Lessons from a leading operator: Growing ECi Software Solutions to $500M revenue and $200M EBITDA with Net Health CEO & Carlyle Operating Partner Ron Books

Welcome back to the Alt Goes Mainstream podcast.

Today we have the operator’s view on the show. We bring in someone who rose up the ranks of a private equity-backed software company to be CEO of that company — ECi Software Solutions — that now generates over $500M in revenue and $200M in EBITDA.

We welcome Ron Books, now an Operating Partner at Carlyle and the CEO at Net Health, a Carlyle portfolio company. He also sits on a number of boards for Carlyle.

He is now the Chairman and is the former CEO of ECi Software Solutions, a leading global provider of cloud-based software for SMEs, which he successful sold to Leonard Green & Partners for a multi-billion dollar exit. Ron started with ECi when it was a startup company and rose in the organization to serve as VP Sales, then COO, and then CEO, a position which he held from 2009 to 2021. While serving as CEO, Ron and his team developed and executed a strategic plan that included overseeing 46 M&A transactions and a successful software license to cloud migration across nearly a dozen platforms. They received investment from — and sold the business to — Insight Partners, Carlyle, Apax Partners, Goldman Sachs, and most recently, Leonard Green & Partners. Under his leadership as CEO, ECi grew from less than $50M in revenue to over $500M and a sale of the company in 2020 at a multi-billion dollar valuation.

Ron has all the hallmarks of a successful entrepreneur — energetic yet thoughtful, a tireless work ethic, the ability to connect with customers and employees, and loyalty to both customers and employees.

Ron and I had a fascinating conversation about what it takes to build a great company and culture and how to work with private equity given that he’s been on both sides of the table. We discussed:

• Lessons learned from growing a business to $500M in revenue and $200M in EBITDA.
• How he built and grew ECi through acquisitions and globalizing the business.
• Why culture matters and how to vet for culture in the hiring process.
• Stories from the challenges and successes of integrating 41 companies via M&A.
• How founders should think about working with private equity firms.
• How founders can get the most out of their board members and operating partners.
• The transition from CEO to Operating Executive back to CEO.

Thanks Ron for coming on the show to share your wisdom and experiences that are an invaluable source of learnings for both founders and investors.