Company

30+ years of tailored CLM solutions led by experts

Message from CEO, Richard Eckerstrom

We are excited to celebrate over 30 years in business, delivering tailored, effective contract management software solutions to customers, large and small, across various industries. As we celebrate this milestone, I reflect upon the passion and drive it took to develop our Contraxx product­­, qualities that are still prevalent today in our dedicated, knowledgeable staff. Over the years, “initial implementation” clients have turned into valued, long-term relationships and they now enjoy numerous iterations of innovation and product growth with us.

Continuously pushing the boundaries of innovation, we regularly implement new core product releases thanks to helpful suggestions from our customers. This year, Ecteon is focused on improving the intuitive user interface, broadening integration to new function and offering new ways to connect, access and analyze contract data.

In the marketplace, we see a lot of volatility: from supplier consolidations and product abandonment to new market entrants focused on basic functionality to attempts to translate UI design to contract management and broadened tools integration. We are proud to have the 30-year legacy of Contraxx and commitment to our customers that brings strength and reliability to the CLM market. Our commitment to implement quality solutions and offer reliable product support is only renewed when we remember our incredible business journey.

Customers can expect us to strengthen our solution platform, introduce new ways to leverage contract data to vertical industries, improve our communications with contract managers, and extend our partner network to bring more capability. The market requires continuous innovation and Ecteon is committed to doing just that in order to stay ahead of industry best practices.

Sincere regards,

Richard Eckerstrom
CEO

History

Our history is deep and our client relationships are long-term.

1986. Gasoline was 89 cents per gallon. The Oprah Winfrey show debuted nationally. And Ecteon was founded, offering the first contract management solution of its kind.

Our robust contract management system, Contraxx®, was has grown out of more than 30 years of client experiences and feedback.

CBS Records was Ecteon’s first customer, revealing the intricacies and complexities of contract management for some of the biggest name and most successful music moguls. We saw firsthand how contracts were being managed in this industry and noticed how the “patchwork” composition of contracts limited operational efficiency and put companies and individuals at risk.

Understanding the disparate and unorganized manner in which contracts were stored and updated is what inspired Ecteon to create an enterprise-view, integrated software system that would enhance a customer’s legacy administrative contract processes.

For the first decade of our company’s history, our primary focus was building custom contract management software solutions for Fortune 500 clients, specifically those in the entertainment industry. The company evolved from server-based hosting to offer client server to browser-based hosting in order to meet customers where they were in their own usage of technology platforms. Ecteon’s ability to listen to customer pain points and respond with CLM systems that suited their needs allowed us to quickly become a notable, reliable, and trusted CLM choice for businesses across the industry spectrum.

As our customers’ businesses changed with new technology, Ecteon’s system evolved to meet their changing needs. Shifts from re-programming to configure-to- policy software opened doors for the company to serve a breadth of verticals beyond entertainment. Today we serve many industries from higher-education, banking, insurance, healthcare, pharmaceutical, entertainment, and energy, among others.

What We Believe

  • We believe that contracts are at the core of every business.
  • We believe the best innovations come from real-life experiences and lessons learned.
  • We believe in long-standing partnerships.
  • We believe contracts form the foundation of business and governmental relationships.
  • We believe as businesses grow in complexity, the demand on those contracts, and the need for controlled distribution and proactive management of contract compliance, grows exponentially.
  • We believe your CLM should do most of the heavy lifting so it reduces your workload.

Our entire focus has been and continues to be on contract management. We are intent on enhancing the value and security of your business-defining, competitive-advantage-producing agreements.

Ecteon is an RLDatix company.  For more information, please visit www.rldatix.com.

Key Milestones

1986
Founded. First Customer: CBS Records
1996
First Commercial Product Release: Warner Bros. Records
1997
Office expansion in Nashville
2002
First Healthcare Customers : TriMedx & Idaho Department of Health and Welfare
2002
First International Customer: EMI Records, London
2003
First Federal Government Agency: U.S. Senate
2005
First National Health System Customer: Vanguard
2005
First County Government Customer
2008
First SAAS customer: Mellon Bank
2009
Became IACCM Member
2010
First Medical Research Center: Mayo Clinic
2016
CIO Magazine Listed Ecteon as “Most Promising Procurement Solution Provider of 2016”
2021
RLDatix Acquires Ecteon

Executive Team


Richard Eckerstrom, Chief Executive Officer

Richard Eckerstrom started Ecteon in 1986. In the early 90’s, Eckerstrom established the company as a leader in entertainment industry consulting, leading to key engagements with companies such as Sony, Time-Warner, Bertelsmann, and Universal. Prior to Ecteon, Eckerstrom spent several years working in corporate finance, strategic planning, software marketing, and new product development. Richard holds an A.B. from Yale University and an M.B.A. from Columbia University.

 

Lonnie Blackwood, Chief Technology Officer 

Lonnie Blackwood is the chief solutions architect of the Contraxx product. Lonnie is a leading expert in contract management, helping organizations across many industries over the past 25 years improve their contract management processes and automation, with a particular focus on entertainment and health care. Lonnie is responsible for all product development, professional services consulting and implementation services, and customer support services. Lonnie holds degrees in Computer Science and Electrical Engineering from Washington University in St. Louis.

 

Marlene Bauer, Vice President of Professional Services

Marlene Bauer is the vice president of professional services for Ecteon. She is responsible for managing the PS division, providing pre-sales support to prospects, design and delivery of implementation services to customers, and contributing to the development of corporate product and services solutions and strategies. She is highly experienced in managing and delivering contract management solutions to Fortune 500 companies. She has directed teams responsible for dozens of additional deployments.

Marlene has 15+ years’ experience in sourcing and contract development, negotiation, and management, and has provided training and consulting in the areas of contract negotiations to very large, multi-national organizations. She is also experienced in the upstream phases of the capital acquisition process, including scenario development, economic analysis, managing the bid process, and vendor evaluation and selection, and has an extensive background in financial analysis, pricing modeling, budgeting, forecasting, and financial control.

She has an M.B.A. from Northwestern University’s Kellogg Graduate School of Management in the areas of finance and economics.

 

Alex Bombicino, Director of Western Regional Sales

Alex Bombicino is the director of western regional sales at Ecteon. He focuses on new customer acquisition and identifying opportunities to bring value by improving the contracting lifecycle. His expertise in emerging market development, new technology evangelism, and consultative solution sales allows him to build genuine relationships with customers.

Prior to joining Ecteon, Alex worked for several start-up companies, helping with market launches and channel partner programs. Alex holds a Bachelor’s in Marketing from Northern Illinois University. When he’s not working, he enjoys cycling, golfing, skiing, cardio training and spending time with family.

Patti Dean, Director of Eastern Regional Sales

Patti Dean is the director of eastern regional sales for Ecteon. In addition to engaging new Ecteon customers, Patti provides post-sales support for key existing clients along the eastern region. Her expertise in the evolution of Contraxx helps clients understand how to optimize their system for contract management. Her 15-year history in both sales and marketing capacities allows her to understand CLM solutions and managing contracting departments.

Patti holds a Bachelor’s degree in Marketing from Robert Morris University and in her down time enjoys, competitive tennis and traveling.

 

Ralph Mayes, Chief Operating Officer

Ralph Mayes is the chief operating officer at Ecteon and is responsible for managing sales, marketing, and operations departments within the company. His areas of expertise in company growth strategies, operations transformation, solution selling and implementation is complimented by his robust previous professional careers as vice president and client partner of notable global brands including BT Americas, managing director at Verizon Business, regional vice president at Affiliated Computer Services, Inc. and CEO at Unifi Technology Group. He most enjoys developing long-term customer relationships and sustaining healthy company growth.

Ralph holds a Bachelor’s degree and Master’s degree from Vanderbilt Owen School. When he’s not working, Ralph enjoys golfing, visiting beaches, landscape development, and spending time with his grandchildren.

 

Marc Schiffrin, Vice President of Product Development 

Marc Schiffrin is the vice president of product development and leads the team developing the core Contraxx engine. He works closely with professional services and management on future development efforts. His expertise in database software development and management, as well as his 21-year history with the company as a senior consultant, developer and manager on Contraxx allows him to solve complex technical challenges to provide users the best value for their investment.

Prior to Ecteon, Marc wrote software for finance, accounting, budget administration, and contract management departments. He also taught computer literacy at SUNY, and Java database Programming in Columbia University’s School of Continuing Education, Computer Technology and Applications program. He holds an A.B. in Physics from Dartmouth College and has been certified as a Java Programmer.

When he’s not working, you can find Marc catching up on the latest news, traveling, skiing, kayaking, and photographing.

 

Kathi Lenz, Customer Service Director

Kathi Lenz is the customer service director at Ecteon. She establishes and maintains customer service policies and procedures as well as oversees support issues. She provides first tier technical support and administrator training to customers, and trains staff. Her 12-year history with Ecteon and expertise in customer service, support, testing, and Contraxx documentation and project management allows her to help clients be successful and excited about using Contraxx.

Prior to Ecteon, Kathi was a project and contract unit manager for a state government agency and wore many hats including research analyst and senior management analyst. She also served as a project director for the State Board of Education on an educational research grant conducted in participation with three Idaho Universities engineering programs.

She holds a Bachelor’s degree in Psychology and Master’s in Instructional and Performance technology from Boise State University. When she’s not work, Kathi enjoys hunting for gemstones, beachcombing, reading, and cooking.