Professional Profile

Mike Borman has more than 35 years of leadership experience in the technology industry. His background spans hardware, software, and services which includes two public company Board of Directors and CEO positions as well as working closely with Private Equity firms. He has been the CEO of Avocent (AVCT, acquired by Emerson Electric), Dynamic Ops (acquired by VMware), SunGard Public Sector and Education (acquired by Vista) and Blue Coat Systems (BCSI, acquired by Thoma Bravo). Each of these companies had a successful exit where he either initiated the process and/or completed the sale.

During a notable tenure with IBM that spanned 30 years, Mr. Borman led a workforce of 18,000 sales and technical support associates to grow the revenue of the Software Group from $9 billion to $18 billion in four years. More than 40 acquisitions were completed and assimilated into Mr. Borman’s organization during this time.  He had risen to the top 50 executives at IBM, and has lived in Tokyo and Beijing, leading global teams and companies.

As a consultant, Mr. Borman has worked with companies such as McKinsey, Bain Capital, TPG, Nexant, Telesoft Partners and numerous hedge funds to scale in size.

PROFESSIONAL EXPERIENCE

SunGard Public Sector provides technology solutions to meet the specialized needs of city and county governments, public safety and justice agencies, and nonprofit organizations. Under Mr. Borman's leadership, the company reversed its revenue trend from flat to declining, to positive organic growth.

As CEO of SunGard Public Sector, software and services revenue of approximately $250M annually, Mr. Borman built a new team and organization, for both Local Government and K-12, and returned the company to 4 years of continuous profitable revenue growth.

BLUE COAT SYSTEMS (Web Security)- President and CEO

Blue Coat, now a Symantec business, is a leading provider of advanced web security solutions for global enterprises and governments. As its chief executive, Mr. Borman transformed the company's infrastructure for sales, marketing and business unit development to support a new strategy designed to drive revenue growth.

During Mr. Borman’s tenure, he built the company’s first 3-year business plan that focused on organic growth; restructured the development and product groups by streamlining operations from eight business units down to three; restarted the marketing function by hiring a CMO (absent for 10 months prior); and rebuilt sales leadership in all 3 geographies. Blue Coat had a successful exit to become private in 2011.

AVOCENT CORPORATION (IT Products Manufacturer) - CEO

Avocent, now part of the Emerson Network Power platform, makes data center management hardware and software for diverse industries such as media and entertainment, healthcare and finance. As its chief executive, Mr. Borman led numerous transformational changes, including a strategic shift from a hardware model to a value-added software model, with company-wide adaptations in operations.

After Mr. Borman was named the CEO of Avocent Corporation, Emerson Electric purchased Avocent for $1.2B 18 months later. While CEO, Mr. Borman focused on several key initiatives and investments. The first was to develop a strategy based upon Avocent’s unique control points. The primary objective was Data Center Physical Resource Management – with a focus on Software Solutions. Second, during the 2008-2009 economic downturn, Avocent restructured for efficiency, cut costs and consolidated operations worldwide. As a result, Avocent remained profitable (EPS $1.50) with a strong cash flow – $80M+ in 2009. Third, Mr. Borman built a strong empowered team with many new additions to the senior leadership team focused on the customer and development. Overall, in 18 months, the company was transformed, re-energized, with a new vision and focus to win in the marketplace.

XPO LOGISTICS (Supply Chain) - Chief Commercial Officer

Mr. Borman had executive responsibility for XPO’s commercial strategy and the operation of its sales organization. Under his leadership, XPO’s global sales team helped customers utilize the company's integrated services and cutting-edge technology to operate their supply chains more effectively. He has had a dramatic impact on the growth of public and private companies over the course of his career.

EDUCATION

MBA - Finance, Strategy and Management - Kellogg School - Northwestern University 

BS - Computer Science - College of Engineering - University of Illinois

PROFESSIONAL ORGANIZATIONS / AFFILIATIONS

Member:  Commercial Club of Chicago; Economic Club of Chicago; Ambassador to  Sonoma County Charitable Auctions

Previous Board Memberships: American Chamber of Commerce in Japan; American Chamber of Commerce in Chicago – Executive Committee; Kellogg Alumni Board; Kelley School of Business Board; Steppenwolf Board; Avocent Board; Blue Coat Systems Board;

Keynote Speaker:  SAP’s Sapphire Conference; Press Club in Washington DC; General Technology Distribution Council (GTDC); Oracle Conference; Numerous Distribution and Solution Provider Conferences.

Press Coverage: Cover stories on several Channel News Periodicals. Interviewed live on Bloomberg News; CNBC – Asia; Financial Markets News; 25+ Investors Conferences; 100+ Press Interviews worldwide; 300+ Investor meetings