I’m excited to share some news about the next chapter in Decision Lens’ journey! I have a new role as Chairman of the Board, while Steve Tolbert steps into the role of CEO.
My brother Daniel Saaty and I started Decision Lens to change planning. The company is based on the work of our father, Dr. Thomas Saaty, a mathematician and scholar and his life work and global impact on decision making. Our mission has been to revolutionize the decision making needed for great achievement, with a focus on how public sector agencies plan and operate, how their resources are applied and the difficult tradeoffs therein, and to enable them to realize the full potential towards their mission and their people — that’s what the software is built to do and that’s why I am looking forward to staying engaged as Chairman to help Decision Lens continue this disruption.
In my new capacity, I’ll continue to support Decision Lens as a board member, focusing on the areas I’m most passionate about and where I believe that I can have the greatest impact: M&A, strategy, board engagement and media/Capitol Hill relations.
We had a long journey as a boot-strapped software company – quite the journey with learnings along the way. We drove through forays into Federal agencies including DoD, Intelligence, and Federal Civilian, as well as State & Local organizations. In the past, we had commercial organizations in Pharma, Aerospace, Telecom and numerous other fields use the software for their highest stakes operating decisions. We even had pro sports teams (NFL, NHL, MLB) use the software for player selection. We ultimately refined our approach to focus on public sector agencies because of the mission-driven nature of what they do, and the importance of evaluating both tangible and intangible factors under consideration.
It takes special grit and persistence from a uniquely talented group of people to navigate the waters when you are backed only by selling to customers, and ensuring that they get to the best outcomes possible by delivering with excellence. There are too many people for me to thank here, but a few special callouts — my exceptional brother and best friend Daniel Saaty who is a leading light in the world of decision making and more broadly the art of the possible; all of the employees who supported the company over the years — we literally made Decision Lens an “employee first” company figuring that goodness there would deliver goodness to our customers; and especially those on the executive team who navigated us through growth and success (too many people to name); Kevin Ma, Karen Hsu, and Mason Meadows and the rest of the operating partners at Diversis Capital who bring an enormous amount of acumen to the table to help us continue to grow and flourish; and finally to Jim Lintott who was a steady and supportive board member through thick and thin and gave us the confidence to steer towards the extraordinary.
