Software Testing Leader TestPlant Appoints Dr. John Bates as CEO

LONDON and BOULDER, Colorado, February 21, 2017 /PRNewswire/ --

Software industry veteran to lead the company into the next phase of growth and global expansion 

TestPlant (TestPlant.com), a world leader in digital service assurance and software test automation, today announced it has appointed Dr. John Bates as Chief Executive Officer.

Dr. Bates is a respected visionary and dynamic business leader with a strong track record in enterprise software. He has founded and grown cutting edge businesses, and has also served in a range of C-level roles at public software companies.

Notably, Dr. Bates was Co-founder, President and CTO of Apama - the pioneering streaming analytics company, which was acquired by Progress Software in 2005 and is now part of Software AG. He also served as EVP of Corporate Strategy and CTO at Progress Software and as CTO of Big Data, Head of Industry Solutions and CMO at Software AG. Most recently, he served as CEO of Plat.One - a pioneer in application enablement platforms for the Internet of Things. In September 2016, SAP announced it had acquired Plat.One.

"I am thrilled to be joining TestPlant at a time when incredibly disruptive forces are at work, morphing testing into one of the most critical business imperatives," said Dr. John Bates, CEO TestPlant.

Dr. Bates continued: "A frictionless, high-quality digital experience is essential for any successful business from financial services, to retail, to automotive; and the update speed of DevOps and Continuous Delivery mean that automation is essential to deliver customer value with speed and quality. Meanwhile, new software models around mobile, augmented reality, robots, drones, AI algorithms and the Internet-of-Things, are driving new testing requirements. TestPlant's solutions, which are at work at some of the largest enterprises in the world, and our experienced team are well placed to power these business imperatives, delivering true test automation."

Michael Wand, Managing Director of The Carlyle Group and TestPlant Director said: "Having backed John Bates and his first business Apama with a previous Carlyle fund and remained in close contact throughout the years, we are pleased that we can re-engage with such a seasoned executive who brings a tremendous amount of unique and highly applicable talent and experience to TestPlant. I am convinced he will positively impact the shaping of TestPlant's vision and product direction, supercharge the go-to-market strategy and ensure we continue to delight customers."

"We are grateful to George Mackintosh for his contribution to TestPlant, since founding the business in 2008. We look forward to continuing to work with him in his new position as a Non-Executive Director on TestPlant's Board."

In January 2016, TestPlant received investment from Carlyle Europe Technology Partners III, a €657m Carlyle fund focused on European technology, media and telecommunications (TMT) companies.

About TestPlant: TestPlant is a leader in testing automation. TestPlant's eggPlant range of tools help technology driven organizations deliver customer value faster and at higher quality by automating the testing process, including functional testing, performance testing, load testing, and even network emulation. TestPlant's tools are relevant in agile, mobile, web, and DevOps deployments, and are currently used by more than 300 enterprise customers in over 30 countries in sectors including Financial Services, Automotive, Healthcare and Life Sciences, Media and Entertainment, Retail and Defense and Aerospace. TestPlant's technology agnostic solutions can be used to improve and report on the quality and responsiveness of software systems across different interfaces, platforms, browsers, and devices, including mobile, desktop, and mainframe.

Photo of John Bates: https://www.dropbox.com/sh/nfzg22ahzjtk4ff/AACcQa02Ixhk3OB8SAE9kr-fa?dl=0