TAGA Names 2015 Michael H. Bruno Award Winners: Guy Gecht, Frank Romano and Erwin Widmer

PITTSBURGH—February 3, 2015—Guy Gecht, CEO, EFI; Frank Romano, professor, Rochester Institute of Technology; and Erwin Widmer, deputy managing director, Ugra, have been named the recipients of the 2015 Michael H. Bruno Award for outstanding contributions to the graphic arts industry. The award is bestowed annually by the Technical Association of the Graphic Arts (TAGA).

The Michael H. Bruno Award from TAGA recognizes professionals with distinguished careers in appreciation of their dedicated service and contributions to the advancement of graphic arts internationally. Established in 1948 as a forum for reporting on new research and technology in the graphic arts, TAGA is an international organization of technologists, scientists, technical and production personnel in the printing and allied industries.

Guy Gecht, CEO, EFI, is a hands-on visionary CEO who has helped redefine the role printing plays in the global communications and marketing industries. He has also helped make EFI a leader in technical innovation, guiding it to becoming one of the industry’s most successful publicly traded companies.

After graduating with a B.S. in Computer Science and Mathematics from Ben-Gurion University in Israel, he served five years (1985–1990) as an officer in the Israel Defense Forces (IDF). At the age of 25, he had more than four years’ experience managing people and very complex high-tech projects in a timeframe when personal computers were beginning to edge out minicomputers. Following the IDF, Gecht began working at Apple’s Europe and Israel subsidiaries, and after nearly a year in that role, he made the decision to move to America. Gecht began his career at EFI as an engineering executive in 1995.

At the time he joined EFI, the company primarily served the office printing market, providing EFI Fiery RIPs to the industry’s leading printer manufacturers. Four years later, he was promoted from director of software engineering to vice president and general manager of Fiery products. He became the company’s president in mid-1999 and moved into his current position, CEO, in January 2000.