Brian Lora is a Product & Technology Partner based in Research Triangle Park, North Carolina. Brian’s exceptional track record as a Chief Technology Officer (CTO) and Chief Information Officer (CIO) for high-growth start-ups and mid-market commercial software companies includes more than 18 successful buy-side and sell-side acquisitions to private equity and strategic firms.
Brian balances his deep tech, analytical, and software engineering capabilities with innovative product creation, leadership management, and lifecycle insights to modernize and accelerate SaaS companies’ growth.
His specialties include:
- Commercial Product Development & Product Strategy
- Technology Strategy
- Software-as-a-Service (SaaS)
- Public/Private Cloud
- Software/Web/Mobile Development
- Agile Practices
- SoftwareArchitecture & Platform design
- Data Analytics
- New Product Introduction
- Technology Due Diligence
- Acquisitions & Integrations.
During his distinguished career, Brian’s leadership roles have included:
CTO & CIO, Live Oak (NASDAQ: LOB) – Brian created and executed a strategic technology plan to create 2nd generation, API-based cloud services platform to enable innovative, next-generation online and mobile banking solutions. He modernized online banking solutions and stabilized and replaced legacy online capabilities, enabling consistent growth and business performance to bring more value to the small/midsize banking clients of Live Oak. Tripled the size of the customer base with new modern product offerings, which enabled the stock price to grow from $13 per share to over $80.
CIO & Chief Architect, Sageworks (Acquired by AKKR) – Brian was hired by the company founder after numerous successful technology consulting projects to modernize product development & technology organization capabilities, prepare for successful exit and lead all technical due diligence & future integration planning with the new PE owner.
CTO & CIO, Dude Solutions (PE-backed by Warburg Pincus) – Brian led all commercial operating aspects of Product Management, Product Development/Software Engineering, Architecture, IT/Infrastructure/Security to create a modern portfolio of SaaS (Browser & Native Mobile) products focusing on facilities operations management, innovative IT solutions, events, energy, safety, and data analytics across four major industry verticals (Education, Government, Healthcare, Manufacturing). More than 12 major product introductions and major product releases created more than $1.2B in SAM through organic and product roadmaps. New bookings increased by 70+%, and subscription revenue/ARR of 30+% year-over-year.
CTO & CIO, RegEd/StoneRiver SRC (PE-backed by Stone Point Capital) – Brian led all aspects of technology, product development/software engineering, IT/Infrastructure/Security for StoneRiver SRC (a technology holding company composed of RegEd, Emerald Connect, and F&C). He was recruited by the private equity firm to bring comprehensive technology leadership and execution, including the digital transformation of aged technology platforms & fueling new growth through organic & inorganic product development and integration. He led initiatives that scaled growth to more than 4M+ end users and enabled revenue (ARR) growth from $ 21M to $80M.
In addition, Brian has held leadership positions with IBM’s Information Protection Services, Arsenal Digital Solutions (acquired by IBM), Storability (acquired by Sun/Oracle), and Tivoli Systems (acquired by IBM). Brian has been honored as a CIO of the Year – Innovation & Transformation by the Triangle Business Journal and holds multiple US and international patents as lead inventor for innovative “S3” SaaS architecture. He also served as an Outside Board Member for North Carolina State’s College of Engineering and Computer Science and is a frequent speaker at key industry and technical conferences.
Brian received his BS in Chemical Engineering from North Carolina State University.
