ACADEMIA

Fortinet and Gilead Sciences received 2012 GROW! Awards from ACG Silicon Valley at a sold-out ceremony with 81 CEOs and over 200 other Valley executives in attendance. The event was held at the Computer History Museum in Mountain View, California on April 24, 2012.

Fortinet won the GROW! Award for Emerging Growth Company while Gilead received the GROW! Award for Outstanding Growth Company.

Paul Saffo, renowned Silicon Valley technology forecaster, keynoted the awards ceremony. James Chapman, ACG Silicon Valley President and partner with Foley & Lardner, served as Master of Ceremonies. Proceeds from the event benefited the Computer History Museum.

ACG Silicon Valley, which is the Silicon Valley Chapter of the Association for Corporate Growth, selected the winning 2012 companies in each category via a thorough review of the historical financial performance of all public companies headquartered in Silicon Valley. This screening process produced a short-list of nominees that the selection committee then researched, considered, and debated before each member voted on final candidates.

The 2012 GROW! Awards Underwriting Sponsor is U.S. Trust, Bank of America Private Wealth Management. Platinum Sponsors include: NetApp; EMC; Oracle; Deloitte; and Foley & Lardner. Gold Sponsors include: BDO; Insperity; Kaye Scholer; Silicon Valley/San Jose Business Journal; and Wells Fargo.

Silver Sponsors include: Aston Martin Los Gatos; Digital 360 Agency; Houlihan Loukey; KPMG; Land Rover San Jose; Merrill DataSite; Needham; OCSC Sailing; Opinion Bridge; Robert Half; and Silicon Valley Bank.

Bronze Sponsors include: Cadence; Comerica Bank; EffectDesign; Gilead Sciences; Heffernan Insurance Brokers; Loopking Wines; Lunder Real Estate Services; Montgomery Professional Services; Ola's Coffee & Tea; SingerLewak; SRPR | Shev Rush Public Relations; and Vision Systems International.