Jim Kavanaugh Inducted into the Smurfit Stone Entrepreneurial Alumni Hall of Fame
ST. LOUIS – October 18, 2010 – World Wide Technology, Inc. (WWT), a market-leading systems integrator that provides innovative technology and supply chain solutions, today announced the company's Chief Executive Officer and Co-Founder, Jim Kavanaugh, was inducted into Saint Louis University's prestigious Smurfit Stone Entrepreneurial Alumni Hall of Fame.
Honored for his achievements in the Large Enterprise category, Kavanaugh was one of eight 2010 inductees recognized at a special event held by the University on October 2 of this year. The annual award recognizes SLU graduates who have contributed to society through entrepreneurial leadership and service to the community.
Ellen Harshman, Ph.D., J.D., dean of SLU's John Cook School of Business, said each of the honorees represent the University's ongoing commitment to business excellence and serving others. "Through their inspirational personal and professional achievements, each of the nominees represents the SLU ideal of collaboration to build strong businesses, individuals and communities," Harshman said.
Jim Kavanaugh serves as the Chief Executive Officer of WWT which he co-founded with David Steward in 1990. Kavanaugh and his proven management team have helped WWT grow from a small start-up technology company into a world-class organization that is approaching $3 billion in revenue, has more than 1,300 employees and is recognized as a leading systems integrator.
In the early years, Kavanaugh solidified WWT's financial position through profitable growth and a $27.5 million venture capital investment which was repaid in 2005. Over the past 10 years, the company has achieved average growth of over 20% per year. Kavanaugh currently focuses his time in the areas of long term planning, strategic acquisitions, financial performance, employee development, and passionately overseeing WWT's unique corporate culture. Prior to founding WWT, Kavanaugh worked at Future Electronics and played professional soccer. He received his Bachelor of Science in Business Administration from St. Louis University (SLU) in 1986.
"I am honored to be recognized by the University and my peers who have selected me for this award," said Kavanaugh. "I feel very blessed and I am continually impressed by WWT's winning culture, which I am confident will take us to the next level of success and help us continue to deliver impressive growth for years to come."
Aside from his induction into the Smurfit Stone Entrepreneurial Alumni Hall of Fame, Kavanaugh has won numerous business, entrepreneurial and charitable awards over the years. He currently serves as a Board Member and Vice President of St. Patrick's Center for the Homeless. He and WWT also support a number of other charities such as the United Way, Ronald McDonald House, Toys for Tots, MS Society, Race for the Cure, American Red Cross, Habitat for Humanity, YMCA and Children's Hospital.
About WWT
World Wide Technology, Inc. is a systems integrator that provides innovative technology and supply chain solutions to the commercial, government and telecom sectors. The company brings to market a powerful blend of knowledge, infrastructure and technology to help its customers manage the planning, procurement and deployment of IT products and solutions. Based in St. Louis, WWT works closely with industry leaders including Boeing (NYSE: BA); Sun Microsystems (NASDAQ: JAVA); Dell (NASDAQ: DELL); Cisco Systems (NASDAQ: CSCO); EMC (NYSE: EMC); HP (NYSE: HPQ); AT&T Inc., (NYSE: ATT); VMware (NYSE: VMW); Citrix Systems, Inc. (NASDAQ: CTXS); NetApp, Inc. (NASDAQ: NTAP); Microsoft (NASDAQ: MSFT) and the U.S. Air Force. WWT employs over 1,200 people and operates more than 2 million square-feet of warehousing, distribution and integration space in 20 facilities throughout the world. For more information on World Wide Technology, visit www.wwt.com.
Contact:
Edward Levens for WWT
(919) 225-8328