# Janet Dryer

> Janet Dryer is a seasoned software industry executive with over 30 years of experience building and scaling technology companies. She served as CEO of Perforce Software from January 2016 through mid-2018, relocating headquarters from San Francisco to Minneapolis and growing the company from roughly 220 to 450 employees while doubling revenue to $150M. Previously, as CEO of HelpSystems for 16 years, she grew it from $20M to $110M in annual revenue. She now serves as Chair of the Board at Perforce, which provides version control, DevOps, and software development lifecycle tools to over half of the Fortune 500.

- **Role:** Chair of the Board at Perforce Software
- **Organizations:** Perforce Software, HelpSystems
- **Nationality:** American
- **Education:** Bachelor of Arts in Business Administration and Management, College of Saint Benedict
- **Known for:** Grew HelpSystems from $20M to $110M in annual revenue over 16 years as CEO, Nearly tripled HelpSystems employee count to ~300 during her tenure, Grew Perforce from ~220 to 450 employees globally in under three years

## Career timeline

- **1983** — Graduated from College of Saint Benedict with a degree in Business Administration
- **1985** — Joined HelpSystems as one of the first three employees, starting in sales
- **1998** — Became President of HelpSystems
- **2007** — Named CEO of HelpSystems
- **2014** — Led sale of HelpSystems to private equity; voluntarily gave up personal stock to share proceeds with employees without stock options
- **2015** — Retired from HelpSystems; received 2015 Entrepreneur of the Year Award from College of Saint Benedict
- **2016-01** — Came out of retirement to become CEO of Perforce Software; negotiated headquarters relocation from San Francisco to Minneapolis
- **2016** — Perforce achieved record sales and new customer wins under her leadership
- **2017** — Named a 2017 Titans of Technology honoree by Minneapolis/St. Paul Business Journal
- **2017** — Led Perforce to Star Tribune Top Workplaces ranking (Top 50 for small businesses)
- **2018** — Perforce reached $150M revenue, 450 employees globally, customers in 80 countries
- **2018-06** — Transitioned from CEO to Chair of the Board as Mark Ties named new CEO (Clearlake Capital acquisition)

## Achievements

- Grew HelpSystems from $20M to $110M in annual revenue over 16 years as CEO
- Nearly tripled HelpSystems employee count to ~300 during her tenure
- Grew Perforce from ~220 to 450 employees globally in under three years
- Doubled Perforce revenue to $150M in under three years
- Orchestrated six acquisitions at Perforce in three years to expand product portfolio
- Navigated two private equity transitions (Summit Partners for Perforce; PE sale of HelpSystems)
- Led Perforce to serve customers in 80 countries including 50%+ of Fortune 500
- Won 2015 Entrepreneur of the Year Award from College of Saint Benedict
- Named 2017 Titans of Technology by Minneapolis/St. Paul Business Journal
- Led two separate companies to Star Tribune Top Workplaces recognition
- Voluntarily surrendered personal HelpSystems equity to ensure non-equity employees shared in exit proceeds
- Successfully relocated Perforce headquarters from San Francisco to Minneapolis

## Latest updates

- **2018-06** — Transitioned from CEO to Chair of the Board at Perforce Software as Clearlake Capital completed acquisition and named Mark Ties as new CEO
- **2018-01** — Perforce reported $150M in annual revenue, 450 employees, customers in 80 countries under Dryer's leadership
- **2017-01** — Named a 2017 Titans of Technology honoree by Minneapolis/St. Paul Business Journal

## Links

- Website: https://perforce.com
- LinkedIn: http://www.linkedin.com/in/janet-dryer-38a934116
- YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L3cwwJZRmwg

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Profile page: https://yespress.io/janet-dryer
Published by YesPress — https://yespress.io
Last updated: 2026-05-16