John Chambers Joins OpenGov Board of Directors and Invests to Help Governments Better Serve Their Communities

OpenGov brings financial and performance reporting and transparency to more than 1,000 governments in 46 states as company continues to scale

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OpenGov

May 26, 2016, 10:00 ET

REDWOOD CITY, Calif., May 26, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- OpenGov, the market leader in cloud-based financial intelligence, planning, and transparency for government, today announced that John Chambers, Executive Chairman of Cisco, has invested in the company and joined the Board of Directors. The addition of Chambers rounds out an all-star board which includes Palantir Co-Founder Joe Lonsdale, Marc Andreessen, and OpenGov CEO Zac Bookman. Investors in the company include Andreessen Horowitz, 8VC, Thrive Capital, Intuit founder Scott Cook, Ashton Kutcher and Guy Oseary's Sound Ventures, and Glynn Capital.

OpenGov's web-based solutions foster widespread internal and external understanding of complex government financials and performance data, enabling data-driven decision-making, optimizing the budgeting and planning process, and building trust inside and outside the organization. Unlocking access to this information leads to improved operational efficiency, years of time saved, and, ultimately, better policy decisions. The OpenGov platform also enables public administrators to engage citizens — online, where they are in this digital era — and provide unprecedented insight into their government's finances.

"Governments that embrace the power of a new digital world can completely transform how citizens, businesses and the public sector interact. Governments that lead in this new digital era will see the results in efficient services to their citizens, job creation, and economic growth. This transition is at an inflection point in all city, state and national governments around the world," said Chambers. "OpenGov applies the best in technology to bridge these gaps so that governments can truly serve their communities. This is no small task, but an absolutely vital one, and I believe that OpenGov can play a pivotal role in this transition and beyond."

As OpenGov scales to serve tens of thousands of local and county governments, special districts, school districts, and state/federal agencies, it will draw on Chambers's vast expertise in building companies and divisions to scale. At Cisco, Chambers grew the company from $70 million when he joined, to $1.2 billion when he assumed the role of CEO, to record revenues of $48.6 billion in FY13. In addition to his tenure at Cisco, Chambers also spent nearly two decades working on various initiatives that bridge tech and government, dating back to 1997, when he co-founded TechNet, an organization created for the tech industry to educate and engage with Washington, D.C. and state capitals across the country.

"While the nation is transfixed with the current presidential election cycle, it's easy for the role of state and local government to get lost, but these governments serve on the frontlines. They need to operate as efficiently as possible to provide optimized services, collaborate with and across other state and federal agencies, and be ready to show citizens how investments of public money address a community's most urgent problems," said Zac Bookman, OpenGov Co-Founder and CEO. "We believe that implementing great technology is the only way these governments will function most effectively. We are delighted to welcome John and inspired by a shared vision and the challenge of overhauling present systems for a better future."

State and local governments across the country are adopting OpenGov at a rapid pace, as more than 1,000 governments now use the platform, including recent launches in Washington D.C. Tallahassee, and San Diego. Additionally, OpenGov has analyzed more than $500B in budgets across 46 states.

"OpenGov was founded with the belief that cloud-based technology could transform the way local, state, and federal governments do business, just as it is transforming the business and consumer worlds," said OpenGov Co-founder and Chairman Joe Lonsdale. "Now is the time for networked financial and performance management and budgeting to make its mark on the way our country functions. We couldn't be more excited to bring government into the 21st century."

About OpenGov
OpenGov is transforming the way the world analyzes, shares, compares, and allocates public money. With more than 1,000 government customers across 46 states in a rapidly expanding network, OpenGov is the market leader in cloud-based performance intelligence and financial transparency. Founded in 2012 with headquarters in Silicon Valley, and offices in Washington DC and Portland, OpenGov works with leading governments of all sizes such as The State of Ohio, Washington DC,Minneapolis, MN, San Antonio, TX, Palo Alto, CA, Northglenn, CO, and Edgewood, KY. Advisors include former U.S. Senator Byron Dorgan, former U.S Secretary of State George Shultz, former U.S. Treasury Secretary Lawrence Summers, former Mayor of Indianapolis Stephen Goldsmith, and former Mayor of Washington D.C. Adrian Fenty. Learn more at www.opengov.com.