Business News
Guy Gecht to Receive 2017 Soderstrom Award
Friday 21. July 2017 - Idealliance, the association for the Visual Communications and Media Industry, is pleased to announce that Guy Gecht, Chief Executive Officer of EFI, will be honored as the recipient of the 57th annual Walter E. Soderstrom Award.
The award will be presented at the gala Soderstrom Awards Dinner at the University of Chicago Gleacher Center, Chicago, Ill., 7 p.m. to 9:30 p.m. on Saturday, Sept. 9, the evening before the opening of the PRINT 2017 show.
“Guy Gecht has a distinguished record of leadership in our industry and an unparalleled dedication to its progress and technological innovation,” said David Steinhardt, President and Chief Executive Officer of Idealliance. “He is a singularly worthy recipient of this significant honor and Idealliance is delighted to present him with its 2017 Walter E. Soderstrom Award.”
Known for his insight and strong vision of the printing industrys future, Gecht has helped redefine the ways printing companies pursue new markets and refine their production operations and has guided EFI to become one of the industrys most successful publicly traded companies.
Gecht joined EFI in 1995 and served in a variety of management and engineering roles, including company President, before becoming Chief Executive Officer in January 2000. From 1996 to 1999, he led engineering efforts for its largest product line and became Vice President, General Manager of EFI’s Fiery Servers Division. He led his team to dramatically expand EFI’s server product line, launching more than 35 products in 1998 alone.
Gecht was named a “Legend of Silicon Valley” in 2013 by the Frost & Sullivan Institute and a 2015 Game Changer by the Silicon Valley Leadership Group. In 2015 he also received the Technical Association of the Graphic Arts (TAGA) Michael H. Bruno Award for his dedicated service and contributions to the advancement of the global graphic arts industry. Gecht holds a Bachelor of Science degree in mathematics and computer science from Ben Gurion University in Israel.
In addition to honoring the Soderstrom Award recipient, the annual Soderstrom Awards Dinner will induct 11 industry leaders into Idealliances prestigious Soderstrom Society. The Class of 2017 Soderstrom Society inductees will be named shortly. The Soderstrom Award and Society are named for Walter E. Soderstrom, a founder of Idealliance predecessor association NAPL.