Ontra, the leading provider of contract automation and intelligence solutions for the world’s most prominent asset managers, announced the appointment of Eric Hawkins as Senior Vice President of Engineering. In this role, Eric will lead the technical and security teams responsible for developing Ontra’s Legal Operating System, a suite of AI-enabled solutions that automates legal workflows across fundraising, portfolio investment, and fund operations. Ontra’s solutions are used by over 600 investment firms worldwide, including industry leaders such as Blackstone, Apollo, KKR, and Carlyle.
As SVP of Engineering, Eric will build on the product momentum that Ontra has generated to date with its Legal Operating System. Ontra recently announced the launch of Ontra Atlas, a solution that modernizes entity management. It has also been a pioneer in automating contract negotiation and in digitally transforming fundraising processes and contract obligation compliance. These offerings are powered by Ontra Synapse, AI built specifically for private markets.
“Over the past several years, Ontra has worked with leading asset managers to deliver innovative solutions that automate routine legal work and free private equity professionals to focus on their strategic priorities. Our comprehensive Legal Operating System reduces the time, expense, and risk associated with managing legal workflows across the fund lifecycle. As we continue to scale our platform, Eric’s expertise will be invaluable,” said Troy Pospisil, founder and CEO of Ontra. “Eric has a proven track record in leading high-performing engineering teams and delivering market-leading vertical software solutions. He knows what it takes to architect a multi-product platform and capitalize on game-changing technology like AI.”
“Ontra is leading the digital transformation of routine legal processes for private asset managers, which is a massive industry largely ignored by vertical SaaS providers,” said Eric Hawkins, SVP of Engineering at Ontra. “I was impressed by Ontra’s leadership team and the innovative AI-powered solutions the team has developed so far for this vast and growing industry. There is so much opportunity ahead, and Ontra is well-positioned to serve this market. I’m excited to lead the team forward to rapidly deliver innovative solutions as Ontra continues to build transformative solutions for their customers.”
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Before joining Ontra, Eric spent ten years at AppFolio, where he led the development of AppFolio’s mobile and payment solutions before building and leading engineering for the Investment Management business unit. Eric and the organization he built played a key role in growing revenue from $25M to over $600M and taking the company public. Previously, he served in various engineering leadership roles at Las Cumbres Observatory, Karl Storz Imaging, and NSI Communications.
Eric serves on the customer advisory boards of various prominent software companies, including Vanta. He has published case studies on engineering management with Harvard Business School and is a regular guest speaker on innovation and leadership at business schools. Eric also sits on the board of directors for Providence School and is a past director of Sage Trail Alliance.
