October 2018
Rocket: To The Stars and Beyond!
When I co-founded Rocket in 1990, we had a simple business plan. We wanted to build something that would be long-lasting and that would make a difference. We wanted to do software engineering well—make great software that would solve critical business problems. We wanted to listen well, and put our customers and partners first. And we wanted to treat people well. Rocket was going to be about humanity, empathy, trust, and love.
Over the past 28 years, we have stayed true to our values, our vision, and our mission. We have built strong and long-lasting partnerships with millions of you around the globe, whether you have been a part of Rocket since those early days or if you joined somewhere along the way.
I am excited to announce that the next chapter of our Rocket journey begins today. Court Square Capital has been our partner for almost exactly nine years, and today they are passing the torch to Bain Capital. I am proud of what we accomplished with Court Square and thank them for their amazing support and partnership. They were instrumental in our successes over the past decade.
With Bain Capital as our partner, we are ready to launch our fourth decade of growth (what we call Rocket Chapter 4). Bain emerged from a long line of potential private equity partners with whom my team and I have spent the past year meeting. My commitment – to our customers, our partners, and our Rocketeers – was to find a partner who aligned with our core values, our strategy, our mission, and our vision – someone who would understand what made Rocket Rocket and help accelerate our journey into Chapter 4. All of these (and more) resonated with the team from Bain.
I will continue to serve as Rocket President and CEO. And my entire executive team is here with me. We are all as committed as ever to our customers, our partners, and our Rocketeers.
To be clear, Rocket will continue to be Rocket. We will continue to live our core values. We will continue to solve tough problems for our customers and partners while developing great software that helps organizations compete more effectively in today’s digital society, software that makes a difference. We will continue to listen to our customers, make their agenda our agenda, and never let them fail—ever. We will continue to acquire (more and bigger) businesses and integrate them into the Rocket way of doing business.
Andrew J. Youniss
President and CEO, Rocket Software, Inc.
As you may know, I like to end each of my letters with links to songs that are on my mind. Here are four that are on my mind during this critical moment for Rocket:
"Changes," David Bowie This is a time of major change for Rocket, and this song just keeps resonating with me as we chart the next phase of our evolution.
"Comes a Time," Neil Young Court Square has been a great partner for us, but like all PE firms, the moment comes when it’s time to exit an investment.
One of my favorite topics is collaboration, and the history of this 1978 title track epitomizes that: Neil Young originally recorded it as a solo album, but later added backing tracks by Crazy Horse…and made it legendary.
"Dream On," Aerosmith One of my favorite songs by one of my favorite bands. Rocket started as a dream; and we will continue to dream on, even after 28 years.
"Roll with the Changes," REO Speedwagon Before they got famous playing pop ballads, REO Speedwagon rocked hard. This song embodies what our next stage will be like!
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