Latest news with #WorldWideTechnology
Forbes
30-04-2025
- Business
- Forbes
Forbes Richest Person In Every State 2025
For the third straight year, Forbes has scoured the nation to find the richest person in every state. We again found billionaires in all but three. The 54 entrepreneurs, investors and heirs on the 2025 ranking (including ties) are worth a record $2 trillion combined, up $400 billion since last year's list. Five states have a new no. 1—all because one rich resident has overtaken another, rather than the high-profile, out-of-state moves that have shaken things up in past years. Among the states whose wealthiest person changed in 2025 is Missouri, where the richest Black American, IT mogul David Steward (estimated net worth: $11.4 billion) of St. Louis-based World Wide Technology, has surpassed John Morris ($9.6 billion) of Springfield-based Bass Pro Shops. Meanwhile, in neighboring Arkansas, Bentonville-based Walmart heir Rob Walton ($113 billion) takes the title from his brother Jim Walton ($112 billion). The world's wealthiest woman, their sister Alice Walton ($104 billion), remains a distant second in Texas, behind the world's wealthiest person, Elon Musk ($388 billion), who moved to the Lone Star State from California in 2020. Across the country in Washington, former Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer ($118 billion) beats out his old boss Bill Gates ($108 billion), after Forbes upped its estimate of the 2021 divorce settlement secured by Gates' ex-wife Melinda French Gates ($30.2 billion). French Gates now ranks as the third richest person in the Evergreen State, one spot ahead of MacKenzie Scott ($26.7 billion), whose ex-husband Jeff Bezos ($206 billion) of Amazon has been Florida's wealthiest resident since announcing his move from Washington to Miami in 2023. In Wisconsin, Diane Hendricks ($21.9 billion) is one of 10 women who are the richest residents of their respective states, up from nine last year. The Republican megadonor and cofounder of Beloit-based roofing giant ABC Supply, overtakes John Menard, Jr. ($21.5 billion), who founded the Eau Claire-based home improvement chain Menard's. And then there's New Jersey, where hedge fund tycoon John Overdeck ($7.4 billion) reclaims his state's top spot from cable TV mogul Rocco Commisso ($5.8 billion), an Italian immigrant who moved with his family to New York City at age 12 in 1962. While at least one of America's 868 billionaires can be found in almost every state, nearly two-thirds of them live in just four: California (194), New York (137), Florida (116) and Texas (81), where the competition for the top spot is particularly tough. That's especially true in the Golden State, which is home to four of the seven richest Americans, including Oracle's Larry Ellison ($175 billion) and Alphabet's Larry Page ($135 billion) and Sergey Brin ($129 billion), who are all too poor to make this year's list, given Palo Alto resident Mark Zuckerberg's $189 billion fortune. In contrast, 10 states have just one billionaire: Alabama, Idaho, Iowa, Kentucky, Maine, New Mexico, North Dakota, Rhode Island, South Dakota and Vermont. Alaska, Delaware and West Virginia are still the only states without a billionaire, though Brad Smith, the retired CEO of Intuit and current president of Marshall University, is knocking on the door in the Mountain State, with an estimated $900 million net worth. Smith has been West Virginia's richest person since the 2023 ranking, when he overtook the state's former billionaire governor and current U.S. senator Jim Justice, who Forbes now estimates is broke and buried under more than $1 billion of debt and other liabilities. Forbes Richest Person In Every State 2025
Yahoo
24-03-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Missouri agency accused of illegally steering contracts to well-connected company
A lawsuit alleges World Wide Technology was given unfair advantages over its competitors, violating state procurement law and exposing the state to potential liability if anyone found out (Getty Images) A longtime state employee is accusing Missouri officials in a new lawsuit of subverting competitive bidding laws in order to steer lucrative technology contracts to a well-connected company, then demoting him when he raised red flags. In a lawsuit filed earlier this month in Cole County against the Missouri Office of Administration, Rodney Rice alleges 'deliberate bias' toward St. Louis-based World Wide Technology in awarding state IT contracts. CONTACT US World Wide Technology is one of the largest privately-held companies in the country. It was founded by David Steward, a prolific Missouri political donor who has contributed $2.3 million to mostly Republican campaigns over the last decade. The company has been paid $53 million by the state over the last two years. The state gave World Wide Technology numerous unfair advantages over its competitors, Rice alleges in his lawsuit, violating state procurement law and exposing the state to potential liability if anyone found out. When he brought his concerns to his supervisors, Rice says he was admonished for being an 'obstructionist' and demoted. Rebecca Morrison, a spokeswoman for World Wide Technology, said in an emailed statement that the company 'is committed to a fair procurement process and upholds the highest ethical standards.' The Office of Administration did not respond to a request for comment. After 20 years in state government, Rice says in his lawsuit that he was appointed in March 2023 as director of the Enterprise Project Management Office, which oversees various IT projects and the contractors to whom they are awarded. Rice believed one of his key responsibilities in the new role was to 'ensure that the various agencies in state government followed the state's procurement regulations and procedures to ensure well-connected vendors did not receive an unfair advantage over their competitors.' Shortly after taking the job, he says he 'began to suspect a deliberate bias toward (World Wide Technology) in the state's IT contracts.' Specifically, the lawsuit says Rice grew concerned when he realized a former World Wide Technology employee was leading the State Data Center, which awarded numerous projects to the company. World Wide Technology won 'a majority of the state's 'infrastructure' contracts even in cases where it did not submit the lowest bid,' Rice alleges. 'In fact, (the company) had been awarded one contract even though it had submitted the highest bid, which was millions of dollars more than the bids from other approved vendors.' Though Missouri has rules permitting the selection of 'clearly inferior bids,' the lawsuit states, 'none of those rules had been followed in the case of (World Wide Technology).' Rice says his concerns were heightened when he learned the state provided a current employee of World Wide Technology key card access to an office in the Truman State Office Building in Jefferson City, a privilege he says no other vendors are provided. He later learned the state was using World Wide Technology contractors to work on the preparation of a new project that had not yet been put out to bid, 'which would give (World Wide Technology) an unfair advantage in the bidding process.' SUBSCRIBE: GET THE MORNING HEADLINES DELIVERED TO YOUR INBOX He first raised his concerns in January 2024, the lawsuit says, and was told by a superior that the state's IT infrastructure was 'not sufficiently decentralized and could be irreparably destroyed in the event of a catastrophic failure.' 'To prevent the legislature and the public from learning just how vulnerable the state's computer networks were,' Rice alleges, state leaders decided to bend procurement rules to award World Wide Technology the project 'to ensure that the system was updated as quickly as possible.' A month later, Rice says World Wide Technology was allowed to change the terms of a project after it had already been sent out to vendors for competitive bids. World Wide Technology would be paid for time and materials regardless of whether it met benchmarks laid out in the project proposal that was previously provided to its competitors. Concerned that awarding the contract to World Wide Technology based on 'far more favorable terms' would likely violate state law, Rice says he spoke to the Office of Administration's legal department for advice. He says he was advised by the agency's attorneys to stop the entire bid process and reissue a revised request to ensure that all vendors had a fair chance at winning the bid. But that was later overruled by his supervisor, who Rice alleges told him to let the bid process proceed unabated without notice to the other vendors. The next month, Rice says his supervisor informed him his department 'has become too black and white when it comes to contracts and many IT leaders see us as an obstruction and slow them down.' He was given a choice of accepting demotion or being placed on a performance improvement plan, which he understood would have led to his dismissal 'after sufficient time to paper his file.' Calling the decision a 'Hobson choice,' Rice says he 'accepted' a demotion and a pay cut on April 16, 2024. Rice's lawsuit alleges he was punished for 'disclosing violations of state procurement law, regulation and policy that exposed the State of Missouri to potential liability in the tens of millions of dollars.' SUPPORT: YOU MAKE OUR WORK POSSIBLE
Yahoo
13-03-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
World Wide Technology Announces Completion of Softchoice Acquisition, Expanding Software, Cloud, Cybersecurity and AI Capabilities
Acquisition creates complete portfolio of solutions across World Wide Technology and Softchoice with premier offerings that deliver comprehensive support across clients' full AI and digital transformation journeys ST. LOUIS & TORONTO, March 13, 2025--(BUSINESS WIRE)--World Wide Technology (WWT), a US$20 billion global technology solutions provider, today announced it has completed the acquisition of Softchoice, a software and cloud-focused IT solutions provider. The approximately US$1.3 billion acquisition enhances WWT's capabilities to support clients across the entirety of their AI and digital transformation journeys. This strategic move reflects WWT and Softchoice's shared commitment to delivering tailored, high-impact solutions to a diverse and expanding client base. WWT's clients will now have access to a more comprehensive portfolio of software, cloud, cybersecurity and AI solutions. The acquisition broadens WWT's client base of large enterprise, service providers and public sector markets in the U.S. and around the world to include Softchoice's focus in Canada and within the Commercial, Small and Medium Business markets across North America. Softchoice can now expand offerings and consultant-led services for clients, including across infrastructure and hardware, via access to WWT's state-of-the-art Advanced Technology Center (ATC), AI Proving Ground Lab and integration centers, and by leveraging WWT's differentiated AI, cloud, security and digital capabilities. Jim Kavanaugh, Co-Founder and Chief Executive Officer of WWT: "This strategic transaction brings together two high-performing organizations focused on delivering groundbreaking solutions that help accelerate AI adoption and the digital transformation journeys of organizations across the globe. We are thrilled to welcome Andrew Caprara, the leadership team and the entire Softchoice organization to the WWT team. Our shared focus on innovation, people and culture will deliver even greater value to our expanded client base." David Steward, Founder and Chairman, WWT: "We are excited to add Softchoice's specialized software, cloud, cybersecurity and AI-based services, expanding WWT's portfolio of solutions in our proprietary ATC and AI Proving Ground. This combination will magnify our presence in global markets, across both enterprise and small and medium size businesses for all industries." Andrew Caprara, President and CEO of Softchoice: "We truly believe our complementary capabilities deliver an offering that no other company in the industry can match. Softchoice and WWT are exceptionally well aligned in our focus to propel organizations forward, while maintaining a deep commitment to being a great place to work for all. Together, I am confident that we will continue to build our world-class culture and drive growth and tangible business value for those we serve." Founded in Toronto, Canada, Softchoice has grown over its 35-year history to become Canada's premier technology solutions provider, delivering secure, AI-powered cloud and digital workplace solutions supported by its advanced software asset management methodology and capabilities, known as SAM+. Softchoice collaborates with a broad range of technology partners, including Adobe, AWS, Cisco, Google and VMware, and has a 30-year partnership with Microsoft, which recognized Softchoice as a 2024 Americas Partner of the Year. Through the near-term, Softchoice will operate as Softchoice, a World Wide Technology company. Softchoice President and CEO Andrew Caprara will remain as CEO. As WWT and Softchoice grow together, they are positioned to solve more client challenges with end-to-end solutions including bringing faster AI adoption to a wider market and across more channels. Accelerating Enterprise AI Adoption The rapid evolution of AI has significantly increased demand for generative AI solutions. This acquisition builds on WWT's strategic US$500 million investment over three years to help organizations accelerate AI adoption at the enterprise level through solutions and resources such as WWT's ATC, which enables clients globally to experiment, develop and verify technology strategies from across WWT's expansive partner ecosystem of hundreds of hardware and software providers. Housed in the ATC is also WWT's first-of-its-kind AI Proving Ground lab environment where organizations can try, test and validate AI applications unique to their business needs and use cases. Softchoice brings to WWT a strategic partnership with Microsoft that further enhances their abilities to develop, sell and deliver Microsoft's cloud and digital workplace AI and security solutions, including Microsoft Copilot for Microsoft 365 and Microsoft Copilot for Security. Shared Culture of Innovation Driven by its mission to be a great place to work for all, WWT's innovative culture has been recognized by top organizations across the globe, including 13 consecutive years as one of the Fortune 100 Best Companies to Work For®. Softchoice shares this same ambition, with certification from Great Place to Work® in both the U.S. and Canada and 19 consecutive years of recognition as a Best Workplace in Canada. More details on the deal may be found here. About World Wide Technology Founded in 1990, World Wide Technology (WWT) is a global technology solutions provider leading the AI and Digital Revolution. With more than $20 billion in annual revenue, WWT combines the power of strategy, execution and partnership to accelerate digital transformational outcomes for organizations around the globe. Through its Advanced Technology Center, a collaborative ecosystem of the world's most advanced hardware and software solutions, WWT helps clients and partners conceptualize, test and validate innovative technology solutions for the best business outcomes and then deploys them at scale through its global warehousing, distribution and integration capabilities. With over 12,000 employees across WWT and Softchoice and more than 60 locations around the world, WWT's culture, built on a set of core values and established leadership philosophies, has been recognized 13 years in a row by Fortune and Great Place to Work® for its unique blend of determination, innovation and creating a great place to work for all. Connect with WWT: Twitter | Instagram | Facebook | LinkedIn About Softchoice, a World Wide Technology company Softchoice Corporation, a World Wide Technology company, is a software and cloud-focused IT solutions provider that equips people to be engaged, connected and creative at work, and organizations to be agile, innovative, and secure by delivering AI-powered cloud and digital workplace solutions. Through our mission, we unleash the potential in people and technology to unlock value for our customers as we guide them through their transformation journey with comprehensive end-to-end solutions. We have a highly engaged, high-performing team that is welcoming, inclusive, and diverse in thought and experience, and are certified as a Great Place to Work® in Canada and the United States. For the past 19 years, we have consistently been recognized by Great Place to Work® as a Best Workplace in Canada. For more information, visit: View source version on Contacts Media Contact: Sara SteindorfFleishmanHillard for Lauren CrawfordSpecialist, Communications and Brand, Sign in to access your portfolio
Channel Post MEA
26-02-2025
- Business
- Channel Post MEA
Cisco Expands Partnership With NVIDIA
Cisco has announced plans for an expanded partnership with NVIDIA to provide AI technology solutions to enterprises. Enterprises recognize that AI is essential to growth but remain early in their adoption as they navigate the unique technical complexity and security demands of operating AI-ready data centers. The expanded partnership aims to give organizations flexibility and choice as they look to meet the demand of AI workloads for high-performance, low-latency, highly power-efficient connectivity within – and between – data centers, clouds, and users. 'A robust and scalable AI ecosystem is key to driving the transformative power of AI,' said Hans Vestberg, Chairman and CEO of Verizon. 'This expanded partnership between Cisco and NVIDIA, just like our Verizon AI Connect strategy and solutions, builds towards accelerating and enabling resource-intensive AI workloads at the Edge of the network.' The NVIDIA Spectrum-X Ethernet networking platform based on Cisco and NVIDIA silicon will form the foundation for many enterprise AI workloads. By enabling interoperability between both companies' networking architectures, the two companies are prioritizing customers' needs for simplified, full-stack solutions. The goal of the expanded partnership is to allow customers to optimize their AI infrastructure investments with a common architecture, using their existing management tools and processes, spanning front and back-end networks. 'Enterprises are under immense pressure to deploy AI quickly and effectively, and many leaders struggle to justify the investment while balancing the risks,' said Chuck Robbins, Chair and CEO, Cisco. 'Together, Cisco and NVIDIA are partnering to remove barriers for customers and ensure they can optimize their infrastructure investments to unlock the power of AI.' 'Advancing at lightspeed, AI will revolutionize every industry,' said Jensen Huang, founder and CEO, NVIDIA. 'NVIDIA Spectrum-X is Ethernet enhanced and supercharged for AI. Together with Cisco's enterprise platforms and global reach, we can help companies worldwide build state-of-the-art NVIDIA infrastructure as they race to transform with AI.' By making it easier to integrate and standardize on both Cisco and NVIDIA technology, customers will benefit from current and future technology advancements in the NVIDIA Spectrum-X platform such as adaptive routing, telemetry, congestion control and low latency, as well as Cisco's broader networking, security, and digital resilience portfolio, including the Splunk data platform. As businesses develop AI capabilities and train models on their own data, having a comprehensive security strategy becomes crucial. 'World Wide Technology's long-standing partnerships with Cisco and NVIDIA has already resulted in cutting-edge AI solutions that drive innovation and business transformation,' said Jim Kavanaugh, Co-Founder and CEO, World Wide Technology. 'By leveraging the strengths of Cisco's deep expertise in the data center and NVIDIA's advanced AI technologies, we are poised to deliver unparalleled value to our customers and help them navigate the complexities of AI adoption with confidence.' Cisco and NVIDIA: Accelerating AI workload adoption in the enterprise Together, the two companies are committed to bringing new levels of innovation to accelerate the adoption of AI within enterprises. Focusing on simplifying deployment and operations, while improving workload performance and visibility, the objective of this deeper partnership is to deliver the highest performance Ethernet solutions available for AI workloads and extend NVIDIA's Spectrum-X architecture to include Cisco Silicon One, making Cisco the only partner silicon supported in Spectrum-X Ethernet solutions. In addition, the expanded partnership will help move enterprise data center Ethernet AI projects from prototype to full deployment, which would otherwise be limited to public cloud or SaaS services. Today, Cisco and NVIDIA are planning to develop joint solutions for customers. Cisco will develop data center switches with the NVIDIA Spectrum Ethernet platform. The open ecosystem approach will provide customers with more choices and flexibility. Organizations can standardize on the NVIDIA Spectrum-X networking platform with both Cisco and NVIDIA switch silicon-based architectures, bringing the industry-leading technologies from both companies under a single management fabric. The open ecosystem approach will provide customers with more choices and flexibility. Organizations can standardize on the NVIDIA Spectrum-X networking platform with both Cisco and NVIDIA switch silicon-based architectures, bringing the industry-leading technologies from both companies under a single management fabric. Cisco will collaborate with NVIDIA to create and validate NVIDIA Cloud Partner (NCP) and Enterprise Reference Architectures based on NVIDIA Spectrum-X with Cisco Silicon One, Hyperfabric, Nexus, UCS Compute, Optics, and other Cisco technologies. with Cisco Silicon One, Hyperfabric, Nexus, UCS Compute, Optics, and other Cisco technologies. Cisco and NVIDIA are committed to collaboration and joint development, aiming to deliver the highest-performing Ethernet solutions for customers. The companies plan for continued collaboration to address significant challenges like congestion management and load balancing so that customers can scale and secure AI deployments. Cisco plans to enhance its Silicon switches to be compatible with Spectrum-X and NVIDIA's reference architectures. These updates will be available in the middle of calendar year 2025, including existing and upcoming Cisco Nexus, Cisco Nexus Hyperfabric, and Cisco UCS products. The timeline for new Cisco Spectrum switches will be announced at a later date. 0 0
Associated Press
25-02-2025
- Business
- Associated Press
World Wide Technology Broadens Presence and Logistics Capabilities In United Kingdom
World Wide Technology (WWT), a global technology solutions provider with more than $20 billion in annual revenue, today announced the expansion of its logistics capabilities in the United Kingdom to serve global enterprise clients, building upon WWT's steady growth in the region. Located in Coventry, England, the WWT UK Integration Center reduces delivery costs, optimises speed of technology to market and meets the growing customer demand in the region. Increasingly, digital transformation is driving corporate growth of UK businesses. According to a recent study from the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology, 74% of organisations identified developing artificial intelligence (AI) products as a key driver of future growth. As businesses navigate this digital journey, the WWT UK Integration Center supports clients in deploying innovative solutions and systems, including those powered by AI, more quickly, safely and effectively. With the capacity to store and ship thousands of complex IT solutions weekly, the warehouse enhances asset management and inventory control to support clients' digital transformation strategies. 'This is a celebratory moment for WWT as we seek to continue growing our presence and support for clients in the United Kingdom,' said Steve Pelch, WWT Chief Operating Officer. 'Having doubled our EMEA growth in the past two years and significantly increased our UK-based headcount, this facility is a reflection of our diligent work to meet increasing demand for digital transformation and accelerate business outcomes for enterprises across the globe.' Building on the company's existing EMEA presence, this warehouse extends the power of WWT's best-in-class European Integration Center in Amsterdam, enabling improved performance across every level of service. With an already-proven track record of enhancing supply chain efficiencies and optimising financial investments for global service provider (GSP) clients, the warehouse now provides enterprises with expedited last-mile service and the ability to effectively scale the deployment of IT systems and solutions. With this new warehouse space, WWT now has 100 thousand square feet of warehouse and integration capacity spanning four buildings in the UK and more than five million square feet globally. To learn more about WWT and its newly expanded warehouse solutions, please visit: About World Wide Technology Founded in 1990, World Wide Technology (WWT) is a global technology solutions provider leading the AI and Digital Revolution. With more than $20 billion in annual revenue, WWT combines the power of strategy, execution and partnership to accelerate digital transformational outcomes for large public and private organizations. Through its Advanced Technology Center, a collaborative ecosystem of the world's most advanced hardware and software solutions, WWT helps clients and partners conceptualize, test and validate innovative technology solutions for the best business outcomes and then deploys them at scale through its global warehousing, distribution and integration capabilities. With over 10,000 employees and more than 55 locations around the world, WWT's culture, built on a set of core values and established leadership philosophies, has been recognized 13 years in a row by Fortune and Great Place to Work® for its unique blend of determination, innovation and creating a great place to work for all. SOURCE: World Wide Technology Copyright Business Wire 2025. PUB: 02/25/2025 05:00 AM/DISC: 02/25/2025 05:00 AM
