This development will dramatically accelerate the pace with which Astound is moving toward its goals of building out its capabilities and global network and expanding into new commercial markets. The RLH leadership team has recognized in Astound the remarkable work put in motion 20-plus years ago by Astound founders Igor Gorin, Ilya Vinogradsky, and Roman Martynenko, the strength of Astound’s management team, and the strength of its business.
This new development is the latest milestone in Astound’s North Star plan, launched in the beginning of 2020 with the aim of making Astound the global market leader in digital commerce. The selection of Michael Kahn (MK) as Global CEO to lead the company was the first step in that plan, followed by the company’s search for a financial partner to help it grow. Now, with this new strategic investment, Astound leadership expects to achieve their goal of expanding its capabilities and footprint exponentially, realizing their mission to maximize the value of every digital commerce touchpoint.
“Astound is poised to accelerate expansion of its capabilities and footprint into new commercial and technology markets, realizing its mission to lead the digital commerce landscape and maximize the value of every digital commerce touchpoint.”
The RLH–Astound transaction comes after several months of in-depth conversations between the RLH and Astound leadership teams. “As we came to recognize RLH’s people-focused philosophy and its deep commitment to preserving the culture and operations of the businesses it supports, prioritizing talent acquisition and retention, the choice was clear,” says MK. He notes that for the past three decades, RLH has invested in businesses in technology business services, healthcare, and government services, in particular seeking out superlative leadership teams with a clear plan for exponential growth. Other RLH investments include Salesforce cloud consultancy Bluewolf (since acquired by IBM), Salesforce B2B agency Shift 7 Digital, financial and technology consultancy CrossCountry Consulting, and pharmaceutical industry consulting firm Clearview Healthcare Partners.
The RLH–Astound transaction became effective on Thursday, May 6. For Astound’s clients, partners, and team, this development allows the company to continue its high-caliber work and reaffirms its unwavering commitment to deliver maximum value every single day. The transaction also re-energizes Astound’s talent acquisition strategy and aligns with and supports the company’s goals to venture into new business directions and new markets.
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