MBE Spotlight: Firoz Lalji, Zones

Firoz Lalji is chairman, CEO, and co-founder of Zones, one of the most reliable IT solutions providers in the industry. Throughout the company’s 30-year history, Lalji has provided the vision and leadership to transform Zones into a global solutions provider and award-winning business enterprise. In addition to Zones, Lalji owns the Fana Group of Companies, an investment holding company operating in the U.S. and Canada. Before his tenure at Zones, Lalji was the founder, president, and CEO of Kits Cameras, Inc., which became a 225-store chain across the U.S. and Canada. He sold Kits Cameras in 1997 and joined Zones as CEO in 1998.

Zones helps clients reduce the cost of IT procurement through:

  • Authorized availability of more than 250,000 products and solutions from 2,000 leading IT manufacturers, including IBM, Lenovo, HP, Cisco, and Microsoft
  • Broad portfolio of professional services available nationwide
  • ZonesConnect™ online procurement system that provides customized purchase management to streamline IT procurement

Zones is a proactive partner with both clients and suppliers and holds prestigious statuses including:

  • Premier Business Partner with IBM
  • Diversity Partner in HP’s Diversity Program under PartnerOne
  • Elite Business Partner with HP
  • Premier Business Partner with Lenovo
  • Microsoft Large Account Reseller (LAR)
  • Premier Partner with McAfee
  • Cisco Gold Certified Partner

Born in Uganda, Lalji obtained his Bachelor of Science in economics from the London School of Economics and attended Harvard Business School. He serves on many advisory boards, including the Board of Directors of US Bank of Washington, the Foster School of Business at the University of Washington, the London School of Economics, and the Pacific Northwest Ballet. Lalji is also the founder and chairman of the Program for African Leadership (PFAL) Foundation, www.pfalfoundation.org, which grants African students scholarships. Additionally, he runs the Program for African Leadership at the London School of Economics.