LEADERSHIP
A leadership team with proven government cloud software expertise and a relentless pursuit of excellence
Our executive leadership team is aligned in providing a clear and strategic path for Accela, and measurable success for our customers and government software partners. Meet the team leading the company in delivering on the promise every day.
Management Team
Board of Directors
Jason Brein
Jason is a Partner at Francisco Partners; he joined the firm in 2012. Jason currently serves on the boards of BARBRI, Civitas Learning, Discovery Education, Follett School Solutions, MyFitnessPal, NewGlobe, RBmedia, Renaissance, and VitalSource. He also previously served on the boards of Capsilon, Corsair, CoverMyMeds, Metaswitch, myON, NMI, Paymetric, and Verifone. Jason has an A.B. from Princeton University as well as an MBA from Harvard Business School. He previously worked at Elevation Partners and Goldman Sachs.
Gary Kovacs
Gary Kovacs is Accela’s Chief Executive Officer and has more than 25 years of enterprise software and mobile technology industry leadership and executive management experience. Prior to Accela, Gary served as CEO of AVG Technologies, CEO of Mozilla, and has held senior executive positions at SAP (Sybase), Adobe (Macromedia), Zi and IBM. Gary is a frequent public speaker and has delivered keynote addresses at TED, the World Economic Forum (Davos & Shenzen), Mobile World Congress, Clinton Global Initiative, F.ounders, All things Digital /Code/ Re/Code, Fortune Brainstorm, among many others. He is a board member for numerous mission-driven technology companies and not-for-profits including Make-A-Wish, Runway Capital, and serves on the advisory boards of Docusign and the University of Calgary.
Andrew Kowal
Andrew Kowal is a Partner at Francisco Partners. Based in San Francisco, he joined the firm in 2001. Andrew currently serves on the boards of Boomi, Forcepoint, GoTo, LastPass, and Sandvine. He also previously served on the boards of Aderant, Corsair, Ichor Systems, iconectiv, Magnachip, Metrologic, Mitel Networks, Optanix, ShoreGroup, Source Photonics, and Tile. Andrew has a B.S.E. from University of Pennsylvania Wharton School. He previously worked at Princes Gate Investors, the private equity arm of the Institutional Securities Division of Morgan Stanley.
Jonathan Nuger
Jon Nuger joined Berkshire Partners in 2012 as a Vice President. Jon’s primary Berkshire portfolio company involvement includes Access, a provider of records and information management services, and Masergy, a global provider of innovative hybrid networking, managed security and cloud communications solutions. Representative prior portfolio company experience includes Melissa & Doug and SRS. Previous to Berkshire, Jon was an Associate at Golden Gate Capital, worked at a venture-backed data services company, and was an Associate Consultant at Bain & Co. Jon has an A.B. from Princeton University and a M.B.A. from Harvard Business School.
Edward (EJ) Whelan
EJ Whelan joined Berkshire Partners in 2005 and became a Managing Director in 2012. EJ’s primary Berkshire portfolio company involvement includes Access, a provider of records and information management services, as well as prior portfolio company experience for AmSafe, Mattress Firm, Melissa & Doug, Party City and Skillsoft. Prior to Berkshire, EJ worked in the private equity industry with Summit Partners and Charlesbank Capital Partners. He also served on the management team at Sterling Auto Body Centers, a former Berkshire portfolio company, and began his career at Bain & Co. as an Associate Consultant. EJ holds a B.A. from Dartmouth College and M.B.A. from Harvard Business School.