Russ Levanway, the CIO Solutions president, is planning a gradual transition into the world of nonprofits. He’s been named the vice president of REACH.
Russ Levanway, the CIO Solutions president, has been named the new vice president of Regional Economic Action Coalition, known as REACH.
The coalition is a nonprofit involving public, private and civic leaders on the Central Coast.
With the new position, Mr. Levanway is starting a gradual transition from his corporate job to his new one in the world of nonprofits.
“Many of you likely know Russ from his years of business and community leadership in the region, and we are thrilled to welcome him to the REACH team for this next chapter of his career,” REACH said in a news release.
Melissa James, the REACH president and CEO, praised Mr. Levanway.
“Russ emerged from a competitive field of candidates as a community-minded leader with firsthand knowledge of the needs of Central Coast businesses, a genuine passion to serve the region, and the ability to work collaboratively to get big things done,” she said. “We look forward to the caring and thoughtful approach he brings to advancing the REACH mission.”
Mr. Levanway explained why he decided to dedicate himself full time to the world of nonprofits.
“I’ve felt a strong pull to give back to the community where I built my business over 16 years,” he said.“So many of us have faced the pain points and challenges of running a business, and I’m eager to join this impressive team effort helping companies across the Central Coast become successful job creators and propel the region’s economy forward.”
Mr. Levanway founded TekTegrity in 2005, growing it into an information technology company twice recognized on the Inc. 5000 list. He completed four acquisitions and the sale of TekTegrity to CIO Solutions in 2018, staying on as president to oversee a successful integration of the two companies throughout the Central Valley and Santa Barbara and San Luis Obispo counties.
“When CIO Solutions acquired TekTegrity four years ago, and I remained as president after 12 years with the latter company while Eric Egolf continued his role of CEO, it was with the goal of successfully merging both teams to provide better service to our clients,” Mr. Levanway explained. “TekTegrity moved under the company mantle of ‘CIO Solutions.’
“Since then, we have successfully completed some major mutual milestones that were key to the success of the alliance between CIO & TekTegrity,” Mr. Levanway continued. “Biggest among those was a true integration of our companies — culturally, as well as merging our leadership teams, operations, and our joint way of doing things.
“I couldn’t be happier with the outcome and feel that I have completed my combined 16-year mission with both companies. I’m ready to give back to the community in a new way and plan to slowly transition into a new role over several months starting in November — to work on the team of a local nonprofit that is focused on regional economic development,” he said. “It’s a win-win all the way around.”
Mr. Egolf praised Mr. Levanway.
“CIO Solutions inherited a strong management team from Russ and TekTegrity,” Mr. Egolf said, “one that merged well with our own team. The group is now one cohesive whole — a unified company of people who share a similar passion for IT Management, with a solid focus on community.
“We are thrilled that we have reached a collective point where Russ can now continue the journey he has wanted for a long time — to use his talents in the nonprofit world while letting the team he helped develop at CIO Solutions take the company to new heights,” Mr. Egolf said in a news release.
In addition to his leadership at CIO Solutions, Mr. Levanway has served as board chair and in other high-level roles at the San Luis Obispo Chamber of Commerce and the Central Coast Software and Technology Association (Softec), as well as nonprofits including Friends of the Prado Day Center and Big Brothers Big Sisters.
For more about REACH, go to reachcentralcoast.org.
email: dmason@newspress.com
