Ben Narramore

BigPanda and Blackrock 3 Partners Announce the Winners of the 2021 Incident Commander Awards
Winners From Citrix, DirecTV Latin America, PlayStation and Gamestop Honored by Peers for Above-and-Beyond IT Incident Response

SAN FRANCISCO, October 21, 2021 — BigPanda, Inc., provider of the first Event Correlation and Automation platform powered by AIOps, and online incident management academy Blackrock 3 Partners, today announced the winners of the 2021 Incident Commander, a peer-voted… Show more

BigPanda and Blackrock 3 Partners Announce the Winners of the 2021 Incident Commander Awards
Winners From Citrix, DirecTV Latin America, PlayStation and Gamestop Honored by Peers for Above-and-Beyond IT Incident Response

SAN FRANCISCO, October 21, 2021 — BigPanda, Inc., provider of the first Event Correlation and Automation platform powered by AIOps, and online incident management academy Blackrock 3 Partners, today announced the winners of the 2021 Incident Commander, a peer-voted award program. Now in its second year, the awards honor superheroes in support, ITOps, DevOps, SRE or in the NOC who go above and beyond when it comes to IT incident response, handling high-impact global incidents with exemplary professionalism and skill.

“With the pandemic fueling near overnight digital transformation across industries, the vital importance of Incident Commanders has never been clearer,” said Rob Schnepp, founding partner of Blackrock 3 and a longtime fire department Chief Officer and Incident Commander in the San Francisco Bay Area. “The winners of this year’s Incident Commander Awards have demonstrated exceptional leadership and talent, resolving outages and other IT issues around the clock under high-stakes circumstances.”

This year’s Incident Commanders are:


Ben Narramore, director of service management at PlayStation. Ben says that the reason he and his team are successful is that his organization allows them to be directly responsible for carrying out their mission to resolve incidents. He says working in IT Ops can be demanding, but also equally rewarding. “I have never had a job as stressful, crazy, rewarding and exhilarating as IT Ops. When you’re in it, you’re in it. Not only are you a manager, you’re a repairman, an IT guy, a delivery person, a taxi driver, and pretty much anything else you can imagine. To say the least, you wear a lot of hats. But with many hats comes many rewards.” Show less

It’s no secret that 2020 has been a rough year. Between coping with the pandemic and related circumstances including work from home, and launching PS5, we know that the year has asked a lot of us.

We also know that there are colleagues at SIE who have been there for us, who have stepped up and gone above and beyond to deliver during this time — colleagues who we simply could not have gotten through 2020 without.

To celebrate and recognize their efforts, we’re happy to announce the… Show more

It’s no secret that 2020 has been a rough year. Between coping with the pandemic and related circumstances including work from home, and launching PS5, we know that the year has asked a lot of us.

We also know that there are colleagues at SIE who have been there for us, who have stepped up and gone above and beyond to deliver during this time — colleagues who we simply could not have gotten through 2020 without.

To celebrate and recognize their efforts, we’re happy to announce the launch of a new campaign: SIE’s 2020 Heroes.

With SIE’s 2020 Heroes, you can nominate any colleague (or colleagues) from across the globe who has made a difference in your 2020 and thank them for their support. We have created four Hero nomination categories:

Project/Work: To thank a colleague (or team) who has stepped up or helped deliver a particular project or piece of work this year
Emotional Support: To thank a colleague who has been there for you or lent an ear throughout the year
Unsung Hero: To thank a colleague (or team) who has worked tirelessly in the background to deliver throughout 2020
Something Else: For a colleague or team whom you want to thank for a reason not listed above Show less

This was awarded for the NOC project to consolidate operations into the SD NOC, drive automation, reduce complexity of runbooks, and dramatically increase the collaboration between the Tokyo and San Diego Operations teams.

All of this work was done to deliver improved experience for our customers (foremost), improve response time, and to make this a better place to work. The team has delivered beautifully and truly deserves this award for delivering for both our customers and our… Show more

This was awarded for the NOC project to consolidate operations into the SD NOC, drive automation, reduce complexity of runbooks, and dramatically increase the collaboration between the Tokyo and San Diego Operations teams.

All of this work was done to deliver improved experience for our customers (foremost), improve response time, and to make this a better place to work. The team has delivered beautifully and truly deserves this award for delivering for both our customers and our company. Show less

2016 putting IT Together Awards
The IT leadership team presented Ben Narramore as the winner of the Rookie of the Year Award for leadership, hard work and dedication to making a difference in IT for someone who has been with Edwards Lifesciences IT department less then a year.

BEN NARRAMORE, deputy commissioner of the Palomar Pop Warner Conference, will join youth football leaders from across the country in Indianapolis on Tuesday, Nov. 9, to participate in USA Football's Rules Committee meeting. The committee will discuss and vote on youth football rules and amendments to USA Football's 2011 Youth Football Rulebook. USA Football is the sport's national governing body on youth and amateur levels and is the official youth football development partner of the NFL and… Show more

BEN NARRAMORE, deputy commissioner of the Palomar Pop Warner Conference, will join youth football leaders from across the country in Indianapolis on Tuesday, Nov. 9, to participate in USA Football's Rules Committee meeting. The committee will discuss and vote on youth football rules and amendments to USA Football's 2011 Youth Football Rulebook. USA Football is the sport's national governing body on youth and amateur levels and is the official youth football development partner of the NFL and NFL Players Association.

Narramore was appointed to the committee in 2008 for his leadership of one of the most successful youth football leagues in Southern California. The Palomar Pop Warner Conference comprises 200 teams, 2,000 coaches and more than 6,000 players.

Two representatives from the National Association of Sports Officials (NASO) also will contribute to the full-day meeting as football rules-writing experts.

About USA Football: USA Football, the sport's national governing body on youth and amateur levels, hosts more than 80 football training events annually offering education for coaches and game officials, skill development for players and resources for youth football league commissioners. The independent non-profit is the official youth football development partner of the NFL, its 32 teams and the NFL Players Association. USA Football manages U.S. national teams within the sport for international competition and awards $1 million annually in equipment grants to youth and high school football programs based on merit and need. Endowed by the NFL and NFLPA in 2002 through the NFL Youth Football Fund, USA Football is chaired by Show less

The Chargers Community Quarterback Award, a program of the Chargers Community Foundation, recognizes outstanding volunteers who exemplify leadership, dedication, and a commitment to improving the youth football and cheer experience for children throughout San Diego County.

Since its inception, the Chargers Community Foundation has led the way in honoring volunteers, assisting with youth athletics, schools and helping critical causes important to our community. We are proud to support San… Show more

The Chargers Community Quarterback Award, a program of the Chargers Community Foundation, recognizes outstanding volunteers who exemplify leadership, dedication, and a commitment to improving the youth football and cheer experience for children throughout San Diego County.

Since its inception, the Chargers Community Foundation has led the way in honoring volunteers, assisting with youth athletics, schools and helping critical causes important to our community. We are proud to support San Diego’s youth football and cheer programs and honor individuals who have demonstrated extraordinary dedication to these programs through their volunteer efforts. Show less