# Neil Davidson

> Neil Davidson is the British co-founder and former joint CEO of Redgate Software and the founder of Business of Software. He helped build the Cambridge developer-tools business with Simon Galbraith, wrote Don’t Just Roll the Dice on software pricing, and left daily management in January 2013 to pursue study and other interests.

- **Role:** Co-founder and former joint CEO at Redgate Software
- **Organizations:** Redgate Software, Business of Software, CryptoSeal
- **Nationality:** British
- **Education:** Mathematics; BA recorded by the Cambridge Computer Laboratory alumni newsletter, University of Cambridge, Trinity College, The Open University
- **Known for:** Co-founded Redgate in 1999 and helped build it to roughly 300 staff across three continents by December 2012., Developed the original SQL Compare., Founded Business of Software, whose first conference was held in 2007.

## Career timeline

- **1993** — Cambridge alumni newsletter records his BA graduation year.
- **1999** — Co-founded Redgate Software with school friend Simon Galbraith.
- **2006** — Named as Redgate’s technical director in the Cambridge alumni newsletter; Redgate won Cambridge Evening News Business of the Year.
- **2007** — Founded Business of Software conference.
- **2009** — Published Don’t Just Roll the Dice; foreword dated August 2009.
- **2012** — Announced departure from daily management to pursue study; Daniel Pink credited their sales-incentives conversations in his BoS presentation.
- **2013** — Left daily operations at the end of January; retained a shareholder and advisory connection at that time.
- **2026** — Resigned as a director of Red Gate Software Group Limited on 8 April.

## Achievements

- Co-founded Redgate in 1999 and helped build it to roughly 300 staff across three continents by December 2012.
- Developed the original SQL Compare.
- Founded Business of Software, whose first conference was held in 2007.
- Authored Don’t Just Roll the Dice; more than 50,000 downloads reported by September 2015.
- Investor in Rapportive, as identified by co-founder Rahul Vohra.

## Latest updates

- **2026-04** — Resigned as a director of Red Gate Software Group Limited on 8 April, according to Companies House.
- **2026-04** — Redgate announced a Sagemount growth investment and explicitly recognized Davidson and Galbraith as founders; this does not establish a new operating role for Davidson.
- **2024-07** — Redgate announced $100 million ARR at its 25th anniversary, more than a decade after Davidson left daily management.

## Links

- Website: https://neildavidson.com/
- LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/neildavidson/
- Twitter/X: https://twitter.com/neildavidson

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Profile page: https://yespress.io/neil-davidson
Published by YesPress — https://yespress.io
Last updated: 2026-10-21