Origina Deepens its US Ties and Tech Market Acumen
The Origina Board of Directors keeps our company grounded in a collective mission and at the same time challenges us to always think bigger about Origina’s potential and what we offer the world of software.
Two new members have joined the Origina board: Phil Soran and Jim Leslie. Both have deep expertise in fast-growing tech companies, primarily in the US market, and have been recognized time and again for their contributions as business leaders.
ABOUT PHIL SORAN
Phil Soran is a serial technology entrepreneur. Phil was inducted into the 2016 Minnesota Business Hall of Fame, received Lifetime Achievement Award from the Minnesota High Tech Association, and was named the TCB 2017 Outstanding Director. He was named Entrepreneur of the Year by Ernst & Young (2008) and El Dorado Ventures (2007). The MSP Business Journal selected him as the inaugural inductee to the Titans of Technology Hall of Fame in 2014.
Phil was founder, President and CEO of Compellent Technologies, which he launched from his basement in 2002. Compellent went public on the NYSE in 2007 and was acquired by Dell for $960M in 2011. Another of his basement incubator projects, XIOtech Corp, was purchased by Seagate in January of 2000 for $360M, with Phil as CEO and President.
Phil worked at IBM for 10 years in a variety of roles. In 2015, he co-founded Flipgrid, an ed-tech company spinoff of the University of Minnesota, which was bought by Microsoft in 2018.
He serves on the boards of Piper Sandler, SPS Commerce, Spineology, Foodsby and Great MN Schools. He is currently a trustee for the University of Minnesota Foundation and University of St. Thomas. Before diving into tech, Phil was a junior high Math teacher in Colorado.
ABOUT JIM LESLIE
Jim Leslie is an entrepreneur, mentor, and philanthropist. He is Co-founder and former CEO of Flipgrid, the world’s leading video discussion platform for education, which was founded in 2015 and acquired by Microsoft in 2018. Prior to Flipgrid, Jim was Founder and CEO of Midwave Corporation. He was Ernst & Young’s 2005 Entrepreneur of the Year. In 1998, Jim and his wife Norma launched the Leslie Family Foundation, which provides key scholarships and educational opportunities to inner city youth. Jim also serves on the boards of Claros Technologies, Children’s Minnesota, and YMCA of the North.
The presence, business insight and broad thinking of these two exceptional leaders will undoubtedly strengthen Origina’s capacity to grow across markets, offering an industry-changing solution that IT leaders simply cannot live without.
To find out more about Origina’s industry-changing approach to IBM® software support and maintenance, contact us.
