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Scots Away - Dave Cormack

Dave Cormack | Wednesday June 25, 2008



Name:         David Cormack

Position:     President & CEO of Brightree Inc

Location:     Atlanta, USA

Background:    Dave Cormack is a senior executive and entrepreneur with 26 years experience in applications software and e-commerce markets.
He is a founder and CEO of Brightree Inc, a market leader in the provision of Internet-hosted business management solutions to providers of Home Medical Equipment.
In the role of CEO, Dave has founded and developed two other highly successful
start-up ventures: a London based vendor of business intelligence tools (backed by
3i) and an Atlanta based Internet e-recruiting company. Dave negotiated the trade sale of both companies to US competitors listed on the NASDAQ exchange.
Dave is a supporter and former board director of Aberdeen Football Club. He and his wife Fiona hail from Aberdeen and live in Atlanta, Georgia with their three children who all attend university.
He is a member of Scottish Enterprise’s GlobalScot network.


Hi-Tech Scotland (HTS): Describe your current role.

Dave Cormack (DC): I’m basically a software entrepreneur. I’ve spent something like 26 years in the applications software and Internet markets. In my current role, I’m President and CEO of Brightree Inc. Essentially, we offer a software-as-a-service (SaaS) business management solution: an Internet hosted application tailored to the needs of independent healthcare providers. We provide a conduit between our customers and the 2,000  medical insurance companies they lodge their claims with.
I took control of the business three and a half years ago. At that point, Brightree was an early stage company that needed funding and a strong management team put in place. Today, we have 675 healthcare providers processing over $2.4 billion a year in claims to medical insurance plans through our system. We’ll do over $10 million dollars in revenue this year and we’re currently in the midst of raising private equity to make some acquisitions to further fuel business growth.

HTS: When did you first develop an interest in IT and what prompted you to pursue a career in technology?
 
DC: I completed an HNC in Accounting at Aberdeen College of Commerce and then worked as an accountant with a local Oil & Gas company called Hamilton Brothers. In 1981, I took onboard a computerised management reporting system for drilling cost control. I was amazed at how quick and easy it was for someone without any programming knowledge to produce complex reports – and, bear in mind, this was at time before PCs as we think of them today. I could see how important the applications software industry was going to become to business generally, so in 1982 I left Hamilton Brothers and joined the company behind the software reporting system.

In 1986, my wife Fiona and I left Aberdeen for London and we spent 9 years there. I worked for some large US companies on the corporate software side of things. I then co-founded a software company. Over three years, we built it up and brought in some venture capital via 3i. In 1995, I sold out to a US public company based here in Atlanta. Part of the deal was that I come out here for three years and become the Chief Operating Officer of the company, managing the worldwide operation of a $50 million business. 13 years later we’re still here.

HTS: Technology-wise, what developments do you predict will be most important in the future?

DC: First of all, I think we’ll see a continued development of web based applications for both consumer and business-to-business markets. Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) is a business model that works incredibly well for the type of smaller independent business that subscribe to Brightree Inc. Those businesses couldn’t dream of creating the type of business infrastructure that we can provide them with instantly, literally “on demand”.

The second thing I would point to is an increasingly aggressive expansion in the use of ‘location ware’ applications centred around cell phones.
I think alternative energy sources are finally being given serious consideration, given the situation in the Middle East and the soaring price of gas. It’ll be very interesting to see how ideas like wind and wave power gain traction. It’s also possible that we’ll see a resurgence in the popularity of nuclear power.

HTS: Did you always have a desire to work overseas?

DC: Moving to the US was really just the next logical progression for me. I had already moved from Scotland to London to progress up the management chain and get more experience of doing business across Europe. Then, I founded a start-up company that was ultimately sold to a public company in the States. US buyers generally want to bring over the key executives in any business they acquire, so I knew it was a possibility that I would move to the States, but it was never a burning ambition of mine.

HTS: Have you ever found being Scottish an advantage or disadvantage during your time overseas?

DC: In my experience, it has always been an advantage. Scottish people are held in high regard in the US – even more so than the other countries in the UK, I think. There’s a long tradition of positive Scots influence in US society, thanks to guys like Carnegie and Bell, and half of the people you meet over here lay claim to Scottish ancestry.
Of course, the Scottish accent definitely helps you to stand out and people are always happy to listen to you, which is obviously a bonus in the business environment.
On a personal note, during the time that we’ve lived in Atlanta, the city has grown from about 2.5 million to almost 5 million people. It’s a real melting pot of people from everywhere across the globe; a very transient city with people coming and going. It also has an interesting mixture of industries, rather than a reliance on any one sector. It’s an exciting place to do business and my family and I have always found it a great place to live.  The weather’s just a wee bit warmer than Scotland!

HTS: Would you ever consider coming back to Scotland on a permanent basis?

DC: After selling my second start-up  in late 2000, Stewart  Milne offered me the Chief Executive position at Aberdeen Football Club. I started with Aberdeen in October of 2000 as Chief Executive and a member of the Board of Directors. The plan was for my wife and kids to come over once the US school year finished in 2001, but 6 months into my tenure with the club we decided to stay in the US due to a health condition with my youngest daughter.  I ended up spending only a year with Aberdeen FC before moving back full-time to the US to be with my family.
We’re all settled here in the US and have become American citizens.  We want to be where our kids live so it’s difficult to see us ever moving home to live in Scotland. But we do still miss Scotland and, anytime we’re home, it takes no time at all to pick up things with friends and family – it’s like you were never away.

HTS: Do you have any remaining ambitions?

DC: As I move closer to my retirement years, it’s becoming more important to me to make time to spend with my family and friends, both here in the US and back home in Scotland.  Now that we’re almost empty-nested (the American term for kids leaving home) my wife Fiona wants to go home to Scotland 3 or 4 times a year.
Having said that, I’m not quite ready to be put out to pasture yet.  I don’t plan to go anywhere until I ensure Brightree Inc is the most successful company I’ve ever run and, thankfully, it looks like we’re well on the way to achieving that.

www.brightree.com



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