John Moreland (born June 19, 1965) is an American entrepreneur and venture capitalist. He is the founder of Avetta, an online supplier management marketplace, and president of Operation Underground Railroad.
Early life
editMoreland was born in Fullerton, California and raised in Irvine, California.[citation needed]
Career
editMoreland became a police officer and spent most of his career as a canine handler. Moreland's longtime partner, Crambo, a veteran K-9 officer, was adopted by Moreland's family when the dog was retired from service.[1] During his tenure, Moreland worked during the Rodney King riots of the early 1990s.[citation needed]
Moreland formed the idea for Avetta while he was working as an occupational safety professional in the oil and gas industry. As founder, Moreland established Avetta as a supplier compliance software firm.[citation needed]
Moreland had financial challenges with Avetta early on and eventually received $30,000 to help the company after taking second place in a business plan competition from Brigham Young University in 2005.[2] He otherwise bootstrapped the company before raising venture capital — $35 million in a Series A investment from Norwest Venture Partners in December 2012 and a Series B round of $30 million in February 2015. At that time, Avetta had been operating in over 100 countries around the world.[3]
Moreland is also a part owner and board member of STA Jets.[4]
In 2016, Moreland joined Operation Underground Railroad (O.U.R.), an organization formed to end child kidnapping and slavery, and served as president.[5]
In 2018, Welsh, Carson, Anderson & Stowe (WCAS), acquired a majority equity interest in Avetta.[6]
References
edit- ^ GRAD, SHELBY (21 January 1994). "IRVINE : Police Retire Aging Dog in Ceremony". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved 9 September 2016.
- ^ "BYU - Marriott School - News - Alianza Wins 2005 Business Plan Competition". Brigham Young University. Retrieved 9 September 2016.
- ^ "PICS Auditing Raises $35M Minority Equity Investment from Norwest Venture Partners". FinSMEs. 16 January 2013. Retrieved 9 September 2016.
- ^ "Volunteering | John Moreland | LinkedIn". LinkedIn. Retrieved 17 November 2024.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link) - ^ "The Life Behind Operation Underground Railroad's New President". Ourrescue.org. Retrieved 9 September 2016.
- ^ "Buyout Firm Welsh Carson Weighs $3 Billion Sale of Avetta". www.bloomberg.com. February 13, 2024. Retrieved May 29, 2024.