The starring roles in the much-anticipated public offering of NetSuite belong to founder Evan Goldberg, president Zach Nelson and investor Larry Ellison.
But a behind-the-scenes player yields some insight into the corporate culture. Billy Beane, general manager of the Oakland Athletics, joined the company’s board of directors in January.
Beane is known for finding new ways to address old problems. His approach to winning baseball games through statistical analysis was detailed in Michael Lewis’s best-selling book, Moneyball: The Art of Winning an Unfair Game.
Nelson, an Athletics season ticket-holder, has commented that Beane was chosen because he might help shift viewpoints and provide new methods of running the company “by the numbers.”
Perhaps more importantly, Beane has found ways to leverage limited resources to beat big competitors with deep pockets.
NetSuite, which makes business software that is delivered over the internet, lost $23.4 million last year. It hopes to raise $100 million through the IPO, which is expected to take place later this week.
As the company notes in its SEC filings, the competitive field includes Intuit and Ellison arch-rival Microsoft, the New York Yankees of software.
Baseball and business aren’t Beane’s only interests. He also has a passion for soccer, another arena where he may have a chance to apply his analytical approach. Athletics owner Lew Wolff received an expansion franchise in July to revive the San Jose Earthquakes, and Beane is helping to assemble a winning team.
“Almost any role Billy wants (with soccer), he can have,” Wolff told the San Jose Mercury News. “Billy has a lot on his plate, but he will be influential in everything we do.”
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