The ITEN WIRED Team

Jim Rhodes

Communications & Public Relations Director

University of West Florida Center for Cybersecurity

Director

Jim is a native of Pensacola and is a graduate of Tate High School and the University of West Florida, where he received his degree in finance. He moved to Charlotte, NC in 1997 with a goal of furthering his career in banking, but later developed a passion for information technology. Upon graduating from ECPI College of Technology, he officially entered into the world of IT in 2001. After working several years as a network engineer, he and his family relocated back to Pensacola in 2007.

He has been employed by AppRiver since 2008 and became the company’s first community relations specialist in 2018.

Jim believes the Gulf Coast I-10 corridor can become a major hub for technology, innovation, and entrepreneurship. He is currently in his 5th year of serving on the board of directors for IT Gulf Coast. He has actively participated in the planning of the annual ITEN WIRED Summit since 2012 and has been serving as its director since 2013. He is also a member of the board of directors for Innovation Coast.

His leisure activities include disc golf, fishing, and kayaking.

Join us on the #CyberCoast

ITEN WIRED: GROWING THE CYBER COAST

ITEN (Innovation Technology Entrepreneurship Network) WIRED Summit is the Southeast’s premier cybersecurity and IT conference to connect, collaborate and build community with industry leaders,
entrepreneurs and educators on innovation, technology and entrepreneurship topics.

The three-day event highlights the area’s cybersecurity, information technology and entrepreneurial communities and explores emerging technology and innovators in start-up tech, artificial intelligence, robotics, and emerging technologies on the national scene.

The summit, which began as an economic development initiative in 2008 by the Greater Pensacola Chamber of Commerce, is now hosted by IT Gulf Coast and Florida West Economic Development Alliance.

ITEN WIRED also operates as a not-for-profit, tourism-focused, community event with proceeds being donated back to local STEM initiatives, including an endowment with the University of West Florida’s College of Science and Engineering.

The next ITEN WIRED Summit will take place on October 6-8, 2021.

Meet the Team

The ITEN WIRED planning team is composed of volunteers from IT Gulf Coast, Florida West Economic Development Alliance, and other members of our local IT, tech and entrepreneurial community.