# Eric Free

> Eric Free is the Chief Growth Officer at Flexera, the IT lifecycle management platform used by enterprises to govern software, cloud spend, and technology assets. With a career spanning Intel, Rovi Corporation, and now Flexera, Free has spent two decades driving growth at the intersection of enterprise software, IoT, and cloud strategy. At Flexera, he oversees corporate strategy, M&A, business development, and go-to-market operations — steering a company with $221M+ in annual revenue and $5.85B in total funding toward what it calls the 'value era' of cloud.

- **Role:** Chief Growth Officer (CGO) at Flexera
- **Organizations:** Flexera, Intel Corporation, Rovi Corporation
- **Nationality:** American
- **Education:** BS in Engineering, Duke University, MS in Engineering, Stanford University, MA in International Affairs, Georgetown University, MBA, Duke University, Fuqua School of Business
- **Known for:** Co-founded Intel's digital home division and spearheaded entry into consumer and enterprise IoT markets, Led Flexera to Gartner Magic Quadrant Leader recognition for Cloud Financial Management Tools (2025) - second consecutive year, Led Flexera to Gartner Magic Quadrant Leader recognition for SaaS Management Platforms (2025)

## Career timeline

- **Early career** — Earned BS in Engineering from Duke University, then MS in Engineering from Stanford University
- **Mid-career** — Earned MA in International Affairs from Georgetown University and MBA from Duke University's Fuqua School of Business
- **Rovi Corporation (formerly Macrovision)** — Served as Executive Vice President of Product Development, responsible for designing and building software and services
- **Intel Corporation** — Joined as Vice President and Senior Executive/General Manager for the Internet of Things (IoT) Group; co-founded Intel's digital home division and developed Intel's consumer IoT strategy
- **Flexera (current)** — Joined as Chief Growth Officer, responsible for corporate strategy, M&A, go-to-market, business development, and cross-company execution

## Achievements

- Co-founded Intel's digital home division and spearheaded entry into consumer and enterprise IoT markets
- Led Flexera to Gartner Magic Quadrant Leader recognition for Cloud Financial Management Tools (2025) - second consecutive year
- Led Flexera to Gartner Magic Quadrant Leader recognition for SaaS Management Platforms (2025)
- Drove strategic acquisitions of ProsperOps (AI-enabled FinOps automation) and Chaos Genius (agentic AI for Snowflake/Databricks)
- Oversaw Flexera's $3B debt financing round (2025), contributing to $5.85B in total funding
- Contributed to the Flexera 2026 State of the Cloud Report, surveying 753 cloud decision-makers
- 20+ years of technology industry experience spanning IoT, enterprise software, and cloud management

## Latest updates

- **2025-08** — Flexera completed $3B debt financing round
- **2025-05** — Flexera appointed Mike Jerich as President
- **2025-05** — Flexera acquired ProsperOps and Chaos Genius to expand FinOps and agentic AI capabilities
- **2025-04** — Flexera named a Leader in 2025 Gartner Magic Quadrant for Cloud Financial Management Tools for second consecutive year
- **2025-04** — Flexera named a Leader in 2025 Gartner Magic Quadrant for SaaS Management Platforms
- **2025-03** — Published Flexera 2026 State of the Cloud Report highlighting the 'value era' of cloud adoption

## Links

- Website: https://flexera.com
- LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/ericfree/
- Twitter/X: https://twitter.com/eric_free
- Facebook: https://facebook.com/flexera/

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Profile page: https://yespress.io/eric-free
Published by YesPress — https://yespress.io
Last updated: 2026-05-30