Ron
Richards

Ron joined Fortium Partners with deep software engineering experience matched by executive presence.  He is an effective communicator whether at a whiteboard with a development team or discussing strategy with investors in a boardroom. Ron excels at bringing world class software processes and solutions to small companies allowing them to acquire and delight marquee clients. His hallmark is bringing an engineering discipline to solve complex business problems, digging in to thoroughly understand the issues and apply his talents as a skilled software engineer.  By speaking the language of both engineers and investors, Ron transforms product strategy into first class software products fueling sales growth.  On repeated occasions, he has successfully scaled technology so that the business is poised to serve large, sophisticated customers.  He has worked in a range of industries including logistics, entertainment and healthcare, in both B2B and B2C models.  With a Chicago Booth MBA and personal investment experience, Ron easily builds relationships with investors at venture capital, private equity, small public firms, and family offices and has operated successfully under all four investment models.

As a CTO, Ron is focused on growing revenues and operating margins for repeatable business. He ensures a solid technical foundation is set in order to build and launch sophisticated products and mobile apps.  Ron quickly assesses business challenges and works closely with cross-functional teams to develop a strategy and execution plan.  Through careful listening, he establishes trusted relationships that propel successful introduction of new ideas and scaling of existing concepts.  His ability to discern the priorities of investors and learn about new industries reflects his intellectual curiosity.  Ron is recognized for his ability to move with ease from “in the trenches” software engineering to leadership presentations to savvy investors.

Ron earned dual degrees from the University of Illinois at Champaign-Urbana with a Bachelor of Science in Physics and a Bachelor of Science in Mathematics and Computer Science.  He continued his education as a graduate student at Massachusetts Institute of Technology before attending the University of Chicago Booth program, where he graduated with an MBA with a concentration in Finance and Marketing.  An avid cyclist, Ron leads a weekly group ride for a cycling club and recently completed the famed RAGBRAI event traversing across Iowa.