Diligent Corporation

Last updated

Diligent Corporation
Company type Private
NZX: DIL
Industry Software as a service
Founded1994;30 years ago (1994)
(as Manhattan Creative Partners)
FoundersBrian Henry
Kiri Borg
Headquarters
New York City, New York
,
U.S.
Area served
Global
Key people
 Brian Stafford (CEO)
ProductsSecure modern governance technology solutions
ServicesCorporate software
Revenue$600 million (2022)
Number of employees
2,185
Subsidiaries Diligent Institute
Website diligent.com

Diligent Corporation is a software as a service company that enables groups to share and collaborate information for board meetings. Headquartered in New York City, and incorporated in Delaware, the company has offices in Galway, Ireland; London, UK; Washington, D.C.; Munich, Germany; Budapest, Hungary; Hong Kong; Bangalore, India; Sydney and Vancouver.

Contents

The company's main products are based on a software as a service model and sold by subscription. These include corporate governance technologies, such as a board portal for messaging, and voting tools. [1] Diligent's products are used by 65 percent of all Fortune 1000 companies. [2]

History

Diligent was founded by Brian Henry and Kiri Borg in 1994 as Manhattan Creative Partners (MCP) which consulted and hosted secure websites for financial institutions, mutual funds and insurance companies. [3]

Diligent began developing Boardbook in early 2001, when AIG Sunamerica, requested a secure automation of board documents.

In 2003, Henry and Borg formed Diligent Partners, together with Sharon Daniels, Dan Kiley, Kenneth Carroll, Alessandro Sodi, Marc Daniels and Robert Craig. [3] Manhattan Creative Partners was renamed to Diligent Board Member Services, shifting the services to focus on corporate governance delivery software.

Initial public offering

Diligent listed on the New Zealand Exchange (NZX) in 2007 with a $24m NZX IPO, valuing the company at $115m. While fundraising for the company was successful, prior to the company listing, some information became public regarding bankruptcies of original founder and CEO Brian Henry and his brother Gerald Henry. These bankruptcies occurred in the late 1980s due to the 1987 share market crash. Gerald Henry was given a jail term for fraud in 1991 due to a subset of US law. [4] [5] Diligent released a statement clarifying that Gerald Henry was not associated with the company. [6]

The day following Diligent's listing, the company announced Henry's resignation as CEO due to the oversight of the disclosure of this information. However, some journalists at the time claimed that Diligent's PR firm and attorneys "should have advised Henry to publicly acknowledge his history." [5] In fact, Diligent's IPO attorney, Mark Russell, said his firm, Buddle Findlay, "was proud to have our brand associated with Diligent and with Brian in particular. We have no concerns whatsoever." [5] It was reported that "Diligent's promoters and directors, including director Mark Russell of law firm Buddle Findlay, knew of Brian's connection with Energycorp, but decided not to disclose. Coincidentally, Russell, in the 1980s, worked for the Bank of New Zealand, which had lent the company $15.5m on a handshake." [5] Henry was replaced by Alessandro Sodi, who was then President. Henry remained on the Board, his value to the company recognised by the other members of the board. [7] Diligent's share price collapsed to $0.14 by March 2009, but later recovered to lead the pack of technology listings. [8]

Company growth and revenue restatement issues

With the release of the Apple iPad in 2010, Diligent developed an app for this new platform and commenced a period of explosive growth in client numbers. Diligent made its first operating profit in 2012. Between 2011 and 2012, company revenue grew by 165%. [9] By mid-2013, the Diligent stock price had reached over $8.00 NZD a share.

In August 2013, Diligent announced that it would need to restate revenue for the current and preceding three years due to discrepancies in company accounting practices. No fraud was involved, though the company was required to recognize revenue from the date of a contract being signed rather than the start of a month, and its installation fees recognized over a longer period of time. The company also acknowledged that its accounting systems were underdeveloped and required improvement. [10] It was fined by the NZX for a number of minor breaches of listing rules. [11]

Alessandro Sodi stepped down as CEO in 2015 to focus on the launch of Diligent Teams as Chief Product Strategy Officer. Sodi was succeeded by current CEO Brian Stafford, an ex-Mckinsey partner and software-as-a-service specialist. [12]

Return to private ownership

On 14 February 2016, Diligent announced that it had entered into a definitive agreement to be acquired by Insight Partners for consideration of $4.90 per share, valuing the company at $624M USD, subject to approval from the shareholders. [13] A Shareholder meeting was held in Auckland, NZ on 13 April 2016 and having received 57% votes in favor of the Merger (as it was structured), Diligent de-listed from the NZX and returned into private hands. [14] The merger was opposed by the NZ Shareholders Association who considered the offer too low, stating that "the current offer is low compared to where the company's prospects have been in the past" [14]

Since 2016, Diligent has restructured its leadership team and acquired new companies, including Brainloop, BoardPad, Boardroom Resources [15] [16] [17] and Manzama. [18]

In December 2018, Diligent announced the launch of the Diligent Institute, a think tank aiming to provide customers with global research on governance practices. [19] [20]

Modern Leadership Initiative

In June 2020, Diligent launched its Modern Leadership Initiative and partnered with more than 20 [21] private equity companies to improve board-level diversity. Each private equity firm agreed to open board seats of five of their portfolio companies to racially diverse candidates. The private equity firms included Insight Partners, Vista Equity Partners, Hellman & Friedman, Hg, Genstar Capital, [22] The Jordan Company, and TA Associates, and also New Mountain Capital, Francisco Partners, Heidrick & Struggles, Egon Zehnder, and the American Investment Council. [21] [23]

Corporate affairs

Leadership

Diligent is managed by president and CEO Brian Stafford. Other key executives are: [24]

Customer and revenue

In 2022, the company reported more than 16,500 customers [27] and 700,000 board members and leaders from more than 130 countries. [28] In 2022, the company reported revenues exceeding $600 million. [29]

Products

Diligent's products are based on a software-as-a-service model and sold by subscription.

Board management software

Diligent’s board management software platform provides tools to organize board meetings and facilitate collaboration and communication between the board and the leadership team. The platform consists of a board portal, a secure messaging app, a secure file-sharing service, and a voting & resolutions administration tool — supplemented among others by board composition and succession planning, board questionnaires, and governance benchmarking modules. Diligent offers board meeting platforms specially customized for the needs of higher education and K-12 boards, non-profit boards, and state & local government boards. Board management software services are complemented with an entity and subsidiary management platform, compensation and governance intel tools, and equity and cap table management.

Governance, Risk & Compliance (GRC) platform

Diligent acquired Steele and Galvanize and incorporated their risk management, security and compliance solutions into its software suite, offering a more complete feature set for Risk, Audit and Compliance (RAC) professionals. [30] [31]

Diligent ESG

With the acquisition of Accuvio, Diligent further extended its GRC platform with ESG data aggregation enabling organizations to prepare, track and disclose key metrics such as greenhouse gas emissions in alignment with major carbon accounting frameworks and standards. [32]

Awards

Diligent was recognized in the Deloitte Technology Fast 500 three times, ranking #98 in 2014, [33] #420 in 2016 [34] and #433 in 2020. [35]

In 2018 and 2019, Diligent was named one of Inc. 5000’s Fastest Growing Private Companies in America. [36] [37]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">SkyCity Entertainment Group</span> New Zealand gambling company

SkyCity Entertainment Group is a gambling and entertainment company based in Auckland, New Zealand. It owns and operates five casino properties in New Zealand and Australia, which include restaurants and bars, three hotels, a convention centre and Auckland's Sky Tower.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">TPG Inc.</span> American investment company

TPG Inc., previously known as Texas Pacific Group and TPG Capital, is an American private equity firm based in Fort Worth, Texas. TPG manages investment funds in growth capital, venture capital, public equity, and debt investments. The firm invests in a range of industries including consumer/retail, media and telecommunications, industrials, technology, travel, leisure, and health care. TPG became a public company in January 2022, trading on the NASDAQ under the ticker symbol “TPG”.

Galvanize is a privately owned software as a service (SaaS) company founded and headquartered in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. The Company builds security, risk management, compliance and audit software for the governance, risk management, and compliance (GRC) market.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Intercontinental Exchange</span> American exchange and clearing house company

Intercontinental Exchange, Inc. (ICE) is an American multinational financial services company formed in 2000 that operates global financial exchanges and clearing houses and provides mortgage technology, data and listing services. Listed on the Fortune 500, S&P 500, and Russell 1000, the company owns exchanges for financial and commodity markets, and operates 12 regulated exchanges and marketplaces. This includes ICE futures exchanges in the United States, Canada, and Europe; the Liffe futures exchanges in Europe; the New York Stock Exchange; equity options exchanges; and OTC energy, credit, and equity markets.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">SLI Systems</span>

SLI Systems provided cloud-based search tools for online retailers under a "software as a service" (SaaS) model. It was a public company listed on the New Zealand stock exchange.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Cadence Design Systems</span> American multinational computational software company

Cadence Design Systems, Inc. is an American multinational technology and computational software company. Headquartered in San Jose, California, Cadence was formed in 1988 through the merger of SDA Systems and ECAD. Initially specialized in electronic design automation (EDA) software for the semiconductor industry, currently the company makes software and hardware for designing products such as integrated circuits, systems on chips (SoCs), printed circuit boards, and pharmaceutical drugs, also licensing intellectual property for the electronics, aerospace, defense and automotive industries, among others.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Hellman & Friedman</span> American private equity firm

Hellman & Friedman LLC (H&F) is an American private equity firm, founded in 1984 by Warren Hellman and Tully Friedman, that makes investments primarily through leveraged buyouts as well as growth capital investments. H&F has focused its efforts on several core target industries including media, financial services, professional services and information services. The firm tends to avoid asset intensive or other industrial businesses. H&F is based in San Francisco, with offices in New York and London.

Mark Rhys Weldon is a New Zealand businessman and swimmer.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Francisco Partners</span> American private equity firm

Francisco Partners Management, L.P., doing business as Francisco Partners, is an American private equity firm focused exclusively on investments in technology and technology-enabled services businesses. It was founded in August 1999 and based in San Francisco with offices in London and New York City.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Xero (company)</span> Accounting software company

Xero is a New Zealand–based technology company that provides cloud-based accounting software for small businesses. The company has offices in New Zealand, Australia, the United Kingdom, the United States, Canada, South Africa and Singapore. Xero's products are based on the software-as-a-service model and sold by subscription, based on the type and number of entities managed by the subscriber. The products are used in over 180 countries.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Vista Equity Partners</span> American investment firm

Vista Equity Partners Management, LLC is an American private equity firm that invests in software, data, and technology-enabled businesses. With over $100 billion in assets under management (AUM), it is one of the largest private equity firms in the world. Vista Equity Partners has invested in hundreds of technology companies, including Citrix, SentinelOne, and Marketo, and has achieved many accolades in the space, most recently being named as 2023's Global Technology Private Equity Firm of the Year by Private Equity International.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">GeoOp</span> Publicly listed New Zealand technology company

Geo Limited is a publicly listed company in New Zealand.

Workiva, Inc. is a global software-as-a-service (SaaS) company. It provides a cloud-based connected and reporting compliance platform that enables the use of connected data and automation of reporting across finance, accounting, risk, and compliance.

Vista Group International Limited is a multinational tech conglomerate that provides technology for film distribution, exhibition and analytics globally. They are made up of eight businesses with more than 630 staff across offices in Auckland, Sydney, Los Angeles, London, Shanghai, Beijing, Mexico City, South Africa, the Netherlands and Romania. Its software is installed in cinemas in 116 countries. Vista Group is listed on both the New Zealand Stock Exchange (NZX) and Australian Securities Exchange (ASX).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">My Food Bag</span> New Zealand meal kit home delivery service

My Food Bag is a New Zealand meal-kit home-delivery service providing customers with ingredients and recipes to cook meals. The company is publicly traded and was floated on the NZX and ASX on 5 March 2021.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Pushpay</span> Australian software company

Pushpay Holdings Limited, known as Pushpay, is a donor management system for charities operating within the United States. In 2014 It was publicly listed on the New Zealand Stock Exchange (NZX), and then the Australian Securities Exchange (ASX) on 12 October 2016 under the ticker code PPH, before being taken private in 2023.

Metlifecare is one of New Zealand's largest retirement village providers. They currently own and operate 43 retirement villages throughout the North Island of New Zealand.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Brian Stafford (businessman)</span> American businessman

Brian Stafford is an American businessman and the CEO of Diligent Corporation.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Serko</span> Travel management company

Serko Limited, known as Serko, is a travel management and expense technology company headquartered in New Zealand.

References

  1. ↑ "Dusty Prodigy Accounts, Lost Tablets Put Company Secrets at Risk". www.bloomberg.com. Retrieved 3 September 2019.
  2. ↑ Hilson, Gary. "Diligent's new tool helps corporate boards evaluate themselves and improve". IT Business. Retrieved 3 September 2019.
  3. 1 2 "Diligent Investment Statement and Prospectus" (PDF). New Zealand Government's Registrar of Companies (societies.govt.nz). pp. 35, 42. Retrieved 19 March 2016.
  4. ↑ "Briefcase: The Diligence of the modern director | The National Business Review". nbr.co.nz. 1 March 2013. Retrieved 26 January 2016.
  5. 1 2 3 4 "Opinion piece: Less than Diligent disclosure turns ugly". sharechat.co.nz. 14 December 2007. Retrieved 26 January 2016.
  6. ↑ Parker, Tamsyn (13 December 2007). "Diligent boss walks as past haunts listing". The New Zealand Herald. ISSN   1170-0777 . Retrieved 12 June 2019.
  7. ↑ "Diligent CEO resigns, stays on board". stuff.co.nz. 1 January 2009. Retrieved 26 January 2016.
  8. ↑ "Diligent okays $6m share issue - Business - NZ Herald News". The New Zealand Herald . 12 March 2009. Retrieved 26 January 2016.
  9. ↑ "Diligent expects to make milestone profit - Business - NZ Herald News". The New Zealand Herald . Retrieved 26 January 2016.
  10. ↑ "Diligent to restate revenue of past three years – US sales slow". nbr.co.nz. Retrieved 25 January 2016.
  11. ↑ "Diligent censured, fined for numerous listing rules breaches". nbr.co.nz. 6 September 2013. Retrieved 26 January 2016.
  12. ↑ "Diligent names Brian Stafford (Carorder.com, failed startup) as CEO, replacing Sodi". www.scoop.co.nz. 1 April 2015. Retrieved 22 August 2019.
  13. ↑ "Diligent to Be Acquired by Insight Venture Partners for $US 4.90 Per Share in Cash | Business Wire". www.businesswire.com. Retrieved 20 May 2016.
  14. 1 2 "Diligent shareholders greenlight takeover by Insight Venture Partners". m.nzherald.co.nz. Retrieved 20 May 2016.
  15. ↑ "Diligent Corporation's Acquisition of Brainloop AG – Global Legal Chronicle" . Retrieved 29 September 2019.
  16. ↑ "DILIGENT ACQUIRES BOARDPAD AND BLUEPRINT". www.icsa.org.uk. Retrieved 29 September 2019.
  17. ↑ "Diligent Acquires Brainloop to Expand Governance Cloud Offering | Diligent". Diligent - English US. Retrieved 29 September 2019.
  18. ↑ "Exclusive: Diligent acquires Manzama". legaltechnology.com. Retrieved 23 February 2020.
  19. ↑ "Home". Diligent Institute. Retrieved 29 September 2019.
  20. ↑ "Diligent Launches First Global Governance Think-Tank with Diligent Institute". www.businesswire.com. 5 December 2018. Retrieved 29 September 2019.
  21. 1 2 "AIC Members Join Diligent's Modern Leadership Initiative To Improve Board Diversity At Private Equity-Backed Businesses". American Investment Council. 1 October 2020. Retrieved 30 December 2020.
  22. ↑ Kreutzer, Laura (6 July 2020). "Diligent's Brian Stafford Says Diverse Leadership Starts With Boards". Wall Street Journal. ISSN   0099-9660 . Retrieved 21 August 2020.
  23. ↑ "Modern Governance Requires Modern Leadership". diligent.com. Archived from the original on 16 July 2020. Retrieved 21 August 2020.
  24. ↑ "About Diligent - the #1 Board Management Software Provider | Diligent". Diligent - English US. Retrieved 24 July 2019.
  25. ↑ Atkinson, Dan. "US Proxy Voting Reflects Fractious New Landscape". ESG Investor.
  26. ↑ Khairnar, Shruti. "Q&A: How Diligent is helping companies transition to a modern back office". Fintech Futures.
  27. ↑ "The $100M ARR club welcomes four new members". TechCrunch. Retrieved 23 February 2020.
  28. ↑ "Diligent opens European hub in Galway". www.techcentral.ie. 15 July 2022. Retrieved 12 August 2022.
  29. ↑ "Interview with Rahim Fazal, Co-Founder & CEO, SV Academy and MarKeith Allen, SVP & GM of Mission-Driven Organizations at Diligent". www.citybiz.co. 12 August 2022. Retrieved 12 August 2022.
  30. ↑ "Diligent Completes Galvanize Acquisition, Becoming World's Largest GRC SaaS Company". 7 April 2021. Retrieved 12 June 2023.
  31. ↑ "Diligent to Acquire Steele Compliance Solutions". 25 February 2021. Retrieved 12 June 2023.
  32. ↑ "Diligent acquires Limerick-based ESG software company Accuvio". 10 August 2021. Retrieved 12 June 2023.
  33. ↑ "Deloitte's 2014 Technology Fast 500" (PDF).
  34. ↑ "Deliotte's 2016 Technology Fast 500" (PDF).
  35. ↑ "Deloitte's 2020 Technology Fast 500" (PDF). Archived (PDF) from the original on 18 November 2020.
  36. ↑ "Inc. 5000 2018: The Complete Rankings". www.inc.com. Retrieved 13 August 2019.
  37. ↑ "2019 Inc. 5000: The Most Successful Companies in America". Inc.com. 14 August 2019. Retrieved 23 February 2020.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.