Arizona Commerce Authority CEO Sandra Watson, CampusLogic and Benchmark Electronics were among the winners announced Thursday night at the 15th annual Governor’s Celebration of Innovation.
Steve Zylstra, president and CEO of the Arizona Technology Council, which co-sponsors the event with the Arizona Commerce Authority, said the winning companies play a part in advancing Arizona as a top-tier technology state.
“As our economy continues to boom, innovation becomes more important than ever,” Zylstra said in a statement. “It is essential that we celebrate the creative spirit of Arizona by recognizing and honoring the state’s technology leaders and up-and-comers.”
The winners, announced at a ceremony at the Phoenix Convention Center, included:
Company award winners:
- Innovator of the Year – Startup Company: BlackBar Engineering (formerly BrockTek), a Tucson-based engineering and manufacturing company that specializes in the development and operation of unmanned systems, subsystems and components.
- Innovator of the Year – Small Company: CampusLogic, a Chandler-based student financial services software company. CampusLogic raised a $55 million investment in April to help it expand with new products and through new acquisitions.
- Innovator of the Year – Large Company: Benchmark Electronics Inc. (NYSE: BHE), a Scottsdale-based contract tech component manufacturer. Benchmark’s new headquarters is under construction in Tempe’s Rio2100 office complex.
Paul Tufano, Benchmark’s president and CEO, said the company moved its headquarters from the Houston area to Arizona in 2017 to bring its leadership together, leverage the growing technology community and focus on innovation.
