Atlanta-based Garden City Companies, which counts corporate board director - Maggie Wilderotter; Ritz Carlton founder - Horst Schulze; Onepath co-founder and former president Chad Merrill; Athlete and Entrepreneur - Drew Brees, among its advisors and investors, invested in Connext, one of the nation’s leading partners for large scale technology deployments.
Formerly a division of Trextel, a broader network management platform, Connext will now operate exclusively under its new brand name, derived from its ability to help customers connect what’s next.
Connext, headquartered in Atlanta, GA, is the partner of choice for many national chains and multi-site retailers in need of scalable IT project management and installation solutions. Connext has expertise in network infrastructure, point-of-sale systems (POS), and digital signage, and a proven track record of completing critical technology deployments on-time and on-budget. Over the past ten years, Connext has deployed over 1M+ devices for 100+ large enterprise customers.
“I've always been a strong believer of purpose-driven businesses that are committed to customer service and servant leadership,” said Horst Schulze, Founder of the Ritz Carlton. "I am excited to be a part of the Connext family where they constantly strive to provide second-mile service, build healthy and inspiring cultures, and create an environment where God is honored in all they do."
“Finding an experienced IT deployment partner who can handle complex deployments across national footprints with excellence is rare, but a tremendous value-add” said Drew Brees, Owner of Walk-Ons Sports Bistreaux. “Connext has a proven track record on these projects that sets them apart from the rest.”
“We are excited to help Connext become the best IT deployment company in the country,” said Maggie Wilderotter, Board Director of Costco, DocuSign, Lyft, Sana and Former CEO of Frontier Communications. “By partnering with key industry verticals where our scale capabilities can provide competitive advantage, we believe Connext will set a new standard of excellence and differentiation in IT deployment.”
Michael Arrieta, Founder and CEO of Garden City Companies shares in the excitement, adding “We are excited to welcome Connext into the Garden City family where we will help accelerate their growth by forming strategic partnerships, focusing on best-in-class deployments and continuing to invest in a high-performance leadership team.”
According to Arrieta, Garden City has no intention to ever sell the company. “We’re not like traditional private equity that buys and flips companies in a few years. We buy great businesses to impact the lives of people and create lasting enterprises through culture and technology." he said.
Stephen Ayoub, President of technology value-added reseller AHEAD, notes that the need for a quality deployment partner will continue to increase over the next ten years. “With IOT, 5G and SD-WAN becoming a reality and the proliferation of devices at the edge, IT leadership must have a partner they can rely upon to deploy the technology at their sites” said Ayoub.
Garden City is actively seeking to invest in other IT deployment and service companies to further expand their portfolio offerings nationwide.
