Orbit - An Hg software leadership podcast

Part 1 of our miniseries: 'The Future of SaaS' The benefits of the SaaS model is increasingly well recognised, but the pain and challenges to successfully achieve a SaaS transition is now being felt by the millions of businesses who are still in the early stages of this journey. In this episode, Øystein Moan, Executive Chairman of Visma and an Industry Advisor to Hg, reflects on Visma’s multi-year journey to SaaS, discussing with Hg’s Nic Humphries, who joined this journey on every step of the way. Visma is a leading provider of business-critical software to private and public companies in Europe. Hg first invested in the business in 2006. This podcast was recorded as part of Hg’s 2021 AGM. Part 2 coming in series 3!

The COVID-19 pandemic has been incredibly disruptive for people all across the world, but has really thrown the spotlight on pharma companies. We’ve seen drugs designed and developed in record times. We’ve seen more collaboration between scientists, pharma companies and regulators than ever before – collaboration that has seen sharing of science, approaches and data. This has accelerated an ongoing trend in pharma, as pharma companies have become more and more data-centric and data-savvy. In this episode, Hg’s Amr Ellabban speaks with Jon Moser, SVP, Innovation, Research & Development at Evaluate, and explains how biopharma’s approach to data science has changed and what we’re likely to see going forward. Evaluate is a leading provider of commercial intelligence and predictive analytics to the pharmaceutical industry. Hg first invested in Evaluate in 2016.

As a fast-growing business, with many business units newly added through M&A, Citation had huge cross-selling opportunities. But taking cross-selling from opportunistic to strategic took a whole host of measures to set up their teams for success. In this episode, Hg’s Chris Kindt speaks to Peter Sherlock, Group Commercial Director of The Citation Group, discussing their journey to creating a winning cross-sell strategy and gives some advice to companies looking to do the same. The Citation Group is a leading provider of tech-enabled, subscription-based HR and Employment law, Health & Safety, and ISO services to SMEs.

As software companies come together, often across geographical lines where different rules may apply, the spectre of cybersecurity issues often raises its head. Even if your own house is in order, how can defend yourself against problems that may be lying dormant in your new partner? With the possibility of undisclosed attacks in the past, data breach fines in the future and a potential present where a criminal organisation may already be opportunistically present in a system, waiting for just such a moment, this is an area which rewards careful preparation. In this episode of Orbit, Hg’s Jason Richards and Calum Thomson speak to Espen Agnalt Johansen of Visma and John Strasser of Sovos - all experts on cybersecurity - who share their experiences and learn a few things from each other in the process.

With the workplace currently containing at least five different generations of employees, each with their own priorities and expectations, how can businesses attract and hold on to the leaders of the future? Everyone has heard about The Great Resignation and how Gen Z is re-evaluating their life in light of the pandemic, the gig economy and increasing demands for authenticity, inclusivity and entrepreneurship. But did you know that they already outnumber Gen X? In this episode of Orbit, Tonia Morris, Founder & CEO of Simply HR and Intergenerational Connector, talks to Hg’s Elizabeth Wallace about transforming culture by embracing all the generations across an organisation.

As the lines between our professional and personal lives increasingly blur, the desire to connect with something bigger than ourselves through our work is rising. Purpose needs to become part of the fabric of your company to attract and retain both employees and customers. In this episode, Bryan de Lottinville, Founder & Executive Chairperson, Benevity discusses with Hg’s Nic Humphries, the role of purpose in a tech or software business and how company leaders can balance focussing on growth, profit or purpose. Benevity is a global leader in corporate purpose cloud software. Hg invested in Benevity in early 2021.

To be ‘born in the cloud’ is a status to be envied in the software sector. But what real advantages does it have, and are there any downsides? How difficult is it to create a competitive and disruptive business in the cloud today? Joris van der Gucht & Tim Vandecasteele are true software entrepreneurs, having co-founded Silverfin, a leading cloud platform for accountants. Joris and Tim speak to Joris Van Gool, Partner at Hg, about tech entrepreneurship, whilst also discussing the benefits of being ‘born in the cloud’, and how SaaS tech is disrupting the accounting sector.

Now an Enterprise Strategist at AWS, Phil Le-Brun's previous role saw him tackle transforming the technology landscape at the global fast food behemoth, McDonald's. Phil took some time to speak to Hg’s Head of Portfolio Technology, Jason Richards, and reveals that the experience of deploying 20,000 e-commerce restaurants in one year is as much about people as it is about the tech.

The last year in the United States has been a year unlike any other. As software businesses dealt with a changing landscape, the importance of purpose was brought sharply into focus by the pandemic and social justice movements. Andy Hovancik has navigated this period of change as President and CEO of leading US-based tax software company, Sovos. In this episode of Orbit, Andy speaks to Dawn Marriott, head of Hg’s Portfolio Team about what has changed over the past year, what will last, and what effect it will have on Sovos and other software businesses.

The convergence of technology and data with traditional insurance activity, and the appetite from institutional investors in the non-correlated returns on offer from insurance, has created a range of innovative ‘risk-transfer’ products in recent years. Hg’s Andrew Land is joined by Charlie Langdale, Head of Financial Lines for Howden Group Holdings and a leading innovator in the insurance sector, to discuss the latest trends in areas such as parametric insurance, insurance for ESG and sustainability, and blockchain technology.

The last century has seen Scandinavia switch from a fishing and oil economy to become a major centre of innovation in tech and software. Is there something in the water? Merete Hverven is the CEO of Visma, one of Europe's foremost software companies and one of Hg's longest and most successful investments. She speaks to Nic Humphries, Senior Partner at Hg, on what's behind this success, reflecting on her HR background and what it's like to grow up Scandinavian.