This podcast is for informational purposes only and does not constitute an advertisement. Views expressed are those of the individuals and not necessarily the views of Thoma Bravo or its affiliates. Thoma Bravo funds generally hold interest in the companies discussed. This podcast should not be construed as an offer to solicit the purchase of any interest in Thoma Bravo fund.
AIR DATE: December 21, 2023
RUN TIME: 6:56
Transcript
DISCLAIMER:
This podcast is for informational purposes only, and does not constitute an advertisement. Views expressed are those of the individuals and not necessarily the views of Thoma Bravo or its affiliates. Thoma Bravo funds generally hold interest in the companies discussed. This podcast should not be construed as an offer to solicit the purchase of any interest in any Thoma Bravo fund.
SETH BORO:
Hi. I'm Seth, managing partner at Thoma Bravo, and this is Beyond the Deal. I'm here with president and CEO of Flexera, Jim Ryan. Jim, this is an opportunity for me to ask you some questions about your inspirations in business, your career and life. But if listeners want to hear more about Flexera and how our partnership came together, have a listen to our full episode of Behind the Deal. In case people are joining without having heard that episode, Jim, tell us about Flexera.
JIM RYAN:
Sure. Um, so w- we're in the business of what we call technology value optimization. And at the macro level what you heard me say is that there's, there's 2.3 trillion dollars worth of technology being spent on software, hardware and Cloud services. And up to 30% of that is wasted spend. 20 to 40% of that is technically obsolete hardware and/or software, which also represents a, a risk.
SETH BORO:
[inaudible 00:01:15].
JIM RYAN:
And Flexera's in the business of going into the world's largest companies and identifying what they're using in all of those different areas of Cloud, SaaS, and on Pram. And we help, um, them optimize that to save them hundreds of millions of dollars.
SETH BORO:
Um, and succ- very successfully at that. Uh, you know, one really interesting thing about your career, obviously you, um, you know, you, you started, um, in sales, and were the head of sales at Flexera before c- becoming CEO. That transition, which you've done incredibly successfully, um, maybe talk a little bit about that and, um, how hard was that? How easy was that?
JIM RYAN:
Yeah.
SETH BORO:
What were some of the biggest lessons learned with that transition?
JIM RYAN:
It, it was, it was harder than I thought. I, I thought that, um, I was gonna be able to transition quite easily. I had started at the company in 1998, and slid into the CEO role in 2016, so 18 years. And-
SETH BORO:
Yeah.
JIM RYAN:
... everybody knew me, and I had great relationships with people in all aspects of the company. I had been, uh, living overseas for seven years on two expat assignments. I had, I had street cred, or at least I thought I had street credibility with everybody. And, and while that's true, I did have street credibility, I had street credibility as the rainmaker and the head of sales, which is different from being the president and CEO, and, and the role that that requires.
And I had to work really hard with engineers in particular, the engineers and product managers and financial types, to, to get them to appreciate and really believe that I was there to lead them as well, and that I wasn't playing favorics, and creating a sales-dominated company.
And I, I thought I was gonna be able to do that very quickly. And that, that actually took probably a year or two to, to really stick to it and spend the time with all those other non-sales constituents. I, I sound like a politician now, right? But, but prove that I'm a CEO for all functions, not just the sales function.
SETH BORO:
Well, great job, because, um, it's obviously worked. And, uh, you're a quick learner, a quick study and open-minded. So that is, that's one way to get there. You know, Marcel, we, we talked to in the podcast about Marcel Bernard being such a great mentor. We all learned a lot, I think, on this investment. Um, what were, what were some of the, you know, top one or two things that you remember from those early days with Marcel? You know, that you still maybe go back to today as you're running the business?
JIM RYAN:
It's, you know, there's some, some phrases. Uh, Marcel, this is a bad accent, but, "It's, it's all about the bookings, Jim. It's all about the bookings." (laughs) Um, you know, "Most of the problems at this company can be solved by one thing and-"
SETH BORO:
(laughs)
JIM RYAN:
"... one thing alone (laughing) and that's, that's more bookings."
SETH BORO:
(laughs)
JIM RYAN:
Uh, and, you know, I also remember the first board meeting that Mark and I sat in on, and Marcel said something to the effect of, "When you're hitting your numbers, board meetings are easy and short."
SETH BORO:
(laughs)
JIM RYAN:
"When you're off (laughing) your board, when you're off you number, there's not enough trees in the Brazilian rain forest-"
SETH BORO:
(laughs)
JIM RYAN:
"... for us to produce enough reports to understand why."
SETH BORO:
Yeah.
JIM RYAN:
And what I, what I tell them, my current sales team and, and everybody else is CEOs have (laughing) targets too. And, and, and those are just two things. I, I could on. I, I learned. It was a master class in, in business that, uh, that I learned from Marcel. I, I mean, he is top of the list when I, when I think of people that have helped me become a better professional and a better executive.
SETH BORO:
All right, last question. If you weren't the CEO of Flexera-
JIM RYAN:
Mm-hmm.
SETH BORO:
... what would you be doing?
JIM RYAN:
If I had never gotten into technology?
SETH BORO:
Yeah, never gotten into technology.
JIM RYAN:
Yeah.
SETH BORO:
What, uh, what was your alternative career path?
JIM RYAN:
I was, I w- Well, at one point I was gonna be a dentist, then I was gonna be a lawyer, and I ended up in sales. But, um, I, I would be a translator at the United Nations for French.
SETH BORO:
(laughs).
JIM RYAN:
(laughs)
SETH BORO:
(laughs)
Jim, thanks so much for being here today on Beyond the Deal. Uh, we appreciate your time, and I had a lotta fun.
JIM RYAN:
Thank you. Back at you. Uh, thanks for having me. Thanks to everybody over at TB that, uh, has been with us for 15 years. It's not something we take for granted, and, uh, same to you. I value our friendship very much.
SETH BORO:
Behind the Deal will be taking a brief break over the holiday season. But we'll be back to our regular schedule the first week of the new year.
DISCLAIMER:
Certain statements about Thoma Bravo made by portfolio company executives are intended to illustrate Thoma Bravo's business relationship with such persons rather than Thoma Bravo's capabilities or expertise with respect to investment advisory services. Portfolio company executives were not compensated in connection with their podcast participation although they generally receive compensation and investment opportunities in connection with their portfolio company roles, and in certain cases are also owners of portfolio company securities and/or investors in Thoma Bravo funds. Such compensation and investments subject podcast participants to potential conflicts of interest.
