Below is an article originally written by Gordon Gottsegen at Built In, and published on June 26, 2019. This article is about PowerToFly Partner Relativity. Go to Relativity's page on PowerToFly to see their open positions and learn more.
One of Chicago's biggest tech companies just announced who will take the helm through its next stage of growth.
On Wednesday, Relativity announced that it's bringing in Mike Gamson as its new CEO. Gamson will take on his new role with Relativity starting July 1.
Most recently, Gamson was an executive at LinkedIn, where he led about 5,000 employees across different teams and countries. He worked for LinkedIn from 2007 to 2019, starting as a general manager, then moving on to be VP of sales and then SVP of global solutions. He left the company in February.
But Gamson has also been on the board of Relativity since 2017. The company credits him with helping develop its strategy and advising it on how to address global demand.
Gamson will take over the role of CEO from Andrew Sieja, who founded Relativity and will continue to serve on Relativity's board of directors as executive chairman. The two have an established relationship from working together on the board.
"Working closely with Andrew and the Relativity team over the past two years has given me the unique opportunity to get to know the company's business and team extremely well," Gamson said in a statement. "I couldn't be any more excited for the future of the company and the opportunity I have to help move Relativity ahead to its next phase of growth."
Relativity creates e-discovery software, which is used to find information during legal proceedings like litigation or investigations. Relativity's platform is used by over 180,000 legal professionals and organizations ranging from Fortune 100 companies, top American law firms and the U.S. Department of Justice.
Founded in 2001 as a software consultancy, Relativity started development of its e-discovery platform in 2004 as an internal tool for an international law firm. The company retained the intellectual property rights for the software, which over time evolved into its core offering.
The company rebranded to Relativity from kCura in 2017 to align its name with that of its flagship product.
Besides being a big deal in the legal world, the company also plays a big role in the Chicago tech scene. With about 750 local employees, it's one of the largest tech companies in Chicago.
What's more: In February, Relativity announced it would hire another 300 people by the end of the year. The new hires will likely put Relativity over the 1,000-employee mark.
Beyond its impact on the tech scene, Relativity has also put an emphasis on its role in the city more broadly. It has a philanthropy branch, Relativity Gives, which has donated millions of dollars to Chicago schools over the years.
"It is a tremendous honor to continue my career as CEO of Relativity," Gamson said in a statement. "I look forward to partnering with our employees and our industry to fulfill Relativity's mission."
