Waud Capital Partners Backs Software Executives Leif O'Leary, Shay Gonen and Peter Frintzilas to Build a Market-Leading Vertical Software Platform Company

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Dec 10, 2019, 07:30 ET

CHICAGO, Dec. 10, 2019 /PRNewswire/ -- Waud Capital Partners (Waud Capital or WCP), a leading growth-oriented middle market private equity firm, today announced a new executive partnership with Leif O'Leary, Shay Gonen and Peter Frintzilas to pursue platform investments in the vertical software market. Mr. O'Leary, Mr. Gonen and Mr. Frintzilas are highly accomplished software industry executives with over 25-years of value creation experience. As part of this executive partnership, WCP has initially committed $150 million of equity capital to support the initiative and seek to identify, acquire and build a market-leading vertical software company.

Prior to partnering with Waud Capital, Mr. O'Leary, Mr. Gonen and Mr. Frintzilas created significant shareholder value during their time at Intralinks, a leading provider of virtual data rooms and financial technology software. Serving as Chief Executive Officer, Chief Financial Officer and SVP of Marketing, Strategy and Innovation, respectively, the three executives helped to transform Intralinks into a highly profitable, high-growth business and led the company through three different sale transactions, ultimately culminating in a $1.5 billion sale to SS&C.

Mr. O'Leary has served in multiple executive roles building a unique skill set in sales, go-to-market strategy development and operational excellence across multiple software end markets. Prior to Intralinks, Mr. O'Leary served as SVP of Worldwide Sales and Operations at PTC, a leading industrial technology software provider, with more than 15 years of senior leadership experience across go-to-market and operational disciplines. Mr. Gonen brings years of executive experience in high-growth technology companies, including serving as CFO/COO of ClickSoftware, a leading provider of automated mobile workforce management and optimization solutions for field service organizations. In addition, Mr. Frintzilas brings substantial executive and industry expertise, including roles at Mimeo, Yahoo and Donnelley Financial Solutions.

"This is a tremendous opportunity for Waud Capital to build on its extensive software portfolio and partner with an industry leading executive team," said Matt Clary, Partner at Waud Capital. "Together, we will work closely with Leif, Shay and Peter and build a new market-leading platform company. We are thrilled that we have such a cohesive and experienced management team on day one."

"Leif, Shay and Peter have repeatedly helped build premier software platforms throughout their careers," added Karan Sabharwal, Vice President at Waud Capital. "We look forward to partnering with them to execute their established playbook and repeat their successes."

Mr. O'Leary commented, "Waud Capital is a proven, long-term sponsor with a differentiated approach to building strong software franchises and to creating value for its stakeholders. Shay, Peter and I look forward to further collaborating on a new software opportunity and leveraging our unique blend of operational expertise. Waud Capital's differentiated executive partnership approach, quality of resources across the firm dedicated to platform development and deep software expertise makes them a compelling partner, and we believe this powerful combination will enable us to capitalize on the exceptional growth potential across the vertical software industry."

"WCP's partnership with Leif, Shay and Pete is a reflection of our continued commitment to the software industry and our belief in the transformational power of great leadership," added Justin DuPere, Partner at Waud Capital. "Having an executive-led strategy with a team of this caliber puts us in a unique position to create value and actively seek out a wide variety of software investments that can benefit from their leadership and experience."

This partnership further expands Waud Capital's strong portfolio of software investments, including CyberGrants, Integrated Practice Solutions, iOffice, and Sphere Commerce.

About Waud Capital Partners
Based in Chicago, Waud Capital Partners is a leading growth-oriented private equity firm with total capital commitments of approximately $3.2 billion since its founding in 1993. Waud Capital teams with exceptional executive leadership to build market leading companies within two industries: healthcare services and business and technology services. Since its founding, Waud Capital has successfully completed more than 290 investments, including platform companies and follow-on opportunities. For additional information on Waud Capital, visit www.waudcapital.com.

Investment Team Contact:
Justin DuPere, Partner – Investment Team
(312) 676-8410
[email protected]

Business Development Contact:
Phil Olson, Partner – Business Development
(312) 676-8401
[email protected]

Investor Relations Contact:
Meghan Slentz, Director – Investor Relations
(312) 676-8431
[email protected]

Media Contact:
Nick Rust – Prosek Partners
(646) 818-9252
[email protected]

SOURCE Waud Capital Partners