Bradenton tech firm bites into new CEO

BRADENTON — Ryan Brown has been named CEO of xByte Technologies, one of the largest resellers of refurbished Dell servers and equipment in the country.

Brown, currently vice president of sales and marketing at xByte, replaces previous CEO and founder Tom Santilli at the Bradenton-based firm, which has nearly $17 million in annual sales and around 45 employees. Santilli, the firm says in a release, is leaving to spend more time with family and philanthropic ventures. Santilli will remain on the board of xByte in an advisory role, the firm says. xByte COO Stephen Jaynes has also stepped down from his day-to-day role and he too will remain on the board.

Brown has been with the company for around five years and has run the sales side during a recent growth spurt, with revenues up more than 200% since 2010. “I am honored to be presented with this opportunity to lead the best team in the industry,” Brown says in the release. “I look forward to not only growing xByte from a financial aspect, but also expanding the xByte team, giving us the ability to even better serve our growing customer base.”

Brown takes over the top position at xByte during a period of transition: The firm plans to enter new markets, including selling refurbished equipment from sources other than Dell, such as HP and IBM. It also plans to get into software, by either selling hardware/software bundles or installing software packages.

Santilli founded the firm in 2001 in his living room in Gainesville. “xByte is growing exponentially,” Santilli says in the release, “and I know that Ryan possesses the intellect, business experience, vision and leadership skills that will take xByte to the next level.”