Executive Officer | Board Member | Advisor
Mike Cowles is a results-driven executive with a distinguished career in building high-performance teams, delivering outstanding business outcomes, and executing strategic change. With a strong focus on key metrics to maximize enterprise value, Mike has demonstrated exceptional leadership across various industries and roles.
Throughout his career, Mike has led strategy, execution, and communication for multiple companies and business units, emphasizing revenue growth, expense management, and accountability to drive value creation. At SAP, he managed and grew a $600M Financial Services P&L, leading a team of 10 VPs and 60 quota carriers focused on selling on-premise and cloud software to the US financial services market.
Mike has successfully navigated complex sell-side transactions, most notably at Rainmaker. He guided the company through a prolonged sales process, including a DOJ HSR inquiry, ultimately selling the larger business unit to RealPage for $300M (8.6X revenue). Additionally, he conducted an auction process to sell the remaining business unit, resulting in a sale to AKKR (Cendyn) for $40M, achieving combined proceeds of $340M (6.8X revenue).
During the COVID-19 pandemic, Mike managed Logically with moderate organic growth and multiple acquisitions, doubling the revenue run rate from $50M to $100M over 18 months, with an 18-month CAGR of 59%. He also led Ariba’s largest business unit in North America, contributing to the company’s market cap growth from less than $1B to over $4.5B in four years, which led to its acquisition by SAP.
Mike’s expertise extends to acquisition and integration. He led Logically through five acquisitions in six months, overseeing a dedicated team executing a repeatable integration playbook. At Ariba, he was responsible for the commercial diligence and integration of a $150M acquisition of Quadrem, focusing on joint customers, prospects, synergies, and go-to-market strategy.
In terms of business transformation, Mike realigned sales territories, compensation plans, and organizational structures at Rainmaker to optimize new sales, expansion, and retention. He played a key role in Ariba’s transformation from a software company to a leading SaaS provider by restructuring customer and technical teams to drive and retain recurring revenue.
Mike has held several significant positions throughout his career, including CEO and Board Member at Logically (The Riverside Company) from 2020 to 2021, CRO, CEO, and Board Member at Rainmaker (Norwest Venture Partners) from 2016 to 2019, General Manager of US Financial Services at SAP from 2014 to 2015, General Manager of North America at Ariba from 2011 to 2013, Vice President of NA Consulting at Ariba from 2005 to 2011, Senior Manager of Research & Development at Ariba from 2002 to 2005, Manager of Technology Consulting at Ariba from 2000 to 2002, and Senior Consultant of Technology at Accenture from 1999 to 2000.
He holds a Master of Science and a Bachelor of Science in Mechanical Engineering from the University of Florida, where he graduated in 1999 and 1997, respectively.
Mike Cowles combines technical expertise with strategic acumen, making him a valuable asset in any executive or board role. His dedication to driving growth, enhancing efficiency, and fostering innovation has consistently led to significant value creation for the organizations he has served.
Character: Mike Cowles exemplifies integrity and dedication, consistently driving high performance and value creation in every role.
Knowledge: With a strong background in engineering and extensive experience in executive leadership, Mike possesses deep industry knowledge and technical expertise.
Strategy: Mike is adept at executing strategic changes, leading successful transactions, and driving significant revenue growth and enterprise value.
Communication: Known for his effective communication skills, Mike excels in articulating complex strategies and fostering strong relationships with stakeholders.
