Harvey Najim – 3/12/11
Chairman and CEO – Sirius Computer Solutions
President – The Harvey E. Najim Family Foundation
Harvey Najim is the Chairman and CEO of Sirius Computer Solutions, Inc. Mr. Najim founded the company in 1980 under the name Star Data Systems. In 1997, Mr. Najim renamed his company Sirius, after the brightest star in the universe. Since then he has been working to make the company live up to its name. His innovative business vision has led Sirius to become a nationally recognized technology provider with 2010 proforma revenues of approximately $1.1B., 1,100 employees, and over 138 locations across the United States.
Mr. Najim built the company by providing technology solutions from industry leaders such as IBM, HP, Cisco, Dell, and NetApp, as well as forming strategic business relationships with leading software vendors. Initially, the company concentrated on reselling IBM midrange systems, specifically the IBM AS/400, to small and medium sized businesses. In 1992, Mr. Najim expanded sales and marketing efforts to include resellers through the IBM Value Add distribution channel. In September 1997, the distribution business was sold to Western Micro Technology (now Avnet Partner Solutions). The end user business was spun off as Sirius Computer Solutions, and continues to operate today with Mr. Najim as Chairman and CEO.
Sirius has been an IBM Premier Business Partner for twenty years, has been the only IBM Business Partner to be awarded the IBM Business Partnership Leadership Award for 14 consecutive years, and is now the world’s largest IBM Solution Provider. In addition to winning several IBM Beacon Awards over the last eight years, Sirius was awarded with the IBM Business Partner Excellence Award for the Americas in March 2006. In February 2001, Harvey Najim was awarded the highest honor given to a Business Partner by IBM: the IBM Lifetime Achievement Award. At that time, IBM estimated that Sirius had contributed over $1.5 billion in revenue since becoming an IBM Business Partner, and today that number is approximately $5 billion.
Sirius is the only IBM Business Partner to score 100% in all categories on the Business Partner Scorecard. They have also received the IBM Worldwide Overall Technical Vitality Award three years in a row (the only years it has been awarded).
In June 2004, a strategic acquisition broadened Sirius’ ability to serve thousands of IBM customers across the U.S. by representing the entire line of IBM hardware, software and services. In addition to Sirius’ offerings in midrange servers, storage, software and services, the acquisition expanded the company’s enterprise capabilities in mainframe solutions, high-end storage, printing solutions and point-of-sale solutions.
In June 2005, Sirius was recognized by CMP Media’s VARBusiness magazine as one of North America’s top technology integrators, ranking 97th in the 11th annual VARBusiness 500. In addition, Mr. Najim was recognized in the Top 100 Executives as a market leader, and Sirius received the VARBusiness Technology Innovator Award in the server category. In June 2006, Sirius ranked 77th in the 12th annual VARBusiness 500, and Mr. Najim was awarded the Lifetime Achievement Award by VARBusiness magazine.
Prior to founding Sirius, Mr. Najim spent thirteen years in various technical, marketing and management capacities for the IBM Corporation. He also served his country in the United States Army as a First Lieutenant at HQ BAMC as the Assistant Chief of Data Processing. Harvey Najim graduated from the University of Wichita with a B.A. in Mathematics in June of 1964. He attended the President’s Class at the Wharton School of Finance in June of 1990, as well as the Owner President’s Class at Harvard University in October 1994.
Mr. Najim is a former member of the board of directors of J.P. Morgan Chase Bank in San Antonio, and is the former chairman of the board of directors of San Antonio Federal Credit Union. He is also a former member of the boards of directors of both Junior Achievement and Respite Care of San Antonio. He currently serves as a member of the Board of Trustees of St. Mary’s University. Mr. Najim continues to be recognized for his outstanding leadership in campaigning for the United Way of San Antonio and Bexar County.
In December 2006, Mr. Najim established the Harvey E. Najim Family Foundation to help children’s charitable organizations in the greater San Antonio, Texas area. Mr. Najim has donated $82 million to the Foundation, which supports various public charities that advance children’s education, children’s medical treatment, medical research for illnesses and diseases affecting children, and other children’s charitable purposes. His Foundation has given out approximately $25 million in Grants and Pledges during the past 3 ½ years.
Mr. Najim was inducted into the San Antonio Business Hall of Fame in 2009 and was inducted into the Texas Business Hall of Fame in November 2010. His extraordinary leadership traits have made him successful in the business world, the technology industry, and his community. Sirius employees share Mr. Najim’s unwavering commitment to excellence and customer satisfaction.
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