Acquisition Journeys
Real stories of founders and leaders who found a permanent home for their legacy and a new horizon for their careers at Harris.
Jill McCready
Group Leader
Advice to Founders
"It's about the network you make here, the support is outstanding, everyone is willing to help."
Favorite Harris Value
"Dream Realization"
The Inflection Point
Jill's connection to Core Technology began at age 10 when her father founded the company. After three decades of dedication, her career had reached a natural plateau. The acquisition by Harris provided the professional "second act" she didn't know was possible.
"At a small company, I had reached the limit of what was possible. Once we joined Harris—and as my life at home shifted—my career accelerated at a pace that simply wasn't possible before."
Velocity Timeline
The Catalyst
Access to leadership with proven track records, rigorous financial training, and a global network of technical professionals sparked her growth.
Preserving the Legacy
Despite the growth, the "soul" of Core Technology remains. The commitment to customer focus hasn't changed in 44 years.
The Impact
Harris didn't replace their values; it provided the financial discipline and best practices to help those values scale.
Favorite Best Practice
"Keep milestones small and manageable, always ask for payment on milestone start in addition to delivery."
Business Impact: By The Numbers
Comparison: At Acquisition vs. Today
Shara Blackmore
Director PS/Engagement
Advice to Founders
"The mentoring has been amazing, it really moved me up the learning curve very quickly. I continue to seek out my early mentors today and I pay if forward to new acquisitions."
Favorite Harris Value
"Bad news doesn't get better with time!"
The Inflection Point
Shara joined Harris through the acquisition of ResourceMate, transiting from a small, owner-operated environment into a much larger corporate structure. Rather than getting lost in the shuffle, she found ways to bridge the gap between product operations and company-wide culture.
"Shara combines operational depth with people-first leadership, equally comfortable navigating product, process, and culture. She proves that you can create meaningful programs where none existed before."
Velocity Timeline
The Opportunity
Progressed from a specific acquired role into a trusted leader for large-scale initiatives—from Culture of Belonging to customer experience strategy.
The Impact
Built repeatable programs that improved eNPS and strengthened collaboration across multiple business units.
The Unique Factor
An inspiring example of reinventing roles: stepping into gaps to create programs that didn't exist, bridging strategy with human-centered implementation.
Favorite Best Practice
"Value Based Pricing"
Jon Gage
Senior Vice President
The Inflection Point
Jon joined Creditron in 2004, working across RD, Support, PS, and Sales. When Harris acquired the company in 2017, the initial feeling was that their challenges were "unique" and processes "couldn't change." Eight years later, Jon has seen how the breadth of Harris's knowledge sharing proved that theory wrong.
"The last 8 years have taught me that many other BUs have experienced the same challenges. That breadth of knowledge sharing—through Leadership Hubs and Summits—has been an invaluable set of resources."
Velocity Timeline
Financial Literacy
Expanded the financial literacy of the entire organization—translating day-to-day tasks into measurable BU performance impact.
Talent Mobility
Leveraging the Harris network to find new homes for strong performers, keeping departing employees "in the family" for their next challenge.
Fostering Growth
From shy interns becoming strong managers to office managers growing into capable Operations Directors—Harris provided the scale for their potential.
Leroy Graham
Manager, Research and Development
The Inflection Point
A lifelong learner who thrives on organizational evolution. By leveraging company restructures as growth opportunities, they successfully transitioned from Developer to Support Representative and eventually into Management, demonstrating exceptional versatility and a commitment to the team's changing needs.
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Velocity Timeline
Software Developer
Independent contributor
Leroy's Legacy
His legacy - people
His Impact
Leroy's impact
Business Impact: By The Numbers
Comparison: At Acquisition vs. Today
Nivi Abraham
EVP, Group Leader
Advice to Founders
"Don't pigeonhole yourself. If you're a technical leader coming into Harris, the door to General Management is open—if you're willing to learn the language of finance."
Favorite Harris Value
"Empowerment at the point of contact"
The Inflection Point
With over 27 years of experience at global software leaders, Nivi joined Harris through the Aumentum acquisition with a clear mission: to turn around businesses and unlock long-term value. Transitioning from a technical product focus to a broader strategic role, he applied his expertise in operational excellence to accelerate organic growth and improve EBITDA across a diverse healthcare portfolio.
"I’m committed to building sustainable, mission-driven businesses. At Harris, I found the platform to not just manage technology, but to empower high-performing teams that deliver measurable impact to healthcare providers and patients."
Velocity Timeline
Operational Excellence
Leveraging 27+ years of experience to identify efficiencies that transform average businesses into high-performers, balancing organic growth with strategic M&A.
Modernizing Foundations
Bringing modern DevOps and cloud best practices into acquired businesses, ensuring that 'legacy' software doesn't mean 'obsolete' infrastructure.
Scaling Leadership
Demonstrating that technical leaders can become exceptional General Managers, bridging the gap between product innovation and financial performance.
Favorite Best Practice
"Using AI in data analysis"