Mohamad-Ali-GLAH2019Chief Executive Officer of Carbonite, a publicly traded cloud company providing data protection and cybersecurity for global businesses.

Born in Guyana to parents from poor rural families, Mr. Ali came to the U.S. when he was 11. In New York, the family built a new life, and in 1991, he became a U.S. citizen. By then, he was a student at Stanford University, where he earned a bachelor’s degree in computer engineering and a master’s degree in electrical engineering.

Mr. Ali found success in technology, serving as Vice-President at IBM, President at Avaya, and as Chief Strategy Officer at Hewlett Packard. He has led Carbonite since December 2014. In 2018, he was named CEO of the Year by the Massachusetts Technology Leadership Council.

Mr. Ali is also a champion for social justice, focusing his personal philanthropy on improving access to education for underprivileged children. He serves on the board of directors of Oxfam America, and he and his family have opened gender violence prevention centers in El Salvador and Guatemala, built girls’ schools in Somalia and Pakistan, and established an arts scholarship for children here in Massachusetts.

Speaking at a naturalization ceremony at the JFK Presidential Library in 2017, he said immigrants who have endured hardship recognize “what a gem America is,” and want to make the most of it.

“You will work hard, study hard, create businesses, create jobs, and build our American economy, because you know what life is like elsewhere and you chose America,” he said. “It is from the best of humanity, immigrants to this land, that America is built. You have been our nation’s strength and you will continue to be. Your citizenship is our badge of honor and our hope.”

For showing the American Dream is alive and well, and generously expanding opportunities for others, we are proud to honor Mohamad Ali at Give Liberty a Hand 2019.