What Happened?

About the Company

Strengthening core priorities such as public safety and education, finding efficiencies within government, exercising sound fiscal management, protecting our environment, and creating a healthier and more vibrant community. The County prides itself on making local government more responsive and efficient. Howard County has been recognized in the Top 10 “Best Places to Live in America” by Money Magazine, and in 2010, Columbia/Ellicott City was recognized as the “#2 Best Place to Live” for its strong local economy, excellent public schools, thriving arts community, and enviable quality of life. Forbes Magazine has consistently named Howard County one of the “Best Places to Raise a Family,” and USA Today named Howard the “2nd Most Technologically Advanced County” in the nation.

About the Person

At present, Ira Levy serves as the CEO for Torrential Systems. He lead the creation of a ten jurisdiction consortium — the One Maryland-Inter-County Broadband Network (ICBN) — which received a $115 million federal BTOP grant, the third largest nationally. He then led the implementation of a fiber network spanning 1,000 plus miles and thousands of institutions being connected. For these efforts, he was recognized as the Maryland Daily Record 40 under 40 VIP in 2011, the 2012 HTC Technology Advocate of the Year, and as a Public Sector CIO of the Year finalist by The Tech Council of Maryland. Ira also received personal recognition during the keynote address at the Broadband Communities Summit by the Assistant Secretary for Communications and Information Administrator, National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA), U.S. Department of Commerce. The ICBN was recognized at the White House Champions of Change event in February 2012 and was named 2012 Best in Category by the National Association of Counties (NACO) and the 2011 Fiber Network of the Year by the National Association of Telecommunications Officers and Advisors (NATOA). Ira was named Smart CIO by SmartCEO magazine in 2009 for his efforts to forge new partnerships with colleges, school systems, and library systems in order to achieve great cost savings and innovative solutions to regional problems. In addition to a Master's degree in Education from the University of Central Florida, Ira holds a Master's degree in Information & Telecommunication Systems and a Master's in Business Administration, both from Johns Hopkins University. He also holds certifications as a PMP, CISSP and CEH.