Opportunity

Audaces Fortuna Iuvat
--Latin Proverb

There are a few times in everyone’s career where you stare into an abyss of opportunity. You dont know where the bottom is, you dont know whether its covered with pillows or punji sticks. All you can do is look at the people you are jumping with smile and step off. I had one of those moments 5 years ago this June when I took a leap with the brilliant and hard charging people of iConclude and Apptio. That took us from 40 people and a dream of changing the way IT operates to a killer product and team that played a major role influencing one of the biggest players in the technology business. Our follow up with Apptio has been no less impressive,growing from 12 people when I joined to 150 large and changing the way the Business of IT is done. I’ve been on an unfathomable journey down to the bottom these last 5 years. Now, its time to take the leap again.

Starting June 1, I will be joining Simply Measured as their Director of Engineering. Damon Cortesi, Aviel Ginzburg and I have joked for a long time about working together. It always seemed to come out every time we started drinking heavily. Not too long ago, the jokes turned to a hard sell and I found myself staring into the same abyss.

My exit from Apptio may seem abrupt, but I have every confidence in Apptio and its management to continue the success we have had over the last 3 years( and they better, I’ve exercised all of my options). The opportunity that Simply Measured has before it is massive and I hope to play large role in the ass kicking and growth to come.

As for the time between now and then I will be handing off things to tying up loose ends at Apptio and finally, after 5 years, taking some time off. In that time I plan on finally climbing Mt Rainier, finding a solution to P = NP, getting to the pile of books that have been sitting on my shelf since the Clinton administration, and oh yah, getting some sleep.

Apr 18, 2011