AUSTIN, Texas–(BUSINESS WIRE)–Vista Equity Partners (“Vista”), a leading global investment firm focused on enterprise software, data and technology-enabled businesses, today announced a series of promotions to build its leadership ranks. Vista’s promotions and recent announcement that Thomas E. Hogan has joined the Flagship Fund as an Operational Managing Director follow a year of strong results for the Firm.
“At Vista and across our portfolio, we have always prioritized attracting, investing in and promoting world-class talent. The individuals receiving promotions have demonstrated consistent excellence and integrity in their work and have each played an instrumental role in Vista’s success,” said Robert F. Smith, Vista’s Founder, Chairman and CEO. “We are proud to recognize their outstanding contributions and look forward to what they will achieve at Vista in 2021 and beyond.”
A total of 17 senior employees earned promotions in December 2020, including the following five individuals who were promoted to leadership positions:
- Patrick Severson – Senior Managing Director, Foundation Fund
Patrick Severson joined Vista in 2013 and sits on the Investment Committee for Vista’s Foundation Funds. Severson also sits on the boards of AGDATA, Four Winds, Granicus, Kibo, Sonatype and Wrike. He was also actively involved in the Firm’s investments in Autotask, PeopleAdmin and Return Path. Prior to joining Vista, Severson worked as a Partner at Warburg Pincus where he invested in and worked with software companies from startup to buyout.
- Rod Aliabadi – Managing Director, Flagship Fund
Rod Aliabadi joined Vista in 2008 and sits on the Investment Committee for Vista’s Flagship Funds. Aliabadi has been involved in countless Vista investments, including Acquia, Aderant, BigMachines, EAB, Forcepoint, Integral Ad Science (IAS), Mediaocean, Numerator, Ping Identity, Quick Base and Websense, amongst others. He currently sits on the boards of Acquia, EAB, IAS, Mediaocean, Ping Identity, Numerator and Quick Base.
- Josh Gray – Operating Managing Director, Endeavor Fund
Josh Gray joined Vista in 2019 and currently sits on the board of Fusion Risk Management and works closely with the Firm’s investment in Dispatch. Prior to joining Vista, Gray served as President and Chief Operating Officer at Eved, a global B2B payments platform, where he ran all lines of business. Previously, Gray worked as an Operating Partner at Insight Partners and as a Vice President at Oracle, which he joined via its acquisition of BigMachines, a former Vista portfolio company.
- Rebecca Hu – Managing Director, Office of the CEO
Rebecca Hu joined Vista in 2017 and focuses on creating opportunities with investors, partners and customers in the greater China region. Her responsibilities include capital raising and portfolio company strategy and execution. Prior to joining Vista, Hu worked at China Life Insurance Company for over a decade, where she helped to build out the Firm’s outbound investment portfolio management business and focused on alternative offshore investments across a variety of funds.
- Brent Lanier – Managing Director, Chief Information Officer
Brent Lanier joined Vista in 2017 and is responsible for overseeing information technology and security functions for the Firm. Prior to joining Vista, Lanier worked for Boston Consulting Group, overseeing technology for the global finance and tax functions. Before his time with Boston Consulting Group, Lanier worked at Bain Capital and served as the IT Business Partner for the global operations business units.Vista’s promotions and recent new hire announcement follow a year of strong results for the Firm. Vista’s portfolio companies acted quickly to build new solutions in response to COVID-19 as the world’s reliance on technology and enterprise software reached new levels as a result of the pandemic. In 2020, Vista’s private equity and permanent capital investment strategies deployed $7.3 billion of capital across 52 investments, returned $7.3 billion of capital across eight monetization events, participated in three initial public offerings and public equity offerings and raised $9.4 billion of capital from current and new investors.
To learn more about the Firm’s results in 2020, read Vista’s Year in Review.
About Vista Equity Partners
Vista is a leading global investment firm with more than $73 billion in assets under management as of September 30, 2020. Vista exclusively invests in enterprise software, data and technology-enabled organizations across private equity, permanent capital, credit, and public equity strategies, bringing an approach that prioritizes creating enduring market value for the benefit of its global ecosystem of investors, companies, customers and employees. Vista’s investments are anchored by a sizable long-term capital base, experience in structuring technology-oriented transactions and proven, flexible management techniques that drive sustainable growth. Vista believes the transformative power of technology is the key to an even better future – a healthier planet, a smarter economy, a diverse and inclusive community and a broader path to prosperity. Further information is available at vistaequitypartners.com. Follow Vista on LinkedIn, @Vista Equity Partners, and on Twitter, @Vista_Equity.