About
Steve Melchiorre is the co-founder and CEO of Stratosphere Networks and Converged Communication Systems (CCS). A serial entrepreneur, Steve founded his first company while he was in high school, and his second company, which he established in college, grew to have more than 200 repeat clients. He earned a bachelor's degree in economics and business from Westmont College in Santa Barbara, California.In 2002, he started working for a company that sold Avaya telecommunications solutions. As a top performer, Steve became part of the company's president's club and won a trip to Las Vegas. Through his telecom work, he met Kevin Rubin (the current president Stratosphere Networks and CCS), and they founded CCS in 2003.
In its first year, CCS brought in $116,000 in revenue, and since then the company has seen its revenue increase by an average of 30 percent year over year, reaching over $9,000,000.00 in 2018. Steve was appointed to represent CCS on the Avaya SMB Business Partner Council in 2009, and the company has also won numerous awards, such as the Channel Partners 360° award, Inc. 5000, and CRN MSP Elite 150.
In 2010, Steve and Kevin launched Stratosphere Networks, a multifaceted managed IT and cybersecurity provider. They built a state-of-the-art Network and Security Operations Center (NOC/SOC) in Evanston that uses the latest technologies, diagnostic tools, and monitoring solutions to provide proactive support. Stratosphere is the only IT provider in Chicago to be named one of Crain's Best Places to Work for 5 years in a row (2015-2019).
Stratosphere Networks and CCS are also dedicated to giving back to the community. Steve serves as a member of the Board of Trustees for Lawrence Hall, a social services organization that provides high-quality care for abused and neglected young people and their families in the Chicago metropolitan area. Additionally, Stratosphere Networks supports the International Justice Mission and St. Jude's Children's Research Hospital with monthly donations. Stratosphere and CCS also have a corporate policy that encourages staff members to give back by providing them with two additional paid days off for the purpose of participating in volunteer work.
