ITAD Services, Data Security, and Building NexTech with Brad Cohen

**What happens to your data when the equipment leaves the building?** Here is what I love about Brad Cohen's story. He did not stumble into ITAD. He built his way to it, company by company, deal by deal, over thirty years of figuring out what happens to technology at the end of use. That blind spot, the moment an organization unplugs a device and assumes the data is gone, is exactly where Brad has built his career. And the stakes are higher than most people realize. IT asset disposition is one of the most underestimated risks in enterprise IT. Whether you are a data center manager, an IT reseller, an MSP, or a sustainability officer, the question of what happens to your hardware and the data on it when it is done is not optional anymore. ITAD services, data erasure, and responsible e-waste recycling are not just compliance checkboxes. They are the last line of defense in your cybersecurity posture. Brad Cohen is the CEO of NexTech Partners, one of the country's leading full-service IT lifecycle providers. R2 certified, ISO accredited, and HIPAA compliant, NexTech operates across data destruction, e-waste recycling, ITAD services, and environmental compliance. Brad started his career building SIMOD Corporation from zero to seventy million dollars and one hundred and thirty employees in Jackson, Mississippi, then co-founded Southland, ran a fifty-million-dollar division at Exp@nets, and built the first nationwide IT asset management program at Presidio before launching NexTech in 2009. He became CEO in 2019 and has taken the company past fourteen million in annual revenue. **Key Takeaways** - R2 certification and ISO accreditation are not just credentials, they are the guardrails that transform a buy-sell operation into a disciplined, professional ITAD services business. - Hidden data is a real and underestimated risk, including hard drives inside office printers that store copies of every document ever scanned or printed. - The pivot from transactional resale to relationship-based ITAD services took years, cost Brad colleagues and friends, but created a far more defensible and consistent business model. - End user sales cycles in IT asset disposition can take up to a year to close, but once you are in, the relationship is sticky and the equipment flow becomes predictable and repeatable. - Brad runs a daily stand-up with his entire operations team, reminding them to treat every device as if it contains their own family's information, because that mindset is what separates serious ITAD operators from the rest. - Brad Cohen said, "Just because you unplug a computer or any device does not make it safe anymore." - Brad Cohen said, "It is the last thing you do from a cybersecurity standpoint before you turn out the lights, and it is absolutely the most important thing." **Timestamps** 00:00 Introduction and Brad Cohen bio 01:42 Welcome and early career origins 02:05 Building SIMOD Corporation in Jackson, Mississippi 04:53 How SIMOD financed its first year without inventory 07:16 What Presidio taught Brad about scale and national IT asset management 09:58 The pivot from buy-sell-recycle to ITAD services 12:52 Why R2 certification and ISO accreditation matter for ITAD partners 14:59 HIPAA compliance and the hidden data problem 16:37 The law firm printer story and transferring liability 18:36 Serving end users, VARs, and MSPs differently 19:35 Becoming CEO in 2019 and shifting to a relational sales model 22:54 Where the ITAD industry is headed over the next five years 24:22 The law enforcement hard drive shredding story 25:44 Are clients more sophisticated about data security today 26:51 Advice for building a career in ITAD 28:46 Upcoming shows and where to connect with Brad **Connect with Brad Cohen** NexTech Partners: https://www.nextechpartners.com LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/bradcohen