Prior to joining Kroll, Ira served as the executive director of the administrative modernization program at the University of Maryland. Before that, he held the title of chief operating officer at Affiniti, a national telecommunications and managed services company. Additionally, he previously served as CEO of Torrential Systems and both the chief performance officer and chief information officer at Howard County Government in Maryland.
One of his notable achievements includes leading the deployment of the One Maryland Inter-County Broadband Network (ICBN), which received a $115 million federal grant and was acknowledged by the White House for innovation and impact. Ira has also participated in numerous associations and boards, including the University of Maryland’s Presidential 5G/6G Advisory committee, Broadband Council board member, past board member of Mid-Atlantic CIO forum, and founding board member of the Howard County Tech Council.
Further, Ira was recognized in the Daily Record’s 40 under 40 and was named the HTC Technology Advocate of the Year, as well as the Public-Sector CIO of the Year by The Tech Council of Maryland. Ira was later named Smart CIO by SmartCEO magazine for his efforts addressing regional problems with innovative solutions and forging new partnerships to achieve significant cost savings.
Ira received an MBA as well as an M.S. in information and telecommunication systems from Johns Hopkins University. He also holds an M.A. in education and a B.A. in psychology from the University of Central Florida and the University of West Florida, respectively. Ira has a number of technical certifications including Certified Information Security Professional (CISSP) and National Incident Management System Certified in Incident Command System (ICS) 100, ICS 200, ICS 300, ICS 700. Additionally, Ira is a doctoral candidate at The University of Maryland’s School of Public Policy focusing on science and technology/cybersecurity.