FAU Honors Naren Gursahaney as Business Leader of the Year
FAU’s College of Business honored Naren Gursahaney, ADT president and chief executive officer, on Wednesday at the 24th annual Business Leader of the Year Awards breakfast at the Boca Raton Resort & Club.
Gursahaney, center, has focused on making ADT a world-class customer-centric organization by building a strong management team, shaping the company’s culture, and maintaining and growing the company’s industry leadership position.
Florida Atlantic University’s College of Business honored Naren Gursahaney, ADT president and chief executive officer, on Wednesday at the 24th annual Business Leader of the Year Awards breakfast at the Boca Raton Resort & Club. This year’s program celebrated the accomplishments of ADT and Gursahaney’s leadership.
Gursahaney has focused on making ADT a world-class customer-centric organization by building a strong management team, shaping the company’s culture, and maintaining and growing the company’s industry leadership position. Under his direction, ADT is poised for continued growth through new and expanded revenue streams and a focus on continued innovation.
“As is often the case, individuals are recognized for what teams do,” Gursahaney said in accepting the award. “And that couldn’t be more true than today and the recognition that I’m receiving.”
Gursahney thanked his wife and children for their support and the sacrifices they have made as he pursued his career, which has involved several moves throughout the country and around the world. He also recognized the invaluable advice he has received from various mentors throughout the years as he faced different challenges.
“But really, the award today is about the ADT team,” he said. “I have had the joy over the last nine years to work with an incredibly talented organization. We get to help save lives for a living, and that’s really cool to have that kind of noble profession. And what we are able to do through the ADT Always Cares program to give back to the community. I can’t tell you how proud I am to be part of the ADT team.”
ADT was founded in 1874 as American District Telegraph Company, and it served a need for communications and messaging services on what was then state-of-the-art telegraph technology. Now, more than 140 years later, ADT uses communications technologies that seem unimaginable at the time the company was founded, while its core home and business safety and security solutions still meet customer demands.
“As I spoke with some of Naren’s colleagues, they noted his integrity, his intelligence, his drive for excellence, but also his humility, and especially his care for people – his customers, his employees and most of all his family,” said Daniel Gropper, Ph.D., dean of FAU’s College of Business. “These are great characteristics and ones that characterize so many of our business leaders.”
Gursahaney was previously president of Tyco Security Solutions, the largest operating segment of Tyco International, which included ADT Security Services. His extensive experience in enhancing the operational efficiency of multi-billion dollar organizations brought him to Tyco in 2003 to launch and lead a companywide operational excellence initiative. He then served as president of Tyco Engineered Products and Services, a $7 billion division, and its Flow Control business.
Prior to joining Tyco, Gursahaney spent 10 years in leadership roles at General Electric, including general management, marketing, and business development and information technology. He was president of GE Medical Systems Asia, chief information officer of GE Medical Systems and vice president of service for GE Medical Systems Asia.
Before GE he served four years with Booz Allen & Hamilton, a leading global consulting firm. He began his career as an engineer with Westinghouse Electric in the U.S. and Israel, where he worked on the company’s F-16 co-production program.
Gursahaney has an M.B.A. from the University of Virginia’s Darden School of Business Administration, and a Bachelor of Science degree in mechanical engineering from Penn State University. He has been honored with the Outstanding Engineering Alumni Award from Penn State, and serves on the board of directors of NextEra Energy, Inc.
A portion of the sponsorship dollars raised from the Business Leader of the Year event will provide scholarships to FAU students. These awards are granted to students enrolled in the College of Business at FAU who have strong academic achievement and demonstrate leadership qualities.
Since 1991, FAU’s College of Business has presented the Business Leader of the Year award, honoring the work of outstanding contributors to the overall business climate of the southeast region of Florida and the state. Gursahaney joins other honored recipients of the award, including Jeffrey Stoops, Jordan Zimmerman, Wayne Huizenga, Jim Robo, Mike Jackson, Ronald Assaf, Alexander Dreyfoos, Jim Moran, Carl DeSantis, Bud Paxson, Jerry Levin, Pat Moran, Jeb Bush, Alan Levan and Mike Maroone.
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