonials.
  • Will you ever get a clear answer from Chris

  • They may not be very forthcoming, but they will say no if needed.

Insights For Deal Planning

    How fast (or slow) will Chris move?

  • They are neither the fastest decision makers nor the slowest.
  • Can Chris take some risk or not?

  • They can take risks but after weighing up the pros and cons.

You And Chris

Personality Compatibility


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