Nextiva CEO Honored for Outstanding Leadership

Nextiva, a cloud communications company, announced last week that its CEO Tomas Gorny was recognized with the William F. McWhorter Award at the 2016 Governor’s Celebration of Innovation Awards presented by the Arizona Technology Council. The William F. McWhorter Award is presented by the Arizona Technology Council to an individual or organization that contributes to Arizona’s technology industry through community involvement, leadership, visibility, and excellence in economic development activity.

Based on Gorny’s resume, it’s clear what his priorities are and why he was chosen for the award. Gorny is a respected leader in the Arizona community and technology industry but, most importantly, he leads by example. He is involved in day to day operations and takes part in developing and implementing overall growth strategies and product innovation for Nextiva. His efforts to improve his companies speak for themselves; Gorny is CEO of Nextvia and SiteLock, and both companies were named the two fastest growing tech companies in Arizona last year by the Deloitte Tech Fast 500 list.

Those accomplishments are strictly business-related. What sets him apart and made him the best candidate for the award is his list of pursuits that expand past the workplace, to the Arizona community as a whole. In 2012, Gorny began his mission to improve his Arizona community by founding the Gorny Foundation. The purpose of his foundation is to improve health research, educational programs and global advocacy. Then, in 2015 he created Nextiva Cares, which is a formal philanthropic program at Nextiva. Through this program, Nextiva partners with a different not-for-profit organization in the Arizona community each month to raise awareness. Nextiva helps run campaigns, donates supplies and money, volunteers and offers educational programs to help raise awareness about whatever issue the not-for-profit stands for. In his spare time, Gorny also likes to speak at events in the community, where he offers advice about business and the technology industry.

Everyone seems to wholeheartedly agree that Gorny deserves the award: “Tomas embodies the ‘lead by example’ philosophy better than anyone I know,” says Yaniv Masjedi, Nextiva’s Vice President of Marketing. “He is always looking for ways to give the people in our community more opportunities—whether it’s through job creation, funding for health research, or advocating for the Arizona tech industry. His generosity knows no bounds.”

Gorny truly does deserve the William F. McWhorter Award and, by the sound of it, it looks like he’s not slowing down anytime soon.

Edited by Maurice Nagle