Brian Borack on Running a Gym and Leading a Tech Company

Brian Borack didn’t start out in tech. After taking his degree from the University of Michigan, he headed to Washington, where he served as a Congressional legislative assistant. But his tenure as a political staffer was brief: after a year of responding to constituent requests and complaints, he opted for a business track, taking on the directorship of a large health club chain.  

And he prospered. Not just because of the free gym access: he displayed an early acumen for running a complex and multifaceted enterprise. Over the course of five years, Brian supervised his club’s sales and government contracts, implemented a marketing plan that exceeded revenue goals by 115%, and secured company recognition in Fit Magazine as one of the country’s top 10 health clubs. 

A Switch to Digital Tech

But by the late 1990s it was clear that digital technology would define and dominate business in the coming century, and Brian wanted in. First step: enrollment in the MBA program at the McCombs School of Business at the University of Texas at Austin. 

“Austin was very tech-centric and McCombs offered an MBA with an emphasis on entrepreneurship,” says Brian. “That dovetailed with my interests on both counts.” 

Brian hit the ground running after taking his degree, launching a software company funded by an Austin-based venture capital firm. And in subsequent years he pushed the envelope on both software and business development, eventually folding IT services into his skill set. 

“I’ve been an IT client, and I’ve also been on the other side, managing contractors that delivered IT services to software companies,” observes Brian. “I’ve really enjoyed both roles, and I developed competencies in both. I understand the needs and pain points – and the opportunities – from both perspectives. So if anything makes me unique, it’s that dual experience. Most people stick with one side or the other.” 

Brian eventually sold his company and joined BMC Software, serving in a variety of capacities, including leading R&D Operations. He then joined SoftServe as a Senior Vice President. He was COO within a year, directing a 4,000 person staff, constantly seeking top talent, matching challenging projects with optimal teams – all the while operating under a personal commitment to premier customer care and bedrock support for staff. 

An Introduction to Customertimes

It was a similar devotion to client service and employee support that ultimately brought him to Customertimes. 

“I’d met CT’s co-founder, Anton Miliaiev, when we were building one of the largest teams at GlobalLogic for BMC Software,” says Brian. “Anton was working at GlobalLogic and I was the client at BMC Software.  I was struck by both his skills and openness so I was disappointed when he left to start CT. He was different – and so was his company. That’s why I came here.” 

Teamwork, honesty, transparency, great people – those are all hallmark qualities of CT, says Brian. 

“They make it a pleasure to work here, and you also see the impact in the bottom line,” he says. “When I came on board, I was pleasantly surprised by the roster of enterprise accounts CT maintains.” 

Because Salesforce is integral to CT’s products and services, Brian considers Dreamforce one of the most important trade events of the year. 

“As far as I’m concerned, attendance is mandatory,” he says. “I have three priorities. First, I want to speak to our customers. I joined CT about four months ago, and my primary objective is really learning about our customers so we can build the solutions they need. Second, I want to get a sense of where the market is going. What are our competitors doing, how is the ecosystem changing, where are people investing, what kinds of solutions are under development?” 

And third, posits Brian: where is Salesforce going? 

“Salesforce is a key partner of CT, and we have to stay in alignment with them,” he observes. “I want to get a sense of the technologies that interest them and where they’re putting their investments.” 

Brian has his own ideas about developing tends, of course. 

“Automation will continue to accelerate – dramatically,” he observes. “That’s particularly the case with domain specific automation solutions. Humans are getting out of the business process.  We’re also going to see less and less custom solution development and more components. And third, a huge question right now is how do we leverage data and machine learning to drive better business outcomes?” 

Family Time

Like most C-suite executives, Brian hardly has an abundance of leisure time. But the free hours he does secure are spent with his family. 

“I have two little kids at home,” he observes. “My daughter is five, and my son is two. So all the time I have off is consumed by them – and I wouldn’t have it any other way. I appreciate every moment I get to spend with them – it keeps everything in perspective.” 

A Frequent Visitor to Ukraine

Brian has traveled a great deal during his career, including to Eastern Europe. During his years with SoftServe, much of his work centered in Ukraine.  

“I’ve traveled to Ukraine at least sixty times,” he says. “I was the first American at SoftServe to take Ukrainian language lessons, and I’ve spent so much time in the country that I can carry on basic conversations and read Cyrillic.

“And being in Ukraine wasn’t just about the work – I came to really love and respect the country and the people. And that’s another reason why I’m so happy to work for CT. It’s a real honor to be with a company that was founded by Ukrainians, and that still employs hundreds of Ukrainians working in-country. When this war is over, when Ukraine wins, I’m going to be on one of the first planes flying back there.”