Contatta Co-Founder and CEO Pat Sullivan to Receive OneNeck IT Services' Lifetime Achievement Award at 2014 Governor's Celebration of Innovation

PHOENIX, Aug. 25, 2014 /PRNewswire/ -- The Arizona Technology Council in conjunction with the Arizona Commerce Authority today announced that Pat Sullivan, co-founder and CEO of Contatta, will be presented with the "OneNeck IT Services People's Choice Lifetime Achievement Award" during the 2014 Governor's Celebration of Innovation Awards (GCOI) presented by Avnet, Inc.

In its eleventh year, GCOI will be held on November 13, 2014 at the Phoenix Convention Center, 100 North Third Street, in the West Building, third floor from 4:00 p.m. – 8:00 p.m. Each year, GCOI brings over 1,000 of Arizona's finest business leaders under one roof to celebrate the state's technology innovation and leadership. The evening will include a plated dinner, specialty desserts and live music. Tickets are on sale now and can be purchased online at aztechcouncil.org.

Following tradition, the Lifetime Achievement Award nominees are chosen by public vote. Sullivan joins an impressive list of honorees including: renowned architect Paolo Soleri in 2008, former Intel CEO and chairman, Craig Barrett in 2009, Steve Sanghi, president, CEO and chairman, Microchip Technology in 2010, Roy Vallee, retired chairman and CEO of Avnet Inc. in 2011, former CEO and Chairman of Motorola, Inc., Gary Tooker in 2012 and Eric and Tim Crown of Insight Enterprises in 2013.

"It's an honor to be joining a group of industry leaders that I greatly admire as a recipient of this prestigious award," said Sullivan. "I've had plenty of hurdles to overcome and accomplishments to celebrate during my career of developing software and technology and I've done most of it here in Arizona. It's important to keep innovation on the forefront in our state so that we can build the type of economy needed to sustain real wealth and compete on a global stage."

Building on his foundation and success in sales, Sullivan became Co-Founder and CEO of ACT!, and built it into the number one best-selling contact and customer manager. Following ACT!'s purchase by Symantec, he founded SalesLogix in 1995 and led its revenue growth to $108 million, a successful IPO and the repurchase of ACT! in 1999. Sullivan ultimately sold SalesLogix and ACT! to The Sage Group in 2001.

Sullivan was named one of the "80 Most Influential People in Sales and Marketing History" among Henry Ford, Walt Disney, Jack Welch and Bill Gates by Sales and Marketing Management. He was also twice named Ernst & Young "Entrepreneur of the Year" for both ACT! and SalesLogix. Sullivan has served as a mentor and board member for various tech companies, and is currently working on revolutionizing the sales CRM industry with the introduction of Contatta, where he is the co-founder and CEO.

"We've all witnessed Pat's success in the software industry and many of us have been one of his millions of customers," said Steven G. Zylstra, president and CEO of the Arizona Technology Council. "We are proud to call Pat one of our state's own and we are looking forward to celebrating his lifetime of achievements in November."

The remaining Individual and Corporate Innovator and Pioneer award winners will also be honored at GCOI including Future Innovators (Arizona students), Arizona Teacher of the Year, Tech Ten Awards (Arizona legislators) plus Arizona Senator of the Year and Arizona Representative of the Year. 

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.

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SOURCE Arizona Technology Council