Portside co-founder Alek Vernitsky hands CEO role to Brandon Holden, stays on as strategic advisor and board member
Why It MattersPrivate-equity-backed leadership change at a software vendor serving over 700 operators signals continued consolidation and professionalisation of the business-aviation flight-department software market.
Alek Vernitsky, who co-founded the aviation software company Portside with Alek Strygin in 2017, handed the chief executive role to Brandon Holden in March 2026. Vernitsky remains a strategic advisor and board member. The announcement paired Holden's appointment with further investment from Vista Equity Partners, which had first invested in 2024, while Insight Partners remained a significant shareholder. Holden has experience running enterprise software businesses, including Eptura. Stated priorities include connecting Portside's platform more closely, developing AI capabilities and expanding commercial reach.
Vernitsky previously co-founded GetGoing with Strygin and Ilya Gluhovsky; the company joined Y Combinator's Summer 2012 batch. Its early consumer service let travelers pick two destinations and have one booked for them. In 2014 GetGoing shifted to corporate travel technology, and a July 2014 agreement put its technology behind BCD's hotel booking platform, then called RoomSource. In January 2016 BCD announced an agreement to purchase GetGoing's assets, and Vernitsky became senior vice president of product strategy while Strygin became senior vice president of product management.
Portside began after former GetGoing investors who owned aircraft approached the founders wanting a deeper understanding of their aircraft's financial and operational information. Its early reporting platform combined financial and operational data and sped up communication with flight departments and management companies. One early feature, the mission analyser, modeled the cost of an owner's flight history on a different aircraft using expense data from other Portside users.
The company later added scheduling and dispatch systems including PFM, BART and Avianis; Takeflite, serving commercial and cargo airlines; Baldwin, for safety management software; and LeaseWorks, for aircraft leasing. In February 2023 Portside announced a $50 million Series B led by Insight Partners, with existing investors including I2BF Global Ventures participating, when it described a platform serving more than 700 business aircraft operators across over 30 countries. Horizon, launched in February 2025, targets larger flight departments, fractional ownership programs and jet card operators.
