STEVE BARONE:
 
STEVE BARONE




 
 
 
 
 
President, CEO, and founder of Creative Breakthroughs Inc. (CBI) in Troy. Barone created the firm in 1991, and it has become the largest private network security, integration, and management company of its kind in the Great Lakes region. CBI provides products and services helping companies of all sizes to secure and manage their IT infrastructure. Barone partnered with Citrix Solutions, the 14th largest software company in the world, when it was a startup in 1993, and that relationship continues today. He has led his company to several industry awards, including a place in the VAR 500, that lists the biggest and best IT solution providers in North America. Barone attended Wayne State University and is certified in many areas of technological and business expertise. He actively serves on the advisory boards for numerous national and global technology companies, including Symantec, Imprivata, and Cyberoam. CBI is involved with many charitable and non-profit organizations. Barone himself has been the coach of a Detroit-area high school football team and is involved with the local youth sports scene.


WHERE BORN: "Detroit."

MOST INFLUENTIAL PERSONS: "When I was at ITT Courier, Mike Nadeau gave me a lot of foundation. And Tom Kendra at Symantec has had a lot of influence."

LAST BOOK READ: "The Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini."

WORDS THAT DESCRIBE ME: "Passionate, energetic, loyal."

WHERE MY FIELD/INDUSTRY IS HEADED: "The IT security industry is moving to a service-based industry. The days of reselling without adding value and services are gone."

FAVORITE TECHNOLOGICAL GADGET: "For sure, my Treo."

FAVORITE PLACE: "Paris. I used to go there all the time and I miss it when I’m not there."

FAVORITE HOBBIES: "I fly airplanes. I became a pilot a couple of years ago. I also coach football and love to be involved with neighborhood football."

FAVORITE FOOD: "Korean."

MY HIDDEN TALENT: "I win karaoke contests."

HOW I WANT TO BE REMEMBERED: "As somebody who didn’t forget the old business values of embracing employee families as part of what you do as a company. When we hire someone, we bring the family on board. It’s how we built our firm, and we want to keep that going."

Grant Thornton Website At the annual awards reception in April 2014, one Leader & Innovator from the previous 12 months will be selected as the Grant Thornton Leader & Innovator of the Year.