Getting to Know the Leaders of the ITAD Industry
Featuring: Eric Levine, Iron Mountain
Each month, ITAD Daily invites ITAD industry thought leader Darrell Kendall (Executive Director of the Global ITAD Alliance) to offer ten or more questions to be answered by another leading light of the industry so our readers can get to know them better. This month’s guest is Eric Levine, who leads E-Commerce Business Development for Iron Mountain.
1—How did your journey to become an ITAD industry thought and innovation leader begin?
Levine: Attending conferences and events just like the ITAD summit. Engaging in spaces where people from different backgrounds come together to push the boundaries forward of our industries. I say “industries” plural because there’re many different types of businesses that come together to create our ecosystem. It’s always been important to me that I engage and learn from the varying perspectives coming together at these events to better understand the bigger picture.
2—Describe your career mission in a nutshell
Levine: I’d like to do well by doing good. Ultimately I’d like to create a wonderful career for myself within an industry that is doing good things for economies, environmental ecosystems, and individuals.
3—How do you view the outlook for the ITAD industry as it stands in 2026?
Levine: Rapidly evolving along with the rate of change in technology. ITAD is so intertwined with the tech world that our rate of change is in lock step with the overall electronics industry as a whole.
4—What’s an ITAD best practice that more businesses need to be aware of?
Levine: Patience, and specifically not getting thrown off course by flash in the pan trends. Overall these trends are impactful, but I believe consistency over time works parallel to something like compounding interest. When a business finds something good that really works for them, it’s important to stay the course through thick and thin.
5—What is one practice in ITAD that we still tolerate today—but will look back on in five years as fundamentally unacceptable?
Levine: Independence from manufacturers and end consumers. Usually ITADs play a role somewhat in the middle of the food chain, but it is becoming more and more connected with business scope from OEMs to end consumers. This gap will continue to close until ITAD and the concept of it is universally understood.
6—Where do you see the line between compliance and competitive advantage shifting—and what will separate leaders from laggards as that line moves?
Levine: Compliance is critical and it’s important that we have safeguards in place to ensure best practices. Leaders are willing to make changes to their business that may have a negative financial impact short term, but will pay dividends long term.
7—Why do you think ITAD still struggles to attract top young talent rather than simply retain it—and what has to change?
Levine: I think it’s still an up and coming industry overall, and that related back to my answer of question #5. When more young people learn about ITAD in education and academia the inclusion of up and coming talent will come along.
8—From where you sit, what is the single most important leadership trait required to run an ITAD organization in 2026?
Levine: It’s tough to say from where I sit because I run a niche portion of the overall larger business. That said, from my viewpoint I think the most important leadership trait to manage at scale requires listening more and being curious.
9—Eric, your dad has been an icon in the industry for some time. How has that impacted your career/learning process, and if you had to pick one area where we will look back in 30 years and say, “the student outshined the master,” what will that be? (…and be careful, because we’ll ask your Dad the same question!)
Levine: It’s had a huge impact on me. I remember doing school projects as a kid trying to present electronics recycling principles to the class (likely giving my classmates a snooze-fest, LOL). But the passion for the industry was embedded in me from a young age.
In 30 years I’d like the area for me to excel in to be the end consumer business. In ITAD what we do with our products will end up in the hands of customers whether they are individuals, small businesses, school systems, etc. It’s important to me that those customers have a great experience by making the decision to purchase their IT products from within the circular economy.
10—A wise man once claimed that ITAD as an industry is in its second inning. By the time you get to “late” in your career, it will be in inning 6 or 7. What do you think that will look like?
Levine: I think ITAD services will be more widely adopted by businesses of all kinds. Likely this will not be a choice, but rather an inevitable future for a world with a growing dependency on technology.
11—As ITAD firms scale through M&A and globalization, where is the biggest risk of values erosion—and how do leaders prevent it?
Levine: This is a tough one, and I think it might be around consistency of services. We all know there are so many niches within the ITAD space, and it’s important to keep the foundational values that make these businesses successful. Leaders can prevent this by listening to and understanding what has made good businesses in this space. It’s important to note that this is not a one size fits all answer for the industry, but rather at the specific business level for whatever makes a particular niche work.
12—What keeps you up at night?
Levine: Sales. The train never stops and I’m always thinking about how to keep product moving in, out, and in and out again and again.
13—What is the theme song of your life or a piece of music makes you happy?
Levine: “So What” by Miles Davis.
14—Outside of ITAD, what’s something about you that our readers might not know?
Levine: I actually got a bachelor’s of music degree in Jazz trumpet performance. I truly believe the arts have a very deep way of understanding people and the world. The lessons learned in the arts translate to any profession or hobby when embraced wholeheartedly.
15—What’s next for you and the company?
Levine: Just trying to save the world one computer at a time!
Thanks to Eric Levine for taking time to answer the questions. You can learn more about Iron Mountain at ironmoutain.com. Contact ITAD Daily today to learn more.
