Versaterm has tapped a senior executive from software giant Oracle to succeed Warren Loomis as chief executive, the Ottawa-based company announced Thursday. Steve Seoane will officially assume the CEO’s role on Friday. He replaces Loomis, who is transitioning into a new role at the company after more than 23 years in the top job at […]
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Versaterm has tapped a senior executive from software giant Oracle to succeed Warren Loomis as chief executive, the Ottawa-based company announced Thursday.
Steve Seoane will officially assume the CEO’s role on Friday. He replaces Loomis, who is transitioning into a new role at the company after more than 23 years in the top job at Versaterm, which makes software that’s used to manage 911 call systems and other public-safety services.
The Arizona-based Seoane spent the past five years as senior vice-president and general manager of Oracle’s local government division, which he founded. Before that, the former U.S. navy engineering officer held a number of senior leadership roles in the public safety and technology sectors, including a one-year stint as chief technology officer at California-based public-safety software maker TriTech Software Systems.
Versaterm said Seoane will work out of the company’s U.S. headquarters in Mesa, Ariz., and will also serve on the board of directors. In a news release Thursday, the veteran executive said he’s “honoured to join Versaterm at such a meaningful point in its journey.”
The Ottawa firm has grown dramatically in recent years, making 12 acquisitions to expand its services and customer base after itself being purchased by U.S. private equity firm Banneker Partners in 2020.
“For more than four decades, Versaterm has defined what trusted, reliable technology means for public safety agencies,” Seoane said in a statement.
“Our goal is to build on this foundation as we continue to advance how agencies can leverage technology to serve their communities with modern, cloud-based, AI-driven solutions that make public safety professionals' lives simpler, safer and more effective. I'm grateful to Warren and the board for their trust as we maintain our track record of providing the highest-quality solutions to our customers.”
Loomis’s decision to step down after nearly a quarter-century at the helm comes just a few months after Versaterm pulled the trigger on one of its biggest M&A deals yet.
In late July, the firm acquired DroneSense, an Austin-based company with nearly 60 employees that specializes in software that allows customers to pilot drones of any type from central locations via web browsers.
It’s the latest in a string of acquisitions engineered by Loomis and his team that have solidified Versaterm’s status as a global leader in the public-safety software industry.
Fuelled by its aggressive M&A push, the company that spun out of the Royal Canadian Mounted Police nearly 50 years ago to develop computer-aided dispatch systems for first responders has reportedly tripled its revenues over the past five years. Versaterm now has more than 500 employees, up from about 115 in late 2020, and well over 1,000 customers around the world.
Loomis joined Versaterm as a software developer in 1987 before working his way up the ranks to the CEO’s chair in 2002. In an email to OBJ on Thursday, he said he’s “staying on at Versaterm, but just not as CEO,” explaining he “wanted a proper transition while we continue to set this up to be a 100-year-old company.”
“As I considered the company's next chapter, it became clear that this is the right moment to pass the baton to Steve,” he said in an additional statement provided by Versaterm. “His passion for innovation and his proven ability to scale technology organizations while preserving continuity make him the ideal leader to guide Versaterm into the future.”
