Beyond the Flexera Partnership with Seth Boro and Jim Ryan
Dec 21, 2023
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Thoma Bravo's Seth Boro and Flexera's Jim Ryan dive into the CEO transition at Flexera and the focus on technology value optimization. They also discuss the challenges of transitioning to a leadership role, gaining credibility, and alternative career paths.
Flexera helps companies optimize technology spending, potentially saving hundreds of millions of dollars.
Jim Ryan's transition from head of sales to CEO required building trust across all functions of the company.
Deep dives
Flexera's business focus and value optimization
Flexera specializes in technology value optimization, helping large companies optimize their technology spending on software, hardware, and cloud services. With up to 30% of technology expenditure being wasted, Flexera aims to identify and eliminate obsolete hardware and software, saving companies hundreds of millions of dollars in the process.
Transition from sales to CEO role at Flexera
Jim Ryan, the President and CEO of Flexera, shares his experience transitioning from the head of sales to CEO. While he initially assumed the transition would be smooth due to his established relationships within the company, he discovered it was more challenging than anticipated. Ryan had to work hard to gain the trust of engineers, product managers, and financial professionals, proving that he was committed to leading all functions of the company, not just sales. It took time and dedication to establish himself as CEO for all areas of the business.
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Exploring Technology Value Optimization and the CEO Transition at Flexera
In this Beyond the Deal mini-sode, Thoma Bravo Managing Partner Seth Boro and Flexera President and CEO Jim Ryan discuss stepping into the big role as chief executive, share memories from one of their beloved mentors, and deliberate about what they would’ve done if technology wasn’t their calling.