Sirius CEO Najim Makes Good On His Community Commitment

VARBusiness 500 No. 78 Lifetime Achievement Award

The recent announcement that Sirius Computer Solutions has finalized a recapitalization and equity partnership agreement with Thoma Cressey Equity Partners might have initially led to thoughts of Najim's selling out and retiring. Not so. In fact, Najim explains he is using the majority of his proceeds from the transaction to set up the Harvey Najim Foundation to support children and education in the greater San Antonio area.

Najim is hiring an executive director to oversee the foundation; he will serve on its board, along with his two daughters, to guide the foundation's efforts to improve the community where he lives and works. His goal is to ultimately build a foundation with about $200 million to $250 million in the next four to five years.

"I've always talked about becoming a service leader instead of a business leader, and I want my claim to fame to be that I was a philanthropist," Najim says.

He also wants to make it clear that he is sticking around to lead Sirius to the next level.

"There will be no management changes as a result, and Sirius will continue to operate as an independent entity," says Najim, adding that he remains the single largest shareholder in the company and that Sirius management still maintains "significant ownership" in the company.

But amid a market ripe for consolidation, Najim says he saw the writing on the wall and wanted access to the capital.

"We're aggressively going to grow Sirius and thinking of acquisitions as we speak," he says.

For Thoma Cressey, this will be the third major investment in companies in the IBM iServer arena in recent months.