Involta’s Bruce Lehrman steps down as CEO

CEDAR RAPIDS — Involta, the Cedar Rapids-based data center and IT consulting business, announced founder and CEO Bruce Lehrman has transitioned to the role of board of directors vice chairman, with the company’s president, James Buie, adding the role of CEO along with his current position.

“What began as a local co-location data center company in Cedar Rapids, Iowa, has now become a nationally recognized organization offering best-in-class, security-focused data center facilities and infrastructure, hybrid cloud and managed IT services,” Lehrman, who founded the company in 2007, said in a statement Wednesday.

During Lehrman’s tenure, Involta achieved numerous recognitions, including being named the second-fastest-growing IT Company in the country by Inc. Magazine and the 40th fastest-growing company overall, and remaining on the Inc. 500/5000 list for nearly a decade.

This year, the company earned the 2022 Best in Klas distinction for health care partial IT sourcing and ranked on the 2022 MSP 501 list.

Also this year, Lehrman played an important role in the company’s acquisition by global investment firm Carlyle.

Buie takes over as CEO with more than 25 years of industry experience, the company said.

He joined Involta in 2016 as chief financial officer and steadily took on more responsibility. He was instrumental in growing the company’s hybrid cloud and strategic consulting offerings through the acquisitions of BluPrairie and IT|Lynk, both in 2018.

Buie became president in 2020, and restructured the company’s operations to help scale and deliver services. His focus on the customer experience helped the company achieve an industry-leading Net Promoter Score of 79.

Buie has been active in Involta Cares, the company’s philanthropic platform that extends resources across the communities Involta serves.

He played a direct role in Involta achieving Veeam’s Impact Cloud and Service Provider Growth Partner of the Year 2022.