Tomas Gorny | |
---|---|
Born | Zabrze, Poland |
August 21, 1975
Residence | Scottsdale, Arizona |
Nationality | Polish |
Citizenship | American |
Years active | 1996-present |
Employer | Unitedweb (CEO) |
Home town | Zabrze, Poland |
Board member of
|
Nextiva (CEO) Unitedweb (Chairman, CEO) Endurance International Group (Board member) |
Tomas Gorny (born August 21, 1975) is a Polish-born American businessman. He is the co-founder, chairman, and CEO of Unitedweb and Nextiva, a cloud business communications company. In 2001 he founded iPower (formerly iPowerweb), a website hosting company. By 2003 IPOWER became the fastest growing website hosting provider in the United States.[1][2]
Early life and education
Tomas was born and raised in Poland. He attended college in Germany, but dropped out two months before graduation to move to the United States in 1996.
Career
Prior to moving to the United States, he founded a number of companies including Trendsetter, a personal computer distribution company. In the US, he joined Internet Communications, which he helped grow to 40,000 customers and shepherd through a successful acquisition.
In 1998, Tomas co-founded iBoost, a content syndication company that was funded by Softbank Venture Capital.[3]
In October 2001, Tomas founded iPower and served as CEO for 7 years, growing the company to the second largest web hosting service provider in the United States with over one million customers.[4][5] In 2007, Tomas orchestrated a merger between IPOWER and Endurance International Group,[6] and until the partial sale to Warburg Pincus and Goldman Sachs, he remained the largest individual shareholder.[7] Endurance International Group (NASDAQ: EIGI) went public in 2013 and Tomas remains on the board of directors of the company.
In 2008, Tomas co-founded Unitedweb, a concept of a holding company and incubation company focusing on creating companies that are redefining the SMB and SME space. Unitedweb founded Nextiva, a business cloud communication provider and also co-founded IBS, a data technology company. Both companies are leaders in their industries, serving over 1 million customers and employing over 300 people in Scottsdale.[8]
On May 12, 2014, Tomas was recognized by the Phoenix Business Journal in their annual 40 Under 40 class.[9]
Philanthropy
In 2012, Tomas founded a 501(c)3 non-profit organization, The Gorny Foundation. The foundation funds global advocacy programs, health research as well as education and local community programs.
Private life
Tomas is married and a father of five children.[10]
See also
References
- ^ Davis, Mandy (21 January 2004). "Fastest Growing Large Hosting Companies in 2003". Netcraft. Retrieved 18 April 2014.
- ^ Thomas Gorny Businessweek profile
- ^ "SOFTBANK Venture Capital Makes Investment in iBoost.com." (Press release). iBoost Technology, Inc. 8 May 2000. Retrieved 18 April 2014.
- ^ Johnson, Andrew (26 May 2007). "The sky is the limit for 35 entrepreneurs 35 and younger". AZ Central. Retrieved 23 April 2014.
- ^ Dahl, Darren (1 September 2006). "Would You Recommend Us?". Inc. Retrieved 17 April 2014.
- ^ Young, Ty (9 May 2007). "Ipower signs merger deal with Massachusetts Web company". Phoenix Business Journal. Retrieved 23 April 2014.
- ^ Demos,Telis; Dezember, Ryan (15 March 2013). "Web Hoster Endurance International Preps for IPO". The Wall Street Journal. Retrieved 18 April 2014.
- ^ Ringle, Hayley (10 March 2014). "Nextiva to hire 100 in Scottsdale". Phoenix Business Journal. Retrieved 17 April 2014.
- ^ Lowery, Ilana (12 May 2014). "Introducing the Phoenix 40 Under 40 class of 2014". Phoenix Business Journal. Retrieved 14 May 2014.
- ^ Clark, Dorie (2 July 2014). "R&R for CEOs: How to Take a Thinking Break". The Middle Market Center. Retrieved 22 July 2014.