Today we celebrate one of the most trusted technical voices in CICS education and performance tuning.
Ezriel Gross
Principal Solutions Advisor, Rocket Software
New Jersey, USA
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View the entire 2025 Influential Mainframers group here.
Ezriel Gross has nearly four decades of experience in the mainframe field, including 25 years of training and consulting for IBM and Circle Software before joining Rocket Software.
His expertise guides new programmers and senior system teams as they navigate the complexity of Customer Information Control System (CICS) – often starting from scratch. Ezriel helps customers optimize performance and uncover issues, including conducting deep dives like this case study that led to a 92% savings in CPU for a heavily used transaction.
His technical sessions are regularly packed. At SHARE Kansas City 2024, he won a best vendor session award for a presentation on Elevating CICS forensic analysis. As one attendee noted, “No surprise here. It’s standing room only for Ezriel, who is giving a CICS technical intro for non-CICS people.”
In 2025, he celebrated his ninth consecutive year as an IBM Champion and earned an IBM Z and LinuxONE Community Contributor certificate. He regularly publishes on IBM Community blogs and Rocket Software blogs, all while mentoring four junior CICS systems programmers.
“I want people to solve CICS problems without needing to be an expert,” offers Gross. “I teach not just to pass along knowledge, but to break it down so anyone can do it.”
Influential Mainframer
Mainframe technology continues to evolve because of the dedicated professionals, educators, mentors, and innovators who drive it forward. We’re shining a spotlight on the individuals who are making waves—whether they’re advancing technology, mentoring new talent, sharing knowledge, championing modernization, or quietly keeping mission-critical systems running every day. These are the people shaping the future of mainframe. They come from all backgrounds and experience levels, but they all have one thing in common: they’re making a difference.
Check back daily as we reveal a new honoree. Read their stories, celebrate their impact, and be inspired.
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