Michael Speranza vs Razat Gaurav

Michael Speranza

CEO of Kantata

BIO: Michael Speranza is CEO of Kantata. He has more than 20 years of private equity experience leading several global software and services companies. He specializes in defining compelling product visions and scaling companies from $100 million towards $1 billion in annual revenue. Previously, Michael was CEO of Avolin, a global provider of CRM, e-commerce and IT software solutions formed after the successful divestiture of the business he had previously led at Aptean, a global provider of ERP and Supply Chain software. Under his leadership, the company successfully integrated more than a dozen new products and services into its portfolio and grew to $150 million in annual revenue. Michael began his career working as a systems analyst at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Lab then moved onto Deloitte Consulting. Later he joined Avero, a successful THLee start-up that pioneered SaaS-based business intelligence for the hospitality industry where he was one of the first ten employees. Michael then embarked on a 20-year career working with leading private equity firms, including Goldman Sachs, SilverLake Partners, Centerbridge Partners and Vista Equity Partners. Michael is originally from New York and earned his Bachelor’s Degree in Electrical Engineering at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute.

Razat Gaurav

CEO of Planview

BIO: Razat Gaurav is chief executive officer of Planview, joining the company in 2021. Razat has over 20 years of experience in the enterprise software space, with a proven track record of driving innovation-based growth and scaling up technology businesses. He is a trusted advisor to leading executives, boards and investors on topics related to digital transformation initiatives. Prior to joining Planview, Razat was the CEO of LLamasoft, the leader in AI-based supply chain design and decisioning software. At LLamasoft, he drove an expanded product vision combined with a purpose-driven culture enabling the company to more than double its revenue in three years and resulted in a successful $1.5 billion acquisition by Coupa in November 2020. Prior to LLamasoft, Razat held leadership positions at Blue Yonder, i2 Technologies and Ernst & Young’s management consulting practice. He also served on the Board of Directors of Sparta Systems and LLamasoft. Razat was recognized by Goldman Sachs as one of the 100 Most Intriguing Entrepreneurs of 2020. Razat serves on the Advisory Board of the University of Michigan’s Industrial and Operations Engineering (IOE) department. He is also engaged in various philanthropic and policy initiatives related to medical research, STEM education across minorities and efforts to reduce carbon emissions. Razat graduated with honors in Engineering from the Illinois Institute of Technology in Chicago.