SEATTLE--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Lighthouse, a leader in technology-enabled eDiscovery, compliance, and information governance services, today announced that Ron Markezich has been appointed as the successor to Brian McManus as chief executive officer. Mr. Markezich, who has served as a member of the Lighthouse board of directors since October 2019, will become CEO effective October 1, 2022. Mr. McManus will stay on with the company in the role of executive vice chair.
Mr. Markezich brings to Lighthouse 33 years of experience in building solutions and serving the largest enterprises in the world. Mr. Markezich spent nearly 25 years at Microsoft where he developed Microsoft’s commercial cloud services such as Office 365 and drove Microsoft’s cloud services in leadership roles across engineering, sales, marketing and finance. He brings a track record of driving double-digit revenue growth and a deep background in building brand equity.
“I am excited to welcome Ron to Lighthouse as the incoming CEO,” said Brian McManus, outgoing CEO of the company. “I’ve known Ron for many years since his appointment to the board in 2019, and we have worked closely together to chart the growth strategies of the business. After serving as CEO for the last 11 years, in which we’ve consistently been the fastest growing company in the space with strong financial results, I know that the company is well-positioned for this transition and the next phase of its growth. Ron’s energy, experience set, and cultural fit make him the ideal person to lead the company forward. Under Ron’s leadership, Lighthouse will accelerate its ascension in our industry, and I’m looking forward to assisting that acceleration in any way I can in my new position.”
“I couldn’t be more honored to follow in Brian’s footsteps,” said Mr. Markezich. “Brian has built an amazing business with an impressive culture where people are empowered to provide world class solutions for a blue-chip set of clients. Lighthouse has also built a valuable technology platform to further serve our clients and lead the industry. I’m excited to lead this extremely talented and forward-thinking team to bring clarity, simplicity, and efficiency to the increasingly complex landscape of eDiscovery and data governance.”
Mr. Markezich has been a corporate vice president at Microsoft for over 15 years and has led teams across the company including – Global Commercial Pricing & Licensing, Microsoft 365 Marketing, U.S. Enterprise Sales, and Microsoft Online as the incubation leader for Office 365. He was also Microsoft’s chief information officer. Mr. Markezich started his career at Accenture focused on technology and communications clients where he worked for almost 10 years.
Michal Petrzela, Managing Director at Lightyear Capital, which owns a majority stake in Lighthouse, shared, “We’re thrilled that Ron is becoming the new CEO of Lighthouse. The future of the company as the clear industry leader was already well on its way and we expect that journey to get supercharged under Ron’s direction. We’re equally as excited that Brian, with his intimate knowledge of the business and his decades of experience, will remain a part of Lighthouse as he transitions to executive vice chair. He’s served Lighthouse, its team members, and customers incredibly well as CEO for the past 11 years and we’re grateful.”
For more information, visit lighthouseglobal.com.
About Lighthouse
For 25 years, Lighthouse has provided software and services to manage the increasingly complex landscape of enterprise data for compliance and legal teams. Lighthouse leads by developing proprietary technology that integrates with industry-leading third-party software, automating workflows, and creating an easy-to-use, end-to-end platform. Lighthouse also delivers unique proprietary applications and advisory services that are highly valuable for large, complex matters, and a new SaaS platform, Spectra, designed for in-house teams. Whether reacting to incidents like litigation or governmental investigations, or designing programs to proactively minimize the potential for future incidents, Lighthouse partners with multinational industry leaders, top global law firms, and the world’s leading software provider as a channel partner. For more information, visit lighthouseglobal.com.
About Lightyear Capital
Lightyear Capital is a New York-based private equity firm that partners with growth companies at the nexus of financial services, technology, healthcare, and business services. For over 20 years, Lightyear has worked closely with management and leveraged its industry expertise, network of advisors, and operating resources to accelerate growth and build market leading businesses. As of December 31, 2021, the firm had assets under management of $4.9 billion. For more information, please visit www.lycap.com.