Leadership Team
President & Chief Executive Officer
Steve Barone is the founder and CEO of Creative Breakthroughs, Inc. (CBI) Established in 1991, the company began as a garage-based business and, under Steve’s leadership, has since grown to become one of the largest IT compliance and risk management firms in the nation.
Steve’s passion for the emerging field of remote connectivity was a driving force behind starting CBI. As the industry evolved, CBI was reshaped to become a leader in network security and data management. Steve has consistently distinguished his leadership and entrepreneurial skills through his “adaptive leadership” approach, enabling the firm to tackle current industry challenges and build enterprise adaptability for the future.
With a passion for coaching and mentoring his employees, Steve fosters company culture and teamwork by drawing upon his own experiences playing for and coaching winning athletic teams. This, combined with his entrepreneurial philosophy, allows CBI to consistently attract some of the industry’s most talented network engineers, consultants and functional managers.
A frequent speaker at technology industry events across the country, Steve is recognized nationally as an expert in network security and risk management. He also supports various research firms like Gartner and CRN by providing his expertise around end-user needs, new technologies and channel partner matters. His entrepreneurial skills have been recognized by Corp Magazine (Entrepreneurs of Distinction & Top Michigan Executives) and Lawrence Tech University (Leaders and Innovators).
Steve attended Wayne State University and the University of California Los Angeles. He maintains certifications in multiple areas of technology and has served on several global and regional advisory boards for technology companies, including Symantec, Imprivata, and Cyberoam.
Deeply invested in local charitable work, Steve supports numerous local causes such as youth athletics and the Northeast Detroit Alumni Association. In 2010, Steve founded the Detroit Area Rescue Team (DART), a grassroots nonprofit organization that supports the needs of the homeless community near his childhood home in northeast Detroit.
Steve resides with his daughter, Alyssa, in Birmingham, Michigan.
Vice President and Chief Operating Officer
Greg Guracech is the Vice President and Chief Operating Officer and leads the CBI professional service practice and works closely with clients to develop strategic plans around Enterprise Risk Management and Compliance. Greg has over 26 years of business experience.
Prior to joining CBI, Greg served as Senior Manager and Practice Lead in the Detroit market at PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC), where he was responsible for assisting clients to improve various disciplines including financial and IT remediation and SEC and management reporting. Greg worked closely with clients to develop strategic plans relating to enterprise risk management, Sarbanes Oxley Compliance, treasury management and mergers and acquisitions.
Greg also previously served as the CFO of a Tier 1 Japanese auto supplier’s U.S. operations, where he led the company to a successful QS-9000 certification and assisted in taking the company public in Japan.
Greg received a Bachelor of Science degree in accounting from the University of Detroit Mercy and a Masters of Finance degree from Walsh College.
Executive Vice President of Business Development
As Executive Vice President of Business Development, Dave is responsible for CBI’s marketing, alliance partnership, annuity services / cloud services brokerage and training departments. He plays a critical role in driving solution design and technology innovation, and increases the value of professional services engagements and solutions for CBI and their customers and partners.
With more than 19 years of experience in enterprise IT, technical and business consultative sales, channel development, project management, team building and technical implementation of IT solutions for business challenges, Dave has played a key role in driving the growth and scale of CBI.
Prior to working with CBI, Dave managed a training organization within a technology solutions provider. While there, he served as a trainer, strategist and mentor, while also managing day-to-day sales operations. Dave’s history prior to that was as a consultant and field engineer.
Dave attended Andrews University, where he majored in English and minored in Communications. While working in the micro lab at Andrews, Dave discovered his love of information systems and decided to embark on a career path of technology and information security.
In his free time, Dave serves as a board member and volunteers for the Detroit Area Rescue Team (DART), a grassroots nonprofit organization that supports the needs of the homeless in Detroit. Dave enjoys spending time with his family, hiking, snow-skiing, reading, movies and information security. He is also a member of the Association of Information Technology Professionals and the ISSA North Oakland Chapter.
Executive Vice President | Sales and Operations
Over the course of Mike’s 21-year sales and operations career, he has exhibited leadership and management expertise in a variety of industries including information technology, biotechnology, healthcare distribution and food service distribution. He has held leadership positions in business development, infrastructure management, field marketing, sales management and sales training.
Prior to joining CBI, Mike served as Symantec’s Area Manager for Consulting Services in the Great Lakes, Northeast US and the country of Canada. During his tenure with Symantec, Mike had increasing level of responsibility starting with sales of emerging technologies and culminating in his role in services management. He was also responsible for managing sales campaigns for strategic security assessments, product installation services, critical support escalation projects, residency and managed services.
Mike received his Bachelor of Science degree in Sports Medicine from Ferris State University and his Masters in Business Administration from Wayne State University.
Professional Accomplishments
- 2010 Symantec Top Consulting Services Performer – Americas FY10 Q3
- 2009 Symantec Achiever’s Club Winner
- Finished Symantec’s fiscal FY2010 with year-over-year revenue growth of 143 percent
- Finished Symantec fiscal FY2009 at 168 percent quota
