CFO Michael Perica’s career journey began with an opportunity to work as a junior analyst for a national capital markets firm, where he would find a billionaire mentor. According to Perica, his association with the billionaire would ultimately offer him access to influential networks and unique opportunities. From his early days onward, Perica tells us, he became skilled at building connections with successful individuals—an expertise that would open the door to a diverse range of opportunities.
Perica’s entry into the CFO role during the COVID-19 pandemic—which occurred remotely, meaning that he didn’t meet his colleagues in person until several months later—perhaps highlighting his adaptability. Successfully leading a team without in-person interactions speaks to his ability to navigate challenges and maintain effective leadership—as so many of our finance leader guests have pointed out.
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CFOTL: Tell us about Rimini Street … what does this company do, and what are its offerings today?
Perica: Rimini Street is the world’s largest third-party support provider for major software platforms. We are in the client-first services business. Nobody can do it better than us. Mainly, we support large-enterprise resource planning. Think about all of the ERP systems, the core systems of record—major systems that are deployed worldwide, in many instances. There isn’t an entity too large, too deep, or with greater breadth that we cannot service.
Read MoreHow I became enthralled with Rimini Street and ended up here is perhaps an interesting story. When I first received a call for Rimini Street, I was running an SAP system. I share this many times with investors and when I have the opportunity to meet with some of our clients at our client appreciation events. At Alpha Technologies, we were a large ECC-6 system. Prior to this, we had had a large, standardized installation of Oracle.
Basically, I was forced into upgrades with take-it-or-leave-it contracts that couldn’t be negotiated. Early on, I “foolishly” wanted to do what was right for the organization, to negotiate a contract—but it was a take it or leave it. When I got a call that Rimini Street existed, I said, “Oh, my goodness, there’s tremendous value in this. Here’s a wonderful growth opportunity that I’d like to learn more about.”
This is what got me excited about the opportunity to come to Rimini Street. We are a NASDAQ-listed entity, publicly traded. It’s been a wonderful run, and I can’t even begin to tell you how fulfilling it is every day to help executives on the other side just to break through the barriers of the difficult and challenging environments being dictated by the vendors on their own road maps and not the road maps of the execs and their own corporate strategies. jb
“Be focused on building relationships with other functional leaders rather than focusing on earth-moving or radical change.” –Michael Perica, CFO, Rimini Street
Rimini Street | www.riministreet.com | Las Vegas, NV