Who We Are: Leadership: Directors
Neil Garfinkel
Mr. Garfinkel is a co-founder of Francisco Partners and has been a Partner since its formation in August 1999. Mr. Garfinkel invests primarily in the software and services sectors, and currently serves on the board of directors of Foundation 9 Entertainment, FrontRange Solutions, LYNX Medical Systems, WebTrends, and Ex Libris. Other companies of which he has been a director include AKQA, Office Tiger (RR Donnelley), Xcellenet (Sybase), IMPAC Medical Systems (Elekta), Card Capture Services (eTrade), and HMT Technology (Komag). Prior to co-founding Francisco Partners, Mr. Garfinkel was a Managing Director of Friedman Fleischer & Lowe, and a Vice President with Summit Partners. Earlier in his career, Mr. Garfinkel was an attorney with Wilson Sonsini Goodrich and Rosati in Palo Alto and with Cravath, Swaine & Moore in New York. Mr. Garfinkel is a graduate of Harvard College and Columbia Law School, where he was a Harlan Fiske Stone Scholar.
Brian T. Keane
An IT industry veteran, Mr. Keane has expertise in building high-value business and IT services companies. As part of Francisco Partners' acquisition of Dextrys, Mr. Keane was brought in to build Dextrys into the leading global IT services firm leveraging China offshore resources. Mr. Keane is the former president and CEO of Keane, Inc. (NYSE:KEA), a $1 billion business and IT outsourcing firm with over 10,000 employees. Under Mr. Keane's leadership, the company transformed from its roots as an IT programming services firm into an industry leading provider of high-value outsourcing services, renowned for the consistency and quality of its delivery. Mr. Keane pioneered many innovative industry practices in the areas of managing, measuring, and delivering outsourcing services. He also launched Keane's global delivery model by establishing nearshore facilities in Canada in 1996 and offshore facilities in India in 2001. Mr. Keane led the company into the business process outsourcing (BPO) market to capitalize on the synergies available by combining business processes, IT services and global delivery. Mr. Keane holds an MBA from Harvard Business School and a Bachelor degree from Harvard College.
Alan Perkins
For over 25 years, Mr. Perkins has contributed in many areas of IT including strategy, solutions, and people. The founder of Dextrys, he has led the company to several important milestones, including developing a national client base, building a solutions-based delivery model, and forming its global outlook in IT solutions. He also serves as the Development Committee Co-Chair for the Steadman Hawkins Sports Medicine Foundation located in Vail, Colorado, and Founder and Chairman of the Fish House Foundation, a non-profit foundation dedicated to awarding college scholarships to assist students pursue a lifetime of learning and exploration. His previous entrepreneurial ventures include Cogentric, a software company focused on enterprise risk management, and Edgewater Technology, a software development company sold in 1999 to a NASDAQ-listed IT solutions company.
Deep Shah
Mr. Shah is a Principal with Francisco Partners and operates from FP's London office. Mr. Shah serves on the board of directors of Dextrys, C-MAC MicroTechnology, Data Connection, and Ex Libris. Before joining Francisco Partners, Mr. Shah worked at Morgan Stanley in both their Mergers and Acquisitions group and the Princes Gate Investors private equity fund in London, where he was responsible for the identification, evaluation and execution of transactions in a variety of industries, including information technology. Mr. Shah holds an M.A. in Economics from the University of Cambridge, England, with First Class Honors.