Advent International appoints technology executive Frank Roe as Operating Partner to help accelerate growth across global portfolio

By: Advent International via Business Wire

July 17, 2025 at 08:00 AM EDT

Advent International (“Advent”), a leading global private equity investor, today announced the appointment of technology executive Frank Roe as an Operating Partner. Roe will partner closely with Advent and its portfolio companies to help drive operational improvements, scale global go-to-market efforts, and identify new platform and bolt-on acquisition opportunities across high-growth software markets.

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Frank Roe

“Frank is a seasoned software operator with a combination of commercial instinct, operational rigor, and leadership experience,” said Bryan Taylor, Managing Partner and Head of Advent’s Technology Investment Team. “We believe his track record of driving growth, building high-performance teams, and scaling software businesses globally will be an asset to us as we look for new opportunities and work to create enduring value in our existing portfolio.”

Roe brings over 30 years of experience in enterprise software markets, most recently serving as Chief Executive Officer of SmartBear, a leading provider of software quality and visibility solutions. At SmartBear, he led the company through a period of hyper-growth, product expansion, and operational excellence that resulted in SmartBear becoming a fast-growing DevOps and software quality player in the industry.

Prior to SmartBear, Roe held senior leadership roles at industry-leading technology companies, including Oracle and Progress, where he built and scaled go-to-market engines and executed growth-focused operating models across multiple market segments.

“I’ve long admired Advent’s reputation for backing great teams and building market leaders,” said Frank Roe. “This is an exciting opportunity to work alongside expert investors and portfolio CEOs to help drive transformational outcomes, and I look forward to rolling up my sleeves to make an impact.”

Roe continues to support SmartBear as a Strategic Board Advisor. In addition, Roe serves as Executive Chair on the board of MariaDB, a new generation cloud database company, and is also a board member at LastPass, a leading password and identity management company. He earned a Bachelor’s degree in business from the Isenberg School of Management at the University of Massachusetts, Amherst.

With its global presence, deep cross-sector network, company-scaling resources, and flexible capital, Advent’s approach to investing in the technology sector is focused on companies targeting innovation and growth at scale.

About Advent International

Advent is a leading global private equity investor committed to working in partnership with management teams, entrepreneurs, and founders to help transform businesses. With 16 offices across five continents, we oversee more than USD $94 billion in assets under management* and have made over 430 investments across 44 countries.

Since our founding in 1984, we have developed specialist market expertise across our five core sectors: business & financial services, consumer, healthcare, industrial, and technology. This approach is bolstered by our deep sub-sector knowledge, which informs every aspect of our investment strategy, from sourcing opportunities to working in partnership with management to execute value creation plans. We bring hands-on operational expertise to enhance and accelerate businesses.

As one of the largest privately-owned partnerships, our 660+ colleagues leverage the full ecosystem of Advent’s global resources, including our Portfolio Support Group, insights provided by industry expert Operating Partners and Operations Advisors, as well as bespoke tools to support and guide our portfolio companies as they seek to achieve their strategic goals.

To learn more, visit our website or connect with us on LinkedIn.

*Assets under management (AUM) as of March 31, 2025. AUM includes assets attributable to Advent advisory clients as well as employee and third-party co-investment vehicles.