Brett Martin, CEO and founder of CastleBranch Corporation and tekMountain in Wilmington, has won the North Carolina Technology Association’s (NCTA) “Tech Exec of the Year” award.
According to a press release from the company, Castle Branch has been named one of the top-40 fastest-growing mid-market companies in North Carolina by Business North Carolina magazine, the state’s largest statewide business publication.
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Martin was the only Wilmington-based executive nominated for the award, the company recently announced. Martin was nominated along fellow tech executives Joe Colopy of Bronto, Susan DeVore of Premier, Inc., Mort O’Sullivan of ARCA and Jay Parker of Lenovo. Martin will accept his award during the 2014 NC Tech Awards in Raleigh on Nov. 6. The official Top-40 ranking will be announced at the FAST 40 luncheon and awards ceremony on Oct. 23, hosted by Business North Carolina magazine and Cherry Bekaert LLP.
Highlights of Martin’s impact on the North Carolina and Wilmington technology communities include the decision to build and subsequent May 2014 grand opening of a 60,000-square-foot, state-of-the-art headquarters in Wilmington as opposed to Petaluma, California. The expansion will create at least 420 new jobs in the area by 2017, and puts the CastleBranch campus at more than 100,000 square-feet of high-tech office space.
Read related story: CastleBranch welcomes community to to HQ’s grand opening
“I am honored to win the Tech Exec of the Year Award but this award belongs to the employees of tekMountain, CastleBranch and the entire technology community of Wilmington,” Martin said. “The fact that a Wilmington company was selected for a significant statewide technology award is a testament to our city’s newfound commitment to technology and knowledge-based companies. I’m excited to continue to make great strides in developing Wilmington’s high-tech community. It is the singular goal of tekMountain to make Wilmington a marked destination on the road to high-tech entrepreneurship and innovation.”
In addition to his contributions in the business sector, in 2010, Martin founded HeartsApart.org, a nonprofit organization created to keep families connected while military men and women serve abroad. Through the efforts of the country’s finest photographers, HeartsApart.org provides servicemen and women with pictures of their spouses and children to take with them while deployed. In 2012, the White House recognized HeartsApart.org as one of the country’s greatest charities dedicated to serving the military.
CastleBranch brands provide background screening, drug testing, employment verification, immunization tracking, certified records review, document management and related services to a growing national base of organizations. CastleBranch works with over half of the nation’s colleges and universities, a wide range of employers, healthcare institutions, law firms and various nonprofit organizations.
The company is based in Wilmington and has been in business for almost two decades. Additional information is available at CastleBranch.com.
