Chief Information Officer
Originally from Minnesota, Laef resided in Chicago for 21 years before moving to Bozeman, where he now lives with his wife and four children.
Experience
Laef oversees the strategy and vision for the company's on-demand hosting platform. As CIO, he is also responsible for information security and compliance, customer care operations, and internal systems management. He plays a key role as an external company spokesperson for RightNow hosted services.
Prior to joining RightNow, Laef was group vice president of global technology operations of Travelport and Orbitz Worldwide. In that role, he managed systems engineering and 24/7 operations capability for the company's global infrastructure which supported Orbitz, Cheaptickets and eBookers. While in this position, he led the successful transformation of the Orbitz search and booking technology into a multi-brand platform.
Laef has also served for several years as chief technology officer for cars.com and prior to that held several technology management positions in the financial services industry. His experience building and operating high volume transactional systems is reflected in RightNow’s world-class technology operations.
Education
BA in Economics
Wheaton College
MBA
The University of Chicago Graduate School of Business
Why Laef Is Proud To Work At RightNow
“RightNow is a fascinating place to work because of its unique contrasts. We are globally focused, yet headquartered in Bozeman. We build world class enterprise software, yet deliver it on demand. I think of it as best-in-class technology in an area known for best-in-class fly-fishing.”
Outside The Office
Although technology allows Laef to remain “online” even while floating the Yellowstone River, it is his passion for fly-fishing Montana’s blue ribbon trout streams, snow skiing Bridger Mountain, camping in the wilderness and exploring “the last best place” with his family that keeps him working and playing hard.
Greg Gianforte