Orlando Bravo

Orlando Bravo (born 1970) is a co-founder and managing partner of Thoma Bravo, LLC, a private equity investment firm which specializes in software and technology-enabled services sectors.^[1]

Early life and education

Bravo was born in Mayaguez, Puerto Rico.^[2] When Bravo was in his early teens he moved to Florida to pursue a possible career in tennis. He returned to Puerto Rico to attend high school.^[3] After graduating high school Bravo left Puerto Rico to attend Brown University, where he graduated with a B.A. in economics and political science in 1992.^[4] Bravo enrolled in graduate school at Stanford University, earning a J.D. from Stanford Law School and an M.B.A. from Stanford's Graduate School of Business.^[3]

Career

Bravo began his professional career working in Mergers and Acquisitions for Morgan Stanley & Co.^[5] In 1997, he joined Thoma Bravo's predecessor firm, Thoma Cressey Equity Partners, Inc. (TCEP.) ^[4] In the early 2000s Carl Thoma, a co-founder of the firm, allowed Bravo to lead the acquisition of product distribution software provider Prophet 21. It was the first software deal TCEP had ever done, and one of the earliest take-private transactions in the sector.^[6] At the time, Bravo noted it fit TCEP's strategy of buying strong franchises in large and fragmented industries.^[7] Because the deal happened when lenders were hesitant to provide capital for such deals, the deal took place with almost no dependence on leverage.^[6] Bravo brought in the firm's first operating partner to address the issue of the software companies' running on high gross margins with the potential of decent profitability, but were instead often losing money. After three years Prophet 21 produced a return of 4.7x at exit.^[6]

This and other deals led Bravo to become a partner at TCEP, when he was 30 years old. At that time he ran the software group at the company.^[6]

TCEP became Thoma Cressey Bravo in 2007, in recognition of Bravo's contribution to the firm's success.^[8][9]

In 2008, Orlando Bravo helped form Thoma Bravo, LLC, when the firm changed its name and investment focus.^[10][11]

Thoma Bravo

Since 2003, the firm has acquired over 140 software and technology companies, representing nearly $30 billion in enterprise value.^[12] Some of Thoma Bravo's current and past portfolio companies include Deltek,^[13] Blue Coat,^[14] Qlik,^[15] and Solarwinds.^[16] The company is one of the top technology buyout firms in the United States, with more than $17 billion in capital commitments across its funds.^[12][17]

In 2016 the firm closed its most recent fund, Fund XII, raising $7.6bn, twice the size of its previous fund. Bravo referred to this fund when he discussed how the firm evolved from a generalist private equity firm into a private equity software specialist.^[18]

Philanthropy

Bravo serves on Brown University's President Council^[19] and was a member of Stanford Law School Board of Visitors in 2006.^[20] He is on the board of Border Youth Tennis Exchange (BYTE), a charitable organization founded to enhance the lives of children and young adults on the U.S./Mexican border through tennis, education and cross-border exchange.^[21] Bravo serves on the UCSF Board of Overseers.^[22] Bravo and his wife have helped endow faculty scholar and fellow positions at Stanford University's Sean N. Parker Center for Allergy Research.^[23]

In the wake of Hurricane Maria, which devastated the island of Puerto Rico, Bravo donated $10 million through the Bravo Family Foundation's Podemos Puerto Rico Fund. Aid included chartering planes to carry cargo, including satellite phones, water, water purifiers, medicine and diapers.^[24][25][26]

References