Bonita Springs, March 03, 2022 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — ATP, the global leader in aviation software and information services, today announced the appointment of Norman Happ as Chief Executive Officer, and to the ATP Board of Directors. He succeeds Rick Noble who announced his retirement and will transition into a role on the Board of Directors.
“ATP is incredibly fortunate to attract an executive with Norm’s experience and reputation as a team builder with a strong track record for growing high-performance companies,” said Noble. “His proven ability to work collaboratively with management teams, drive impressive revenue growth and manage the increased complexity of a large-scale, fast-growing software enterprise will be incredibly valuable for ATP as aviation businesses continue to look for new and better ways of meeting their business needs. I’m excited to see Norm and the team continue to transform the aviation operations industry.”
Happ has more than 25 years as a transformative leader in the software and SaaS industries. He was previously the CEO of EZ Texting, a business messaging platform where he led a complete business transformation resulting in a significant acceleration in growth, profitability, and overall industry leadership. Happ held executive roles across sales, customer support/success and marketing at Intuit where he was instrumental in transforming the Small Business Ecosystem from individual software solutions to the industry’s most powerful SMB Saas platform. Beyond Intuit, Happ held executive leadership roles at Evernote and H&R Block and is the founder of two technology backed ventures. He is also credited with being an early designer and evangelist of SaaS technology and business models and the designer of breakthrough data science algorithms related to revenue and customer retention. Happ is also the holder of 2 US Patents.
He holds a bachelor’s degree from George Mason University’s Schar School of Public Policy and Government.
“ATP is an established leader in the aviation space with a great heritage, brand, product portfolio built by an incredibly passionate team. With the partnership with Accel-KKR and ParkerGale, we are well-positioned to build an aviation operating platform to serve the evolving and complex needs of the industry.” said Happ.
ATP’s products and services support more than 75,000 aircraft maintenance professionals worldwide. As a global company, ATP has more than 7,500 customers in 137 countries and partnerships with over 90 OEMs.
“The Board is very excited to have Norm on the team and we want to thank Rick for his many contributions to the Company as CEO, and we look forward to our continued collaboration with him as a Board Member,” Dean Jacobson, Chairman of ATP’s Board of Directors and Managing Director at Accel-KKR added. “Rick’s experience and a seasoned leader of companies and builder of teams has been a key component to ATP’s growth, and we know that the Company will continue to benefit from his industry knowledge, guidance and insight.”
About Accel-KKR
Accel-KKR is a technology-focused investment firm with over $11 billion in capital commitments. The firm focuses on software and tech-enabled businesses, well-positioned for topline and bottom-line growth. At the core of Accel-KKR’s investment strategy is a commitment to developing strong partnerships with the management teams of its portfolio companies and a focus on building value alongside management by leveraging the significant resources available through the Accel-KKR network. Accel-KKR focuses on middle-market companies and provides a broad range of capital solutions, including buyout capital, minority-growth investments, and credit alternatives. Accel-KKR also invests across various transaction types, including private company recapitalizations, divisional carve-outs and going-private transactions. For three consecutive years between 2019 and 2021, Inc. has named Accel-KKR among “PE 50: The Best Private Equity Firms for Entrepreneurs”, an annual list of founder-friendly private equity firms. Accel-KKR’s headquarters is in Menlo Park, with offices in Atlanta and London. Visit accel-kkr.com to learn more.
About ParkerGale
ParkerGale Capital is a private equity firm based in Chicago that invests in founder-owned technology companies and corporate carve-outs where the firm’s operating resources can have a meaningful impact on the outcome. ParkerGale also hosts the Private Equity FunCast available on iTunes, Google Play, and wherever you get your podcasts. To learn more, visit www.parkergale.com.
About ATP
ATP is the leading provider of aviation software and information services. ATP’s innovative product line, including Flightdocs, Aviation Hub, ChronicX, and SpotLight, reduces operating costs, improves aircraft reliability, and supports technical knowledge sharing and collaboration in all aviation and aerospace industry sectors. ATP is headquartered in Bonita Springs, FL with locations in Toronto and Brisbane, CA. For more information, visit www.atp.com.