VARBusiness 500 Lifetime Achievement: Harvey Najim

Harvey Najim is being humble when he credits the people around him--customers, employees, partners and the community--for his success.

"All you can do is do all that you can every day and be the best you can," he sagely advises would-be solution providers. "Be fair with your customers, be fair with your partners, give back to the community and, in the end, good things will happen."

Many good things have happened to and because of Najim in the quarter-century since he founded San Antonio-based Sirius Computer Solutions. His latest achievement: earning this year's VARBusiness 500 Lifetime Achievement Award. It's easy to see why.

After leaving IBM in 1980, Najim started his company primarily as a reseller of used computer goods. In time, he branched out into IBM midrange systems and mainframes, distribution and services. Today, Sirius is No. 78 on the VARBusiness 500, with more than 4,000 customers and an annual revenue of around $579 million.

Scores of former Sirius employees have benefited from Najim's tutelage by going on to build careers and companies. Avnet's entire IBM distribution business is based on a division Najim sold in the late 1990s. And Najim gives back to his community, through charities such as the United Way.

"He's gracious, and his people love him because he cares," says Avnet president Fred Cuen. "He provides the environment for success. Harvey enables the power of the people--their growth is his growth."