ACP CreativIT Rebrands to Tusker, Signals Bold National Growth Strategy

CHICAGO, IL – January 13, 2026 – In a move signaling a major shift in the mid-market IT solutions landscape, ACP CreativIT announced today it is unifying its operations under a new national brand: Tusker. The rebranding consolidates five regional technology firms acquired over the last nine years and sets the stage for an aggressive national growth strategy, positioning the company as a formidable competitor in an increasingly consolidated industry.

The new identity is more than a name change; it represents the culmination of a deliberate, multi-year strategy to build a comprehensive technology services powerhouse. With a team of over 400 specialists operating from hubs in Chicago, Boston, Green Bay, Duluth, and Eau Claire, Tusker aims to blend national reach with the high-touch service of its regional predecessors.

A National Brand Forged from Regional Strength

Tusker's foundation is built upon a series of strategic acquisitions orchestrated by its parent investment firm, The Zaf Group, which began with the 2017 purchase of Arlington Computer Products (ACP), a Chicago-area IT distributor founded in 1984. This was followed by the acquisitions of Green Bay's Camera Corner Connecting Point in 2018, Duluth-based Citon Computer Corporation in 2022, Boston's Versatile Communications just seven months later, and most recently, Chicago-based Mindsight in 2025.

Each of these companies was a respected, often family-owned, institution within its community, bringing decades of experience and deep client relationships into the fold. The challenge has been to weave these distinct entities into a single, cohesive unit without losing the local expertise that made them successful. The rebrand to Tusker is the most visible step in that integration process.

"With five acquisitions over nine years, we have expanded our geographic reach while also building a robust lineup of advisory, professional, managed and lifecycle solutions that enable us to solve virtually any IT challenge for our clients," said Tusker CEO Matt Zafirovski in a statement. "This rebrand provides an instantly recognizable corporate identity that will help raise our profile as we continue to bring new regional providers into the Tusker family."

The move aims to create a singular identity that reflects the company's combined strength and simplifies its go-to-market strategy, especially as it eyes further expansion.

The Playbook: Consolidation in a Fragmented Market

Tusker's formation is a textbook example of a powerful trend sweeping the IT services sector: consolidation. The market for mid-sized business IT support is historically fragmented, populated by thousands of smaller, regional Managed Service Providers (MSPs). In recent years, private equity firms and family offices have been executing "roll-up" strategies—acquiring multiple smaller players to build a single, scaled-up platform with a national footprint.

This strategy is driven by several factors, including the intense demand for digital transformation, the growing complexity of cybersecurity threats, and the attractive recurring-revenue models that MSPs offer. For investors, combining regional leaders creates an entity that can compete for larger contracts, achieve economies of scale, and offer a broader portfolio of services.

Behind Tusker is The Zaf Group, a family office founded by Mike and Robin Zafirovski. Unlike typical private equity firms with shorter investment horizons, The Zaf Group focuses on long-term ownership and operational development of family-owned businesses. Mike Zafirovski's extensive leadership background, including CEO roles at Nortel and Motorola, suggests a focus on operational excellence and strategic growth. This patient-capital approach provides Tusker with a stable financial backing to pursue its long-term mission of acquiring and integrating additional firms.

Beyond the Brand: Integrating Services for a Modern Clientele

For clients in sectors as diverse as healthcare, education, manufacturing, and government, the key question is what the Tusker rebrand means for service delivery. The company's promise is to deliver the best of both worlds: the comprehensive capabilities of a national provider and the personalized, partnership-based approach of a local firm.

The combined entity boasts a wide array of capabilities. For a nationwide healthcare client, this can mean everything from traditional hardware support to advanced AI-driven workflow improvements. In education, it translates to creating modern interactive classrooms and securing the underlying network infrastructure. For large venues like sports stadiums, Tusker's portfolio includes services ranging from digital scoreboards to AI-enabled physical security systems.

The success of this strategy hinges on seamless integration. The legacy firms, such as Citon Computer Corp. and Versatile Communications, built strong reputations and garnered industry accolades, including spots on CRN's prestigious MSP 500 list, for their expertise and client-centric service. Tusker's challenge is to merge these award-winning service cultures and technical platforms into a unified operating model that delivers consistent quality across all regions. Early case studies from the formerly separate entities suggest this integration is already underway, with cross-company expertise being leveraged to deliver complex solutions.

The Path Forward: Growth and Competition

The company has made it clear that the rebrand is not an end point, but a launching pad. With additional acquisitions expected later this year, Tusker is poised to continue its expansion. This aggressive growth places it in direct competition with other large, consolidated MSPs and national IT solutions providers who are also vying for dominance in the lucrative mid-market space.

Tusker's strategic differentiation appears to be its commitment to preserving the "customer-centered focus" of the family-owned businesses it acquires. By maintaining regional hubs and empowering local leadership—the press release notes that the owner-operators of the acquired firms remain active in the business—the company hopes to avoid becoming a faceless national corporation. It is a calculated effort to scale up without scaling back the personalized service that built its foundation. As businesses across the country navigate an increasingly complex technological landscape, Tusker is betting that this blend of national power and local touch will be a winning formula.