Prior to founding 2nd Stage Partners, Larry Freed was the founder and CEO of the B2B technology firm ForeSee, the world leader in customer experience analytics. Larry led the company from inception in 2001 to a successful exit in 2013 that returned over 22 times the capital originally invested in the business while also growing revenue every quarter since the company was founded. During his tenure at ForeSee, Larry assembled a world-class executive leadership team, many of whom he has brought on to join him at 2nd Stage Partners.
Prior to founding ForeSee, Larry held several senior executive positions at Compuware Corporation, leading a variety of e-commerce and professional services programs. He served as Vice President of e-Business, where he was responsible for directing the national e-Business practice as well as the design, development, and implementation of e-Business strategies for numerous companies. Before joining Compuware, Larry was CTO at Bank One.
Larry is the author of two books, Managing Forward (2011) and the national best-seller Innovating Analytics (2013). Larry is a top rated speaker and innovator on the way we look at the customer experience across all touch points and at the brand level. Dedicating an enormous body of research to improving customer satisfaction analytics across all disciplines for over a decade, Larry and ForeSee developed the Word of Mouth Index (WoMI) and the ForeSee Experience Index. He has been quoted in numerous publications and media including CNN, the Wall Street Journal, the New York Times, Fortune, Forbes, the Washington Post, Tech Crunch, Mashable, and Investor’s Business Daily, as well as hundreds of other trade and local media.
Larry is currently on the University of Michigan Technology Transfer National Advisory Board and previously held board and leadership positions with various other industry groups. Larry was an Ernst & Young Entrepreneur of the Year Finalist and a Digital Analytics Association Most Influential Industry Contributor Finalist. In addition, under Larry’s leadership, ForeSee won various awards and recognitions such as Ann Arbor Business Review Company of the Year, seven-time Ann Arbor Spark FastTrack award, Crain’s Detroit Business Cool Places to Work in Michigan, Detroit Free Press’ Top Workplace, Gold Best in Biz Award for most Innovative Company of the year, CEO World Award, Golden Bridge Award, Stevie Awards and Edison Awards.
Larry has a B.S. in computer science from the University of Michigan and a M.B.A. from Wayne State University.