James Martinos

by John Blodgett

With all the talent in Utah, Jim Martinos wondered, why outsource services to companies in India, Ireland and the Asia-Pacific?

“To me, Utah has always been a goldmine,” he says. “We’ve so much talent here. How do we leverage that?”

Martinos, CEO of DirectPointe, a managed service provider based in Lindon, is quick to clarify that he doesn’t profess protectionism; rather, he simply wants to build careers for the people from “little old Lindon” and other Utah communities from which the company draws much of its human capital. He views job creation from two angles: how to create career paths so that people need not leave one company for another to advance, and how to create jobs so that people don’t have to move elsewhere — out of town, out of state — altogether.

DirectPointe is ranked at the top of its industry and is succeeding in these tough times as more companies outsource their IT needs. Still, the company isn’t immune to job attrition — staffing levels are down to 122 from a peak of 150. Nonetheless, Martinos considers employees to be part of the solution during the bad times as well as the good, and doesn’t let a down economy hobble hiring. “If I see sharp talent, I’m going to hire it because I know they’re going to justify themselves,” he says.

A Greek who hails from Massachusetts, Martinos graduated from Brigham Young University in 1982 with degrees in mechanical engineering and computer science. His resume is filled with the names of IT giants — including Microsoft, IBM, Digital and GE — and his senior-level roles have focused him on application development, systems management, sales and marketing, and more.

In May 2005, Martinos returned to Utah to help care for his father-in-law, who had been diagnosed with Alzheimer’s disease. Soon thereafter, Mike Proper, then-CEO of DirectPointe, began a six-month courtship that resulted in Martinos joining the company as its COO later that year. When Proper left at the end of 2008 to found CentralPointe, Martinos stepped up and took over where his old boss had left off.

“I believe in DirectPointe and in Mike Proper’s vision and in the capabilities he realized in this community,” says Martinos. “I want to take that as high as it can be.”