Charm city: Partnerships with ECU, IBM and the Crystal Coast’s appeal help attract a software company.
What would lead the CEO of 21st Century Software Technologies to relocate the software development company known as 21CS from Boston to Morehead City? Eddy Ciliendo mentions the fresh seafood available on North Carolina’s Crystal Coast, but the attraction to eastern North Carolina was about more than a good meal.
“Our initial plan was to relocate to Raleigh, Charlotte or Wilmington, but we realized that the Crystal Coast was a much better fit for us due to affordability, talent pool and quality of life – besides we felt that we would have a greater impact on the local economy compared to one of the metro areas,” he says.
21CS’ move to eastern North Carolina will involve an investment of $455,000 and create about 25 jobs with an average pay of $87,920, more than doubling the current Carteret County wage of $41,149. Those new jobs will include software engineering and software support roles. North Carolina’s average wage is $65,409.
The company was formed in 2017 to develop software for mainframe computers.The company employs about 200 workers, with about 60 in the U.S. Its largest office is in Perth, Australia, Ciliendo says. He declined to detail the private company’s revenue, but says it is a “multi-million dollar company planning to at least double our revenue in the next couple of years.”
About 60% of its customers are based on the East Coast with its biggest partner being IBM, where Ciliendo previously worked for 19 years. Big Blue’s large presence in the Raleigh-Durham area led 21CS to look toward North Carolina for a new location, he says.
“We also work closely with East Carolina University as they have a computer sciences curriculum that produces ideal candidates for our line of work,” says Ciliendo.
The move to is “motivated by our growth ambitions, as we will have to hire aggressively to sustain the growth target.”
He suspects the initial 25-job target for Morehead City “will probably end up closer to 50 or 60 people over a five-year horizon.”
Ciliendo joined 21CS in July 2023 and succeeded Nick Pachnos as CEO in September. A graduate of the University of Zurich, Ciliendo began his career with IBM in Switzerland and later worked at the company’s Singapore operation from 2015 to 2017. He then spent the next five years at the Triangle site, before leaving to join 21CS.
Ciliendo lives in Morehead City, but says the availability of suitable office space in the city of fewer than 10,000 residents made it more favorable for the company than it being his home address.
“However, having experienced the many qualities of eastern North Carolina firsthand played a big role as I don’t think many non-residents know about the quality of life, great schools and friendly community,” he says.
“I have worked and lived all over the world, and I hold many places in fond memory, but I cannot think of a better place for our kids to grow up than the coast of eastern North Carolina,” he adds. “True to the State’s motto ‘Esse Quam Videri (to be, rather than to seem)’ we have great schools, seafood that is fresher than any high-end restaurant in New York or Tokyo and beaches that rival many top tourist destinations, all with a very down to earth attitude.” ■