Revolution Analytics gets new CEO

Today I came across a press release from Revolution Analytics that Norman Nie, founder of SPSS, had stepped down as CEO and David Rich has left Accenture to lead the company. As one of the founders of the company and a current stock holder, I am happy to see Revolution continue to bring in talented people and grow.

Here is the press release:

PALO ALTO, Calif. – February 2, 2012 – Revolution Analytics, the leading commercial provider of R software, services and support, today announced that David Rich, who most recently led Accenture Analytics as Global Managing Director, has been named the company’s CEO. Revolution Analytics’ former CEO, industry luminary Dr. Norman Nie, will remain a company director and will serve as Rich’s Senior Advisor for Products and Strategy.
“Revolution Analytics is primed for a different set of proven leadership abilities—someone with the knowledge and relationships to accelerate large-scale adoption of the company’s first-class products within the world’s biggest and most innovative enterprises,” said Norman Nie. “David has the vision, energy, career experience required to bring the company to the next level. Together, we believe our collaboration will help revolutionize the industry in the best interest of our customers.”

Rich is a 28-year veteran of Accenture. In his most recent position as Global Managing Director for Accenture Analytics, he drove the company’s strategy including alliances and investments in predictive analytics solutions. Rich also had global responsibility for Accenture’s CRM Service Line as well as the High Tech Industry. In his other roles, he had national responsibility for the Communications, High Tech and Media industry sectors; he led major client initiatives and developed global alliance strategies at the corporate level. His experience has made him a frequent contributor to BusinessWeek, Forbes, The Financial Times, The Wall Street Journal and other business publications. He holds a B.S. in Management and Technology from the United States Naval Academy.
“Revolution Analytics has emerged as a disruptive player in the analytics space, largely due to Norman’s vision,” said Rich. “He anticipated the challenges that enterprises would face from the rise of big data. He authored the product road map and brokered the technology partnerships that now enable Revolution Analytics to provide orders of magnitude improvement over legacy products in speed, data capacity and price performance. I feel honored that Norman has passed the torch to me. I look forward to working with him, tapping his experience and leading the team’s efforts to revolutionize the adoption of Predictive Analytics at scale.”