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(RICHARDSON, TX – August 1, 2023) – She’s been the face of the GXA brand for the past several years and CEO of the fast-growing Dallas-Fort Worth IT company for more than three, but Dr. Alicia Makaye is ready for something more.
‘What is more than CEO?’ one might ask. Well, for Dr. Alicia Makaye that means expanding her public involvement – as a more engaged philanthropist, board member, and public speaker. She won’t be leaving GXA, only transforming roles. She will become the company’s Chief Outreach Officer where she will refocus her efforts from day-to-day operations to strategic oversight and community-focused work. She already serves on multiple boards, including a college, university and nonprofit and is an in-demand public speaker.
In 2021, Dr. Makaye took the helm of the company she founded with her husband George Makaye. Although the husband-and-wife team had always worked together to build GXA, this marked a new phase of her leadership, where she navigated the company towards rapid growth by making crucial decisions and setting new priorities.
What she did changed the company culture and left an indelible mark. It also propelled revenues beyond any previous business cycle.
“Alicia spent a lot of time building a team that likes coming into work, likes what they do and who they do it for,” George Makaye said. “The team I left her with was highly skilled technically, but today, we have a more cohesive, well-trained team that is providing even better, more responsive support to our clients. I’m proud of what Alicia accomplished.”
Although she will no longer oversee the day-to-day technical operations, Dr. Makaye will maintain her connection with GXA administrative teams, thereby ensuring continuity and enhancing the processes she put in place. Overall operations will once again be George Makaye’s purview.
Despite Dr. Alicia Makaye serving as CEO for the past three years, George Makaye has never been too far from the picture, serving as Principal Advisor and offering strategic insights during his wife’s term of leadership. At the same time, he managed his cybersecurity venture, Makaye InfoSec. Both businesses are now well positioned, no longer requiring him to prioritize one over the other.
“I think George’s transition back to CEO will be seamless,” Alicia Makaye said. “He knows the business inside and out and he’s been privy to every major change we’ve made these past few years. The work he does with Makaye Infosec dovetails beautifully with what GXA does and serves many of the same types of businesses.”
Both Makayes are confident their customers and employees will be happy with the transition.
“Alicia will continue to oversee our administrative team, ensuring HR, payroll, accounting and marketing stay on track, but she won’t be immersed in the technical day-to-day operations,” George Makaye said. “I’m looking forward to stepping back in and ensuring our customers’ needs are met and that operations continue to run smoothly as we scale the business. Alicia has put processes in place that will make it possible to take GXA to the next level.”
ABOUT GXA
GXA is an award-winning IT consulting company located in Richardson, Texas. GXA was recognized by Inc. as one of the fastest-growing IT companies in the nation in 2014, 2019, and 2020 and as one of Texas’ most inspiring and fastest-growing companies in 2020. GXA is a managed service provider (MSP) that provides solutions and support to innovate businesses, improve operational efficiencies, achieve competitive advantages, and simply put—build stronger businesses and build strong communities.
Founded in 2004 and incorporated in 2008, GXA has helped hundreds of companies in dozens of industries in the Dallas-Fort Worth area transform their technology from an expense to a profit center. We provide IT solutions, consulting, disaster, and business continuity planning services, managed technology solutions, backup & data recovery, cybersecurity, and cloud computing services. Businesses outsource their IT services to GXA for peace of mind, which includes 24/7 network monitoring. GXA focuses on helping businesses understand how technology can be used to leverage their vision.