“Don’t actually touch anything.”

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These are the first set of instructions Peter Melby, now a leader in the IT industry, was told to follow when he got his first IT job in high school. He was supposed to be a temporary seat-filler at the City of Fort Collins City Hall for two weeks, when he was asked to fill in on an IT support team that he wasn’t qualified for. Nonetheless, he dedicated his time and energy to learning the job and stayed for two years because the company did not want to let him go. Although he was not perfect at his temporary job, Peter more than made up for his lack of IT experience with his ability to connect with people.

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Melby, CEO, Greystone Technology, learned at any early age that by asking questions and engaging with the users, he could see situations more clearly and help solve deep seated problems.

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“The IT industry is notorious for prioritizing the viewpoint of the most technically proficient minds. Our industry is based on the value we bring to business, not how well IT people can talk to each other about technology,” Melby said. “If we never stop evaluating our value from the eyes of the client, we will always be finding ways to remain influential.”

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Greystone Technologies, a product of his IT experience, was built upon Melby’s perseverance alongside his current partner, Jesse Armstrong. They bonded over the idea that traditional IT services were missing the mark and hoped to get a head-start before the rest of the industry caught on to the fact that IT needed to be a “people” industry.

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18 years later, Greystone still has that head start in many ways.

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Melby said, “We are currently seeing the “perfect storm in IT services and the IT industry continues to miss the mark”. Effective unemployment is below 1%, IT systems have shifted to the cloud, and cybercrime is a worldwide crisis.” He further explained, “This means that an industry that isn’t known for being very adaptable, has a thinly stretched workforce trying to learn how to do a new job when there is no room for error. This is what Greystone was made for and we are intent on delivering increasingly effective services in a market that is desperately in need of such services. We grew 30% in 2019 and we expect similar growth over 2020 and 2021 as we help organizations navigate the perfect storm by simplifying the chaos, providing top talent by being the IT employer of choice, and bringing a common sense approach to cybercrime prevention.”

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Known in the local business community and globally for his work in building strong and effective employee culture, Greystone is a 6-time honoree on the Inc. 5000 list of fastest growing companies and a five-time Denver Post Top Workplace, including 2020. Melby has been named an industry 20/20 visionary, a Colorado Biz Magazine Top CEO, DBJ 40 Under 40, and sits on the advisory board for several global IT industry software providers. Greystone has been named a Colorado Company to Watch. Peter also created Greystone’s VTO (volunteer time off) program and sits on the board of Bayaud Enterprises, a non-profit focused on supporting those with barriers to meaningful employment.

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Melby has proven that being compassionate and clear in his communication has kept Greystone thriving.

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“Even negative communication will always create more loyalty and trust than trying to dance around critical issues,” Melby said. “It is crucial for retention, respect and success on all levels.”

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For his innovative service model approach, combined with deep employee cultural leadership, Melby has been named an industry Titan.