CEO Spotlight
Every month Angel Mehta, Sterling-Hoffman Managing Director, chats with some of the greatest leaders in the software industry. |
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CEO Spotlight: Interview with Niraj Tenany, CEO, Netwoven
Interview Published: May 2010
With the belief that a CEO who succeeds must have the right team, business plan, passion and persistence, Niraj Tenany gives credit to luck as well. The Sterling Report talks with him about his opinions on onsite and offshore resources, entrepreneurship and more. |
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CEO Spotlight: Interview with Peter Harrison, GlobalLogic Inc
Interview Published: January 2010
He fell in love with software
over 20 years ago and is still
going strong. The Sterling
Report interviews Peter
Harrison, CEO of Global Logic,
who believes in the importance
of communication and creating a
vibrant corporate culture. He
talks about his global outlook
and working across cultures and
distance. |
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CEO Spotlight: Interview with Anil Pagar, SpadeWorx Software Services
Interview Published: November 2009
Anil Pagar, CEO of SpadeWorx,
believes in creating customer
satisfaction through concern,
aptitude, responsiveness and
empathy towards customer
problems. As a CEO whose
objective is to assist his
customers in meeting their
goals, Anil is an entrepreneur
to watch out for. He chats with
The Sterling Report about his
background, cricket teams and
designing innovative software
with the end-user in mind. |
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CEO Spotlight: Sam Chebib, Nightingale Informatix Corporation
Interview Published: September 2009
One of the fastest growing
software companies in North
America thinks it can help solve
the healthcare crisis by showing
doctors how to run more
profitable clinics – and deliver
better care to patients at the
same time. Angel Mehta, Managing
Director of Sterling-Hoffman
chats with Sam Chebib, CEO of
Nightingale Informatix, about
entrepreneurship, helping
doctors save lives, and the
exploding market for electronic
medical records (EMR)
technology. |
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CMO Spotlight: Edward Vesely, Vision Solutions
Interview Published: September 2009
The Sterling Report recently spoke with Edward Vesely, Vision
Solutions’ Senior Vice President
of Marketing and Business
Development, about marketing
leadership. We got several
interesting perspectives about
how some leaders are better
suited for management rather
than leadership roles. |
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CTO Spotlight: Alan Arnold, Vision Solutions
Interview Published: July 2009
For someone who started out thinking he’d be a professional drummer, Alan Arnold has carved an enviable niche for himself in the tech world. As CTO, Alan has led Vision Solutions in his own direct style, partnering with some of the top people in the business. The Sterling Report chats with Alan to find out more about his hobbies and his thoughts on the current economic downturn. |
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Ashish Chona, InSync Software, Inc.
Interview Published: March 2009
Despite widespread skepticism of RFID and other Auto ID solutions, Ashish Chona, CEO and Co-Founder of InSync Software, Inc. talks with The Sterling Report about how he has brought the technology successfully into the mainstream market, leveraging the constant buzz and delivering actual ROI for customers using their software applications. |
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Michael Kohlsdorf, ADERANT
Interview Published: February 2009
With increasing competition and
more demanding clients, Michael
Kohlsdorf, the President and CEO
of ADERANT, talks with The
Sterling Report about ADERANT’s
focus on providing software and
business solutions to law firms,
his hobbies and ADERANT’s new
products. |
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Mark Shirman, GlassHouse Technologies
Interview Published: January 2009
IT isn’t a very sexy business,
but his vision created a
successful company based on a
sorely underserved segment –
data storage. Mark Shirman,
President and CEO of GlassHouse
Technologies, chats to The
Sterling Report about inspiring
his employees through example,
what the market will bring in
2009 and the launch of The
GlassHouse Academy. |
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Craig D. Norris, Attensity
Interview Published: December 2008
Running one of the top text
analytics solution companies is
no easy task, which is why Craig
Norris, CEO of Attensity, sees
running a company as a team
sport. Craig talks with The
Sterling Report about his
hobbies, some of the
misconceptions the public has
about his company and on why a
company’s current stage of
development matters when one is
a CEO from a non-technical
background. |
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Israel Mazin, OpTier
Interview Published: November 2008
Knowing that the right teams
make a company great, Israel
Mazin believes that intelligent
and motivated people have
limitless potential. The CEO and
Chairman of OpTier, a company
that provides innovative
solutions to link business
services to IT, chats with The
Sterling Report about what the
future holds for OpTier and
Business Transaction Management. |
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Jim Howard, CrownPeak
Interview Published: October 2008
His is a story of how true
determination can help you
achieve what you want. From
building a company with zero
financing to making a success of
SaaS before it was popular, Jim
Howard has faced and triumphed
over many challenges. Howard,
CEO and co-founder of CrownPeak,
talks to Angel Mehta, Managing
Director of Sterling-Hoffman, on
the challenges he faces in
making his company successful,
why delaying financing can be a
good thing, and how to make VC
financing work for you. |
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Bob Segert, GXS
Interview Published: September 2008
His experience in managing
transaction-based systems and
understanding of the services
business model make Bob Segert,
President and CEO of GXS the
right choice to lead the company
into its next phase of growth.
Bob chats with The Sterling
Report about B2B outsourcing,
SaaS and his goals for GXS. |
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Errin O’Connor, EPC Group
Interview Published: August 2008
He’s a man of many hats: a
successful CEO, an acclaimed
speaker, author and trendsetter.
Leading Microsoft
implementations in organizations
throughout the country, Errin
O’Connor, CEO and Founder of EPC
Group, believes that the
SharePoint 2007 platform will be
hot until 2011. Erin discusses
with The Sterling Report his
leadership style, what makes a
good CEO, and how SharePoint is
all set to revolutionize the
Medical Communication space. |
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John ‘Jay’ Jarrell, Objectivity, Inc.
Interview Published: July 2008
His in-depth sales experience
and obsession with quality have
been instrumental in reinforcing
Objectivity's position in the
market for scalable, reliable
databases for mission-critical
systems. John ‘Jay’ Jarrell, CEO
of Objectivity, is not just
focused on innovation, but also
on saleability. Angel Mehta,
Managing Director,
Sterling-Hoffman speaks with Jay
about the software market and
his plans for Objectivity.
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Mike Brochu, GMI (Global Market Insite, Inc.)
Interview Published:
June 2008
Inspiring and encouraging
others, and watching them grow
and succeed, is the best thing
Mike likes about his job. His
biggest challenge is getting the
right team, for people make the
biggest difference in a
company’s success. Mike Brochu,
President and CEO of GMI (Global
Market Insite, Inc.) discusses
with The Sterling Report his
idea of an ideal CEO, his
company’s successes and future
strategy, and areas in the
industry that will cause
significant changes in the
future.
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Gregory P Burnell, 6th Sense Analytics
Interview Published:
February 2008
‘A bit untypical’ is how he
likes to describe himself when
it comes to his various work
experiences. Greg thinks
differently – even when it came
to starting his own company, he
chose an area where few had
ventured before. Angel Mehta,
Managing Director of
Sterling-Hoffman, speaks with
Greg Burnell, CEO, 6th Sense
Analytics, on the company he
co-founded, his shortcomings and
the part of the job that he
dislikes the most and yet
embraces.
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Douglas Levin, Black Duck Software, Inc.
Interview Published:
January 2008
For somebody who got interested
in business by reading the Wall
Street Journal and biographies
of business titans, Douglas
Levin has come a long way from
the ‘crazy, fast-paced’
companies that he ran during the
bubble. Now, he emphasizes the
importance of hiring the right
people – people with experience,
who make a lot of difference to
a software company on the
product front. Angel Mehta,
Managing Director of
Sterling-Hoffman, talks to
Douglas Levin, CEO of Black Duck
Software, about sticking to the
rules, software industry
consolidation and the importance
of advice on big decisions. |
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Nicolaas Vlok, Vision Solutions Inc.
Interview Published: December 2007
South Africa is a continent and an ocean away from Silicon Valley – not exactly the birthplace you’d expect for one of the world’s few remaining stand alone software companies with greater than $100M in revenue. Nicolaas Vlok, CEO of Vision Solutions, chats with Sterling-Hoffman’s Managing Director Angel Mehta about lucky breaks and empowering people. |
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Annrai O’Toole, Cape Clear
Software Inc.
Interview Published: November 2007
In 1991, at just 26-years-old,
Annrai O’Toole co-founded
software firm IONA. Until
earlier this year he continued
to act as CTO there, but he’s
sold his shares and ventured out
on his own. He now acts as CEO
for Cape Clear. O’Toole recently
talked to Angel Mehta, Managing
Director of Sterling-Hoffman,
about the trials and
tribulations of starting over in
the world of software startups. |
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Robert Youngjohns, Callidus Software Inc.
Interview Published: October 2007
A graduate from Oxford with
dreams of pursuing a Ph. D in
Physics, Robert’s foray into the
software industry was
accidental. His stepping-stone
was IBM, where he plunged into
sales and went on to SUN
Microsystems and finally to
Callidus Software. In this
interview with Angel Mehta,
Manager Director of Sterling
Hoffman, Robert talks about his
journey from Oxford to Callidus
and tries to clear the
misconceptions the marketplace
has about his company. |
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Sue Welch, TradeStone Software
Interview Published: September 2007
The founder of three successful
companies, each one delivering
increasingly more sophisticated
software to handle the
complexities of global sourcing
and private label product
development, Sue Welch has many
firsts to her credit. She
delivered the first PC-based
import software to the global
market, she launched the first
Windows-based sourcing software
and delivered the first
Web-based composite application
for global sourcing and realized
her goal of global commerce.
Angel Mehta, Managing Director
at Sterling-Hoffman, chats with
Sue about all this and more. |
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Todd Gardner, SaaS Capital Inc.
Interview Published: August 2007
When business is booming, most venture capitalists can expect a great paycheck. But if you’re the head of a SaaS venture capital firm, like Todd Gardener, CEO of SaaS Capital, then a lot of business means counting on income that will only come eventually. Angel Mehta, Managing Director of Sterling-Hoffman, chats with Todd about cash flow problems, being a back up solution and the perfect borrower. |
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Matt Glickman, Merced Systems
Interview Published: May 2007
The phrase 'serial entrepreneur' comes to mind when Matt Glickman is in the
room. In the dotcom bubble, he founded BabyCenter, a website for soon-to-be
moms and dads. His current venture? An enterprise software vendor focused on
revolutionizing customer operations performance management. Angel Mehta,
Managing Director of Sterling-Hoffman, chats with Matt Glickman, CEO of
Merced Systems, about lessons from the rustbelt, finding the right business
partner, and what to do when you don't know why things aren't working. |
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Bob Calderoni, Ariba Inc.
Interview Published: March 2007
When once high-flying Ariba ran into turbulence in 2001, it handed the reigns to its resident finance-whiz, CFO Bob Calderoni. As CEO, he has presided over Ariba’s emergence as a bonafide stand-alone software company. Angel Mehta, Managing Director of Sterling-Hoffman, chats with Bob about managing a merger of equals, and revolutionizing the strategic sourcing process worldwide. |
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Michael Fields, KANA Software Inc.
Interview Published: January 2007
A random twist of fate at a job interview steered Michael Fields into the technology industry where he would eventually find himself working for Larry Ellison at the helm of Oracle USA during a somewhat troubled time in the software giant’s history. Angel Mehta, Managing Director at Sterling-Hoffman, talks to Michael Fields, CEO of KANA Software, about letting market’s mature, and a ‘radical’ decision to move jobs from India back to the USA. |
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Bob Beauchamp, BMC Software, Inc.
Interview Published: December 2006
BMC Software has without question emerged as one of the ‘superpowers’ of the enterprise software world: a company that every CIO either buys from, or will in the near future. Angel Mehta, Managing Director of Sterling-Hoffman, chats with BMC’s grown-from-within CEO Bob Beauchamp about adopting an ‘ERP vision’ for the IT department, re-teaching his sales force to sell technology (instead of financial products), and the most important list he’s ever created. |
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Jay Fulcher, Agile Software
Interview Published: November 2006
Quickly emerging as the dominant player in the market for Product Lifecycle Management software, Agile Software is a rarity: in the rapidly consolidating enterprise software business, Agile has (as of this printing) remained a standalone company. And (surprise) it's thriving. Angel Mehta, Managing Director of Sterling-Hoffman, sat down with Agile's Chief Executive Officer, Jay Fulcher, to talk about using competitive pressures, learning from the yin and yang of philosophies at PeopleSoft and SAP, and his advice for software sales executives everywhere. |
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Art Mesher, The Descartes Systems Group Inc.
Interview Published: October 2006
The rise and fall and rise (again) of logistics software company Descartes Systems is a turnaround story for the ages. Angel Mehta, Managing Director of Sterling-Hoffman, chats with Descartes' Chief Executive Officer Art Mesher about entitlement cultures, a gutsy, high-risk decision to win back customers, and creating an offer that customers guaranteeing success to customers, and how an internal game of musical chairs helped turn the company around. |
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Burton Goldfield, Ketera Technologies, Inc.
Interview Published: September 2006
Who would leave an SVP role with a market leading software company (Hyperion), in the middle of a record quarter, for a tiny software startup that most people have never heard of? Burton Goldfield, CEO of Ketera Technologies, talks with Angel Mehta, Managing Director of Sterling-Hoffman, about letting the best ideas win, what he learned when Big Blue acquired Rational, and what every sales executive should know - if they want to be CEO. |
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Dave Mitchell, webMethods, Inc.
Interview Published: August 2006
wwebMethods was one of the few bubble-era startups that grew into a real company, one with technology that is nothing less than critical to infrastructure plans of over 1300 multinational corporations. Angel Mehta, Managing Director of Sterling-Hoffman, chats with Dave Mitchell about the early tipping point, a rapidly emerging SOA market, and tricks for reigning in reckless spending. |
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David DeWalt, EMC Software Group
Interview Published: July 2006
EMC's metamorphosis from a pureplay storage company into a massive IT services provider, which also happens to be the world's seventh largest enterprise software business, is a major success story by any measure. The man charged with leading its software initiative is none other than David DeWalt, former CEO of Documentum - EMC's largest software acquisition to date. Angel Mehta, Managing Director at Sterling-Hoffman, chats with David DeWalt about crisis management, the new EMC, and what participating in over 50 liquidity events teaches you about M&A. |
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Shellye Archambeau, MetricStream, Inc.
Interview Published: June 2006
Ever wonder how to get to the top of mammoth technology companies like IBM? Volunteer for the assignments nobody wants - and find a way to hit a home run. Angel Mehta, Managing Director of Sterling-Hoffman, chats with one of IBM's highest ever ranking female executives, Shellye Archambeau (currently CEO of MetricStream) about the glass ceiling conspiracy myth, the ever blurry line between work and home, and solving the compliance issue for corporate America. |
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Michael Ruffolo, Liquid Machines, Inc.
Interview Published: May 2006
Who is more likely to steal your most private documents or intellectual property - a teen hacker, or a rogue employee? The business world is just now waking up to the fact that the biggest security threat comes from the inside, and up and coming Liquid Machines is poised to capitalize on the rude awakening. Angel Mehta, Managing Director of Sterling-Hoffman, chats with Liquid Machines' CEO Mike Ruffolo about the emerging market for enterprise rights management. |
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Janice Anderson, Onyx Software Corporation
Interview Published: April 2006
Onyx Software began its re-emergence in the enterprise CRM software market when it named the former head of Lucent's CRM Solutions unit as CEO in mid 2004. Angel Mehta, Managing Director of Sterling-Hoffman, chats with Janice Anderson about managing a company out of survival-mode, and why there's still room to grow in the market for customer relationship management software. |
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Robert Farrell, Metastorm, Inc.
Interview Published: March 2006
Business Process Management was one of the most hyped segments of the enterprise software world only a few years ago, bringing with it as big a vision for transformation as had ever been seen by corporate IT. But despite the wave of consolidation over the last 2 years, no one vendor has yet emerged as a leader - which is why Robert Farrell, leader of Metastorm, is so excited. Angel Mehta, Managing Director of Sterling-Hoffman, chats with Robert about his journey from shell fisherman to software CEO, and what Metastorm is doing to fix one of the biggest problems in IT. |
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Jeffrey Green, DATATRAK International, Inc.
Interview Published: February 2006
The biggest problem with drug companies is that despite being on the cutting edge of science, most of them are in the stone age when it comes to managing their own business. Both investors and desperate patients are getting hurt in the process. Enter enterprise software vendor DATATRAK, on a mission to help drug companies figure out what the rest of corporate America found out years ago: automation is a good thing. Angel Mehta, Managing Director of Sterling-Hoffman, talks to DATATRAK CEO Jeffrey Green about the crisis in pharmaceutical companies, and what he intends to do about it. |
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John McNulty, Secure Computing
Interview Published: December 2005
Secure Computing passed through the litmus test when it was losing $0.50 on the dollar in sales back in '99 and an easy decision would have been to file bankruptcy. But in came John McNulty with loads of Intel experience and turned the company around from losing $0.50 to making 20% operating margins last quarter. Angel Mehta, Managing Director of Sterling-Hoffman, chats with John about how Intel's culture helped him in his salvage efforts, and his whooping 1000 channel partners in the security space. |
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Scott Raskin, Telelogic AB
Interview Published: November 2005
Telelogic has touched dizzying heights despite recent economic slowdowns. Recently, Telelogic went on an acquisition spree to help spur continued growth. Scott Raskin made strategic changes while keeping the best people on board and focused. Angel Mehta, Managing Director at Sterling-Hoffman, chats with Scott Raskin about how he is growing a global company, and the challenges of being a globe-trotting executive. |
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Bob Cramer, LiveVault
Interview Published: October 2005
LiveVault made its name by tapping into the exploding market for online backup and recovery to SMBs - and now the gorillas want a piece of the action. Angel Mehta, Managing Director at Sterling-Hoffman, chats with LiveVault's CEO Bob Cramer about leaving a startup for the dark side, what not to do in your first CEO job, and how to get big by leveraging others brands. |
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Jonathan Yaron, Enigma Inc.
Interview Published: September 2005
A top-seeded Israeli tennis player, ex-soldier, and software entrepreneur: Jonathan Yaron seems to get what he wants. Enigma, which counts industry luminaries Ray Lane and Leo Apotheker as board members, is an anomaly in the consolidating world of enterprise software: an applications startup that is actually thriving. Angel Mehta, Managing Director of Sterling-Hoffman, sat down with Jonathan Yaron to talk about the early days of Enigma and how it plans to dominate a market space that old school ERP vendors seem to have ignored. |
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Francis deSouza, IMlogic
Interview Published: August 2005
The uncontrollable growth of instant messaging software in the enterprise turned out to be one of the biggest security threats to Fortune 1000 companies. The big winners have been companies like IMlogic, a startup that CIOs concerned about Instant Messaging problems have no choice but to look at. Angel Mehta, Managing Director of Sterling-Hoffman, sat down with Francis deSouza, CEO of IMlogic to chat about corporate instant messaging, the importance of values, and what he learned from the biggest company to ever succeed in holding on to its startup culture: Microsoft. |
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Mark Woodward, Serena Software, Inc.
Interview Published: July 2005
Through a series of acquisitions, Serena Software has grown from obscurity into a multi-hundred million-dollar infrastructure software market leader. Angel Mehta, Managing Director at Sterling-Hoffman, chats with Serena CEO Mark Woodward about what he learned about investing in sales from Siebel, and the dangers of falling in love with a deal. |
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Mike Stonebraker, StreamBase
Interview Published: June 2005
First Ingres, then Illustra… then Cohera: serial entrepreneur Mike Stonebraker just can't seem to stop starting companies. His most recent venture is StreamBase, a hot software startup backed by venture capital heavy weights including Accel, Bessemer, and Highland Capital. Angel Mehta, Managing Director at Sterling-Hoffman, talks with Mike Stonebraker about 'kissing every nickel', why India and China don't scare him, and the challenge of moving from academia to entrepreneurship. |
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Marc Fleury, JBoss, Inc.
Interview Published: May 2005
When asked to identify which company is the application server market leader, most people would name the likes of BEA, IBM, or Oracle. Most people would be wrong. Ever heard of JBoss? It's a white hot open-source vendor that is taking corporate IT departments by storm. Angel Mehta, Managing Director of Sterling-Hoffman, chats with Marc Fleury, CEO of JBoss, about the biggest threat to software's old guard in a decade. |
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Dave Peranich, Centrata Inc.
Interview Published: April 2005
One of the few under-automated business problems within Corporate IT departments is known as IT Services Delivery, and Kleiner-Perkins backed startup Centrata Software, a Red Herring top 100 private company, is a trailblazer in the area. Angel Mehta, Managing Director at Sterling-Hoffman, chats with Dave Peranich, CEO of Centrata, about the emerging market space, training for the big game at Siebel, and why it's impossible to know if you're ever 'ready' to be CEO. |
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Joseph Alsop, Progress Software Corporation
Interview Published: March 2005
Progress Software is perhaps the largest 'small' software company in the world; with over $300 million in revenue, it has developed a strategy of acquiring small software companies and allowing them to continue operating as independent businesses. And unlike most software companies, Progress has had the same CEO for its 20+ year history. Joseph Alsop, CEO of Progress Software, chats with Angel Mehta, Managing Director of Sterling-Hoffman. |
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Josh Pickus, Niku Corporation
Interview Published: February 2005
Josh Pickus freely admits that Venture Capital was the wrong career move. He simply could not tolerate coaching from the sidelines when what he really wanted was to play the game. Angel Mehta, Managing Director of Sterling-Hoffman, chats with Niku's Chief Executive Officer Josh Pickus about helping CIOs cut costs, brilliant ideas in the shower, and the one thing that gets him angry enough to want to testify before United States Congress (hint: it has to do with legislation that has hurt every startup with aspirations of an IPO). |
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Chris Horn, IONA Technologies
Interview Published: January 2005
IONA rose to prominence during the technology bubble of the late nineties, achieving over $180m in annual revenue at its peak. But like every other middleware vendor, the downturn pushed the company to the brink, forcing a dramatic reevaluation of its business strategy. With a new product for the increasingly important Service Oriented Architecture (SOA) middleware market, IONA seems poised to resume its once torrid growth rate. Angel Mehta, Managing Director of Sterling-Hoffman, chats with Chris Horn, CEO and co-founder of IONA Technologies. |
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Phillip Dunkelberger, PGP Corporation
Interview Published: November 2004
Nearly 10 years ago, powerful email encryption software known as 'Pretty Good Privacy' spread around the world and scared the US government into accusing its creator of violating federal export laws. Fast forward to 2004, and PGP (the company) is still at the cutting edge of email security. After an 'Entrepreneur in Residence' stint with Doll Capital and executive positions with the likes of Symantec and Vantive, PGP's original CEO is back at the helm - and the future has never looked brighter. Angel Mehta, Managing Director at Sterling-Hoffman, chats with Phillip Dunkelberger in this month's Sterling Report. |
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Bob Zangrillo, NorthStar
Interview Published: October 2004
For years, the financial services industry has been by far the biggest consumer of enterprise technology, and NorthStar is betting that the most significant paradigm shift of all is yet to come. Angel Mehta, Managing Director of Sterling-Hoffman, chats with NorthStar's Chief Executive Officer Bob Zangrillo to talk about the evolution of wealth management, the irrationality of entrepreneurs, and why no software startup should be spending more than $5 million a year to grow. |
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Joe Davis, Coremetrics
Interview Published: September 2004
After high profile stints as President of Nortel's e-Business unit and General Manager of Peoplesoft's CRM business, Joe Davis opted to join a company that was tiny by comparison: CoreMetrics, an ASP specializing in web analytics solutions. Angel Mehta, Managing Director at Sterling-Hoffman, chats with Joe Davis about managing the HP way, the difficulties of M&A, and why he thinks there is still room for growth in the CRM market. |
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Massood Zarrabian, OutStart
Interview Published: August 2004
After talking with legendary venture capital investor Bob Davoli, Massood Zarrabian agreed to join a tiny knowledge management software startup during the worst economic period in high tech history. Under Zarrabian's leadership, OutStart has become a market leader, with hundreds of customers from across every major vertical, including Time Warner, Lockheed Martin, Pfizer, Citigroup, Motorola, and the US Navy. Angel Mehta, Managing Director at Sterling-Hoffman, chats with Massood Zarrabian about creating a culture of financial discipline, the need for speed, and why OutStart's mission statement says nothing about profit. |
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Trent Landreth, Formation Systems, Inc.
Interview Published: July 2004
Over the past five years, companies like GE Plastics, Coca Cola, and Campbell's soup have flocked to Formation Systems, the only software company that specializes in product lifecycle management solutions for Process Manufacturers. Angel Mehta, Managing Director at Sterling-Hoffman, chats with Trent Landreth, Formation's recently appointed CEO, about how his company has managed to beat the world's largest application software vendors in their own backyards, living through the 'bloody years' at Oracle, and why sometimes the best thing a CEO can do is let go. |
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Bill Conner, Entrust
Interview Published: June 2004
Nortel Networks' first ever Chief Marketing Officer was running a $5 billion dollar business as President of Nortel's Enterprise Networks and E-Business Solutions group before taking the helm at Entrust, a security software vendor in need of a serious makeover. Angel Mehta, Managing Director at Sterling-Hoffman Executive Search, chats with Entrust CEO Bill Conner about the fear that comes with knowledge, and how to ensure that danger signs on the ground floor reach the CEO's ears in time. |
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Deepak Verma, eCredit
Interview Published: May 2004
nCircle has quietly become a major player in the rapidly growing market for network security solutions, and it's CEO has never been more optimistic. Angel Mehta, Managing Director at Sterling-Hoffman, talks to nCircle's Abe Kleinfeld about letting go of 'ego', the evolution of network security, and why in a former life he once worked for months without being paid. |
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Abe Kleinfeld, nCircle
Interview Published: April 2004
nCircle has quietly become a major player in the rapidly growing market for network security solutions, and it's CEO has never been more optimistic. Angel Mehta, Managing Director at Sterling-Hoffman, talks to nCircle's Abe Kleinfeld about letting go of 'ego', the evolution of network security, and why in a former life he once worked for months without being paid. |
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Pushpendra Mohta, Vayusphere
Interview Published: March 2004
In the summer of 2000, Push Mohta founded Vayusphere, a pioneer in the market for enterprise instant messaging applications whose customers now include Lehman Brothers, Intuit, NBC and Level 3 Communications. Angel Mehta, Managing Director at Sterling-Hoffman, chats with Vayusphere CEO Pushpendra Mohta about changing business models, the evolution of Vayusphere, and his experience as an Entrepreneur in Residence at Benchmark Capital |
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Phillip Merrick, webMethods
Interview Published: February 2004
Web Services vendor webMethods was one of the few bright spots to have emerged from the tech-bubble, and seems poised to become a leader in the emerging market for Business Activity Monitoring solutions. Angel Mehta, Managing Director at Sterling-Hoffman, chats with webMethods CEO and co-founder Phil Merrick about the future of B2B integration, competing with IBM, and the value of staying in the game - even if you've got the money to quit. |
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Mark A. Stiffler, Synygy
Interview Published: January 2004
With over 47 consecutive quarters of profitable growth, Synygy is perhaps the hottest company in enterprise software that has never accepted venture capital financing. Angel Mehta, Managing Director at Sterling-Hoffman, chats with Synygy's founder and Chief Executive Officer, Mark Stiffler, about the expanding market for employee incentive management solutions and key transition periods in Synygy's growth from startup to market leader. |
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Peter Gyenes, Ascential Software
Interview Published: December 2003
Improving market conditions, a series of regulatory acts, and plain old fashioned hard work have helped Ascential Software post record revenues and profitability in 2003. Angel Mehta, Managing Director at Sterling-Hoffman, recently spoke with the company's CEO, Peter Gyenes about lessons from the Informix-Ardent merger, winning in the hyper-competitive market for integration software, and integrating the needs of a family with the responsibilities of a leader. |
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Lee Roberts, FileNet Corporation
Interview Published: October 2003
While managing a four billion dollar business unit for IBM, Lee Roberts was approached with an opportunity at a document management applications software company that was tiny by comparison. FileNet's revenues at the time Lee Roberts arrived were insignificant by IBM standards, but the chance to take the top leadership role was too much to pass up. Angel Mehta, Managing Director at Sterling-Hoffman, chats with FileNet CEO and Chairman Lee Roberts about the enterprise content management space and the challenge of breaking the billion-dollar revenue mark. |
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Gerald Cohen, Information Builders
Interview Published: September 2003
Over it's 25 year history, Information Builders (known as IBI) has consistently taken the road less traveled. Despite the fact that it is one of the few multi-hundred million dollar software companies, IBI has remained privately-held. It has also been led by the same CEO for over 20 years, another rarity in the enterprise software world. Angel Mehta, Managing Director at Sterling-Hoffman, chats with Information Builders founder and CEO Gerry Cohen about the changing business intelligence market, the advantages of not being based in silicon-valley, and the importance of work. |
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Bob Dutkowsky, JD Edwards
Interview Published: August 2003
JD Edwards (recently acquired by Peoplesoft) has made headlines thusfar in 2003 primarily for it's M&A activity, but under it's latest CEO's tenure, the company beat Wall Street's expectations for six consecutive quarters. Mentored by the likes of Lou Gerstner and Mike Ruettgers, Bob Dutkowsky was brought in by co-founder Ed McVaney to help restore JD Edwards to prominence in enterprise software. Angel Mehta chats with Bob Dutkowsky about the growing up in an IBM town, the importance of focus & execution, and replacing a legend. |
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Cyrus Hadavi, Adexa Software
Interview Published: July 2003
In 1994, Cyrus Hadavi left what would become one of the hottest enterprise software companies of the late 90's bubble (i2 Technologies) to build a new supply chain software vendor based on his own vision. Angel Mehta, Managing Director at Sterling-Hoffman, chats with Cyrus Hadavi about the past, present and future of supply chain software vendors. |
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Louis Tetu, Recruitsoft
Interview Published: June 2003
The letters 'IPO' have all but disappeared from the vocabularies of most software CEO's, but white hot Recruitsoft has quietly become one of only a handful of private companies with a serious chance at a successful public offering in the near future. The company has zoomed from 2 employees to nearly 400 staff, over 150 marquis customers, and GAAP profitability in under four years. Angel Mehta, Managing Director at Sterling-Hoffman, chats with Recruitsoft's execution-obsessed CEO Louis Tetu about how the 'McKinsey of Human Resources' became a market leader. |
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Peter Lee, DataSynapse
Interview Published: May 2003
Most experts agree that the enterprise software market is maturing, but customers are raving about DataSynapse and it's 'LiveCluster' distributed computing platform. Angel Mehta, Managing Director at Sterling-Hoffman, chats with DataSynapse CEO Peter Lee about the hot new (yet old) space of Grid Computing, differences between east coast and west coast venture capital firms, and why he chose his best friend's table napkin business plan over a startup that was virtually guaranteed financing. |
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Tom Noonan, Internet Security Systems
Interview Published: April 2003
While most software companies continue to struggle, enterprise security is one of the few sectors left that continues to expand - and red hot Internet Security Systems (ISS) is leading the charge. Angel Mehta, Managing Director at Sterling-Hoffman, talks to CEO Tom Noonan about growth strategy, an entrepreneur's Christmas, and the emergence (finally) of enterprise security as a mission critical priority. |
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Pete Cittadini, Actuate Software
Interview Published: March 2003
Driving his boss to the airport after a customer meeting years ago, Actuate's Chief Executive Officer Pete Cittadini learned a valuable lesson about turning vision into reality - from none other than Oracle founder & CEO Larry Ellison. Angel Mehta, Managing Director at Sterling-Hoffman, talks with Pete Cittadini about growing up at Oracle, expansion plans for Actuate, and why he was never bitten by the entrepreneurial bug. |
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Glen Meakem, FreeMarkets
Interview Published: February 2003
Actually, Glen Meakem's formal title is 'Chairman'; in the weeks following this interview, he ceded the CEO title to Dave McCormick. But no one denies the impact of his hyper-intense personality on the FreeMarkets culture. As one FreeMarkets executive explained, "Glen is FreeMarkets - FreeMarkets is Glen." Like many tech entrepreneurs in the 90's, Meakem setout to change the world with a revolutionary idea. But unlike most, he's actually succeeding |
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Gary Oliver, Cohesiant
Interview Published: January 2003
For the last 24 months, IT buyers have been slashing budgets and putting enterprise software projects on hold. So why are CIO's paying so much attention to software startup Cohesiant? Hint: It's about getting gold from the graveyard - and CIO's can't afford to ignore that kind of value proposition. Angel Mehta sat down with CEO Gary Oliver to understand why when Cohesiant calls, CIO's feel compelled to listen. |
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Dennis Ryan, CEO, Allegis
Interview Published: December 2002
Dennis Ryan continues to lead Allegis Corporation, a partner relationship management software company conceived at the height of the bull market and originally backed by the likes of Kleiner Perkins and Benchmark Capital. Ryan spoke with Angel Mehta, Managing Director at Sterling-Hoffman, about problems, prospects, and passions in late November |
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Bob Walters, CEO, Stratum8 Networks
Interview Published: November 2002
Bob Walters flew a fighter jet for 10 years before jumping into the enterprise software business. After stints at the likes of Informix, Red Brick, and Securant, he assumed leadership of Stratum8, a security software startup that managed to secure financing from the likes of New Enterprise Associates and BA Venture Partners in February of this year. In a candid conversation with Sterling-Hoffman's Managing Director Angel Mehta, the former U.S. Marine Corps. Officer shares insight on leadership, raising capital, and being a first time CEO in what continues to be a tough market for Silicon Valley startups. |
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Jeffrey Beir, CEO of eRoom
Interview Published: September 2002
This month's CEO spotlight focuses on entrepreneur Jeffrey Beir, leader of a software startup that has been named to both Upside and Red Herring's Hot 100 lists, while securing customers like 3COM, Bausch & Lomb, and Pfizer along the way. An ex-Lotus executive, Jeff talks about lessons learned, and the challenges of growing a company through one of the toughest spending markets for enterprise software in history. |
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Chanan Greenberg, CEO of Privia
Interview Published: August 2002
What would convince Benchmark Capital and Venture Strategy Partners to fund a startup the day after 9/11? Somehow, entrepreneur Chanan Greenberg got it done - and Privia, a silicon valley based software company, has been thriving ever since. |
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Ray Ozzie, Groove Networks
Interview Published: July 2002
Touted as one of the Top Ten Technology Innovators (InfoWorld.com - April 29, 2002), Ray Ozzie is known as the man who created Lotus Notes, the network-based document sharing communications environment that took organizations by storm in the early 1990's. Today, Ray Ozzie is focused on Groove Technologies (www.groove.net), an interactive collaboration software that Ray believes is taking organizations into a new dimension of communication |
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