{"type":"rich","version":"1.0","provider_name":"Transistor","provider_url":"https://transistor.fm","author_name":"Alt Goes Mainstream: The Latest on Alternative Investments, WealthTech, & Private Markets","title":"Lessons from a leading operator: Growing ECi Software Solutions to $500M revenue and $200M EBITDA with Net Health CEO & Carlyle Operating Partner Ron Books","html":"","width":"100%","height":180,"duration":2904,"description":"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...","thumbnail_url":"https://img.transistorcdn.com/AFAZ1vkAT92lFJtqt-r0HeFQ55KTdcbJHmgKXaMlAtY/rs:fill:0:0:1/w:400/h:400/q:60/mb:500000/aHR0cHM6Ly9pbWct/dXBsb2FkLXByb2R1/Y3Rpb24udHJhbnNp/c3Rvci5mbS9zaG93/LzE5MDA4LzE2MTQ1/Mzk1MDUtYXJ0d29y/ay5qcGc.webp","thumbnail_width":300,"thumbnail_height":300}