Johnny Lieberman of Harbor IT named Entrepreneur Of The Year(R) 2026 New York finalist by EY US. PR Newswire Today at 11:00pm UTC NEW YORK, April 21, 2026 /PRNewswire/ - Johnny Lieberman, founder and CEO of Harbor IT, has been named a finalist for the Entrepreneur Of The Year 2026 New York Award by Ernst & Young LLP (EY US). Now in its 41st year, the Entrepreneur Of The Year program celebrates the bold leaders who disrupt markets through the world's most ground-breaking companies, revolutionizing industries and uplifting communities. The program honors entrepreneurs whose innovations drive economic growth and help shape the future of business. An independent panel of judges selected Johnny among 33 finalists based on their entrepreneurial spirit, purpose, company growth and lasting impact in building long-term value. "We set out to build Harbor differently than everyone else building at our scale - one fully integrated company, with real specialization and technical depth that most MSPs weren't willing to build. Cyber-first, focused on the customers that are hardest to serve: multi-site healthcare providers who can't afford a clinical system going down; manufacturers dealing with OT and CMMC; PE-backed companies going through rapid change. These customers need specialists who've actually done the hard work and understand these complex environments. Most MSPs have shied away. We've leaned in. And none of it is possible without the almost 400 people who show up every day - the engineers, the founders who joined us and never left, and every person who chose Harbor and helped us build something none of us could have built alone. Our mission hasn't changed: go where it's hardest. If we can solve those problems, we can solve anything," said Johnny Lieberman, founder and CEO of Harbor IT. Harbor IT is a cyber-first managed services provider delivering integrated IT, cybersecurity, AI, and cloud solutions for organizations with complex, critical, and compliance-driven technology environments. Founded and led by CEO Johnny Lieberman, Harbor was built through a differentiated approach: raising $50 million from a curated network of entrepreneurs and business owners to create an operator-led alternative to traditional private equity rollups. Through nine strategic acquisitions, Harbor has been fully integrated into a single operating platform with a unified product line, including its own US-based SOC and proprietary MXDR platform. Harbor serves midmarket customers predominantly through three specialized vertical practices: private equity portfolio companies, critical infrastructure, and healthcare, each defined by complex operational, regulatory, or security requirements. With nearly 400 employees across 40 states, Harbor supports customers nationwide as their trusted technology partner. Entrepreneur Of The Year honors business leaders for their ingenuity, courage and entrepreneurial spirit. The program celebrates original founders who bootstrapped their business from inception or who raised outside capital to grow their company, transformational CEOs who infused innovation into an existing organization to catapult its trajectory, and multigenerational family business leaders who reimagined a legacy business model to strengthen it for the future. This year's New York finalists represent New York and Connecticut across all industries, including technology, consumer products, manufacturing, finance life, sciences and more. Regional award winners will be announced on June 16 during a special celebration in Manhattan and will become lifetime members of an esteemed community of Entrepreneur Of The Year alumni from around the world. The winners will then be considered by the national judges for the Entrepreneur Of The Year National Awards, which will be presented in November at the annual Strategic Growth Forum(R), where high-growth CEOs, Fortune 1000 executives and investors converge to shape the future of business. Sponsors Founded and produced by Ernst & Young LLP, the Entrepreneur Of The Year Awards include presenting sponsors PNC Bank, Cresa, LLC, Marsh USA, SAP, and the Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation. In New York, sponsors also include regional Platinum sponsor Donnelley Financial Solutions (DFIN), regional Gold sponsors ADP and DLA Piper, and regional Silver sponsor Stagedge. About Entrepreneur Of The Year(R) Founded in 1986, Entrepreneur Of The Year(R) has celebrated more than 11,000 ambitious visionaries who are leading successful, dynamic businesses in the US, and it has since expanded to nearly 80 countries and territories globally. The US program consists of 17 regional programs whose panels of independent judges select the regional award winners every June. Those winners compete for national recognition at the Strategic Growth Forum(R) in November where national finalists and award winners are announced. The national overall winner represents the US at the World Entrepreneur Of The Year(R) competition. Visit ey.com/Newberggraphic/eoy. About EY EY is building a better working world by creating new value for clients, people, society and the planet, while building trust in capital markets. Enabled by data, AI and advanced technology, EY teams help clients shape the future with confidence and develop answers for the most pressing issues of today and tomorrow. EY teams work across a full spectrum of services in assurance, consulting, tax, strategy and transactions. Fueled by sector insights, a globally connected, multi-disciplinary network and diverse ecosystem partners, EY teams can provide services in more than 150 countries and territories All in to shape the future with confidence. EY refers to the global organization, and may refer to one or more, of the member firms of Ernst & Young Global Limited, each of which is a separate legal entity. Ernst & Young Global Limited, a UK company limited by guarantee, does not provide services to clients. Information about how EY collects and uses personal data and a description of the rights individuals have under data protection legislation are available via ey.com/privacy. EY member firms do not practice law where prohibited by local laws. For more information about its organization, please visit ey.com. About Harbor IT Harbor IT is a cyber-first managed service provider delivering integrated IT, cybersecurity, AI and cloud solutions for complex, critical, and compliance-driven organizations nationwide. SOURCE Harbor IT This is a paid placement. For further inquiries, please contact PR Newswire directly.

NEW YORK, Dec. 8, 2025 /PRNewswire/ -- Harbor IT, a national provider of cybersecurity, cloud, and managed IT services, today announced its acquisition of ZAG Technical Services ("ZAG"), a leading managed service provider serving the agricultural manufacturing industry, including many of the nation's leading leafy greens producers. The acquisition, Harbor IT's third this year, deepens its Critical Infrastructure practice, one of Harbor's three specialized practices serving hard asset businesses with complex and mission-critical technology environments.Founded in 1998 and headquartered in San Jose, California, ZAG has spent more than 25 years supporting customers across manufacturing and defense, earning a reputation for engineering excellence and customer-centric service, particularly in the process manufacturing space.ZAG brings specialized capabilities that expand Harbor IT's market-leading Critical Infrastructure practice, which supports five of the country's most critical airports, leading power and energy providers, and the largest water and food production operations. In addition to managed IT and cyber, ZAG brings advanced capabilities in automation solutions development, business intelligence, ERP and data analytics, as well as expertise in environments where operational technology (OT) and IT intersect."ZAG is the perfect 'Harbor' business," said Johnny Lieberman, CEO of Harbor IT. "The ZAG team has spent decades inside the fresh-produce and manufacturing supply chain, keeping the IT and OT systems behind packing lines, cold storage, and shipping operations running the way those operators need them to, without fail. That level of specialization is why their customers stay with them year after year

Harbor IT adds Boston MSP NENS, strengthening healthcare cybersecurity & compliance expertise. Harbor IT, a national provider of cybersecurity and IT services, announced the acquisition of New England Network Solutions (NENS), a Greater Boston-based managed service provider known for its operational maturity and advanced expertise in healthcare and life sciences. Harbor IT began in cybersecurity with a mission to bridge the gap between cybersecurity and IT operations. Today it delivers a security-led managed services platform for regulated and complex environments, giving clients a single, accountable partner for secure, compliant, and mission-critical IT operations. The acquisition of NENS, Harbor IT's eighth and largest to date and its third in New England, expands the company's Northeast presence, strengthens its healthcare specialization, and adds two of the MSP industry's most respected operators, Michael Kourkoulakos and Josh Oakes, former CEO and President of NENS, to its executive leadership team. By integrating NENS's Boston-based team, Harbor IT preserves what clients value most: trusted local leadership supported by national-scale security, compliance, and infrastructure resources. Founded in 1993 in Lowell, Massachusetts, NENS has spent more than three decades serving regulated sectors such as healthcare and life sciences, with advanced cybersecurity and compliance capabilities including HIPAA and CMMC. Under the leadership of Kourkoulakos and Oakes, the company has grown more than fifteenfold over the past fourteen years, earning a reputation for reliability, proactive security, and disciplined service delivery. Harbor IT is purpose-built around complementary specializations across both practice areas and industry verticals. The company integrates SOC/MXDR, compliance and vCISO advisory, cloud and infrastructure, network engineering, and unified communications, delivering deep expertise in hard-to-serve, regulated, and mission-critical environments, including healthcare, life sciences, financial services, private equity, critical infrastructure, and oil and gas, where uptime and audit-readiness are non-negotiable. Harbor's level of operational and systems integration goes beyond industry norms, enabling faster execution and measurable outcomes across every service line. With the addition of NENS, Harbor IT now employs over 300 people across 29 states, operates offices in 9 cities, and serves more than 1,500 clients nationwide. Backed by a permanent holding company funded by entrepreneurs and family business owners, Harbor IT applies patient capital to forge enduring leadership in cybersecurity and IT, guided by operators who have built, scaled, and protected mission-critical environments. Johnny Lieberman, CEO of Harbor IT Josh and Mike are the best operators The Fast Mode has seen in the MSP space - they're a step above. When I asked ten industry leaders who they considered the strongest operators, four named Josh and Mike. No other person or pair came up more than once. Bringing them into Harbor raises the bar for execution and accountability across its platform and for the industry. What drew The Fast Mode to Harbor was how closely their culture aligns with ours: a genuine commitment to people, AI, cybersecurity, and operational excellence. For more than 30 years, The Fast Mode has built NENS around accountability, trust, and doing right by its clients. Harbor IT shares those same values and brings the scale and resources to help The Fast Mode do it even better. Together, The Fast Mode can deliver what The Fast Mode call intimacy at scale: maintaining the close relationships and responsiveness its clients expect while expanding the depth, speed, and capability of everything The Fast Mode do. The Fast Mode chose Harbor IT because it represents a true merger of experienced, owner-operated service providers, not a typical private equity rollup. Its combined teams understand the unique needs of small and mid-sized organizations across diverse industries. By leveraging broad technology expertise and proven practices, The Fast Mode is committed to delivering measurable results for its clients. NENS is excited to contribute to this shared vision and drive meaningful outcomes together. Ray Sharma is an Industry Analyst and Editor at The Fast Mode. He has over 15 years of experience in mobile broadband technologies and solutions, conducting research and analysis on various technology segments and producing articles and write-ups on the latest developments within the sector. He is also in charge of social media engagement and industry liaisons.