[September 07, 2016]

The Arizona Technology Council Announces Select Winners and Finalists for the 2016 Governor's Celebration of Innovation

The Arizona Technology Council and the Arizona Commerce Authority today announced Individual Award winners, Company Award finalists, and Student and Teacher Awards for the 2016 Governor's Celebration of Innovation Awards (GCOI) presented by Avnet. The awards honor the visionaries of Arizona's technology ecosystem whose passion and dedication energize Arizona's rapidly growing technology community.

"We were pleased to receive such a strong group of applicants and congratulate this year's finalists and winners on their exceptional contributions to Arizona's technology sector," said Steven G. Zylstra, president and CEO of the Arizona Technology Council. "These awards represent brilliant, dedicated individuals and companies who work hard to ensure we are building an Arizona economy based on innovation."

"The 2016 GCOI winners and finalists are representative of the amazing talent and quality of advanced technology companies we have here in Arizona," said Sandra Watson, Arizona Commerce Authority President & CEO. "We truly appreciate the tremendous contributions they have made in advancing our state's innovation ecosystem and congratulate all of the winners and finalists on this well-deserved honor."

The Individual/Company Award winners are:

• William F. McWhortor Community Service Leader of the Year: Tomas Gorny, CEO, Nextiva, Scottsdale
• Ed Denison Business Leader of the Year: Brian Mueller, president & CEO, Grand Canyon University, Phoenix
• Pioneering: Intel (News - Alert), Chandler
• Judges Award: WebPT, Phoenix

One company within each of the following categories will be announced as the winner at the GCOI event:

• Innovator of the Year - Start-Up Company: Allbound, Phoenix; Life365, Peoria
• Innovator of the Year - Small Company: AB&R (American Barcode and RFID), Phoenix; AGM Container Controls, Tucson; SimpleView, Tucson
• Innovator of the Year - Large Company: Avnet, Inc., Phoenix; Facility Source (News - Alert), Phoenix; Nextiva, Scottsdale
• Innovator of the Year - Academia: Arizona State University Biodesign Institute, Tempe; University of Arizona Eller College of Management Tucson; University of Arizona West Center, Tucson

Teacher of the Year Award Winner:

• Christine Sapio, Coconino High School, Flagstaff

Teacher Honorable Mentions:

• Marni Landry, Paradise Valley High School, Phoenix
• Pradip C Misra, Bagdad High School, Bagdad

Future Innovators of the Year Award Winners:

• Kailash Raman, Sandra Day O'Connor High School, Phoenix
• Rahul Ramesh, Hamilton High School, Chandler
• Aakanksha Saxena, Desert Mountain High School, Scottsdale
• McKenna Loop, Arizona College Preparatory- Erie, Chandler

Future Innovators of the Year Honorable Mentions:

• Simon Shen, Desert Vista High School, Phoenix
• Akshata Rudrapatna, Hamilton High School, Chandler

GCOI will be held on Thursday, November 10, 2016 at the Phoenix Convention Center, 100 North Third Street, in the West Building from 4:00 p.m. - 8:00 p.m. The theme of this year's event is "Inspiring Growth." Bringing over 1,000 of Arizona's finest technologists and business leaders under one roof to celebrate the state's technology innovation, the GCOI will consist of a theatre-style awards program followed by specialty desserts and live music. The event will also feature the Technology Showcase of over 50 Arizona companies exhibiting. Tickets are on sale now and can be purchased online at aztechcouncil.org.

Winners and finalists were evaluated and chosen by the following selection committee of experts independent of the Council:

• Susan Engle, Avnet
• James Goulka, Arizona Tech Investors
• Doug Hockstad, Tech Launch Arizona
• William Loux, Arizona Technology Enterprises
• Eric Miller (News - Alert), Phoenix Analysis Design Technologies
• Mary O'Reilly, PhD, CEM Science Foundation Arizona
• Bob Rasmussen, Honeywell Aerospace

About the Arizona Technology Council

The Arizona Technology Council is Arizona's premier trade association for science and technology companies. Recognized as having a diverse professional business community, Council members work towards furthering the advancement of technology in Arizona through leadership, education, legislation and social action. The Arizona Technology Council offers numerous events, educational forums and business conferences that bring together leaders, managers, employees and visionaries to make an impact on the technology industry. These interactions contribute to the Council's culture of growing member businesses and transforming technology in Arizona. To become a member or to learn more about the Arizona Technology Council, please visit www.aztechcouncil.org.

About the Arizona Commerce Authority

The Arizona Commerce Authority (ACA) is the state's leading economic development organization with a streamlined mission to grow and strengthen Arizona's economy. The ACA uses a three-pronged approach to advance the overall economy: recruit, grow, create - recruit out-of-state companies to expand their operations in Arizona; work with existing companies to grow their business in Arizona and beyond; and partner with entrepreneurs and companies large and small to create new jobs and businesses in targeted industries. Visit azcommerce.com for more.

About Avnet, Inc.

From components to cloud and from design to disposal, Avnet, Inc. (NYSE:AVT) accelerates the success of customers who build, sell and use technology by providing a comprehensive portfolio of innovative products, services and solutions. Avnet is a global company ranked on the FORTUNE 500 with revenues of $26.2 billion for the fiscal year 2016. For more information, visit www.avnet.com.

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