How Ramzi built the fortune
Ramzi Musallam is chief executive and managing partner of Veritas Capital, a New York based private equity firm founded in 1992. Veritas concentrates on companies that sell technology products and services into markets where governments play a large role, such as defence, national security, public health programs, education and aerospace. Those customers tend to sign long contracts and are slow to change suppliers, which gives the businesses predictable revenue. Government related technology is a specialised area of investing, because companies working on defence and intelligence contracts must meet security requirements and follow strict procurement rules. Veritas built a team experienced in those rules, which helped it compete for assets that generalist investors found hard to evaluate.
Musallam joined Veritas in the late 1990s and took over leadership in 2012. Under him the firm raised successively larger funds and moved from mid sized deals to multibillion dollar transactions, often buying divisions that large corporations wanted to sell. His fortune reflects his ownership of the firm and his share of the profits generated by its funds. Investors in Veritas funds have included large pension plans and other institutions, and the growth of the firm's assets under management increased the fee income and performance fees on which partners' earnings depend.
A recurring pattern in Veritas deals is the carve out: purchasing an unwanted unit from a conglomerate, giving it independent management and systems, and then combining it with other acquisitions to create a larger stand alone company. That strategy produced several of the firm's best known investments. Peraton is the clearest example. Veritas started it with the purchase of a Harris Corporation government services unit, then added Perspecta and Northrop Grumman's federal IT business, creating one of the larger government technology contractors in the United States within a few years.
Companies and holdings
Veritas built the government services company Peraton, which later combined with Perspecta and with Northrop Grumman's federal IT and mission support business. It created Gainwell Technologies from a state health services unit of DXC Technology, and it owned Cotiviti, a healthcare analytics company. In 2022 Veritas, together with Elliott Investment Management's private equity arm, completed the purchase of athenahealth. In healthcare, Veritas has focused on companies that process claims, analyse payment data and run software for physician practices and state Medicaid programs, businesses whose customers include government agencies and insurers. Like most private equity holdings, these companies are financed partly with debt, and their performance depends on contract renewals and on managing that leverage.
- Veritas Capital, CEO and managing partner
- Peraton, Gainwell Technologies and other portfolio companies through Veritas funds
- Earlier investments in healthcare data and education technology
Early life and career
Musallam studied at Pitzer College in Claremont, California, and later earned an MBA from the University of Chicago. Before joining Veritas he worked in investment banking and finance, building experience in analysing companies with complex ownership and regulation.
At Veritas he worked alongside founder Robert McKeon and other partners for more than a decade, taking a growing role in sourcing and managing investments. After McKeon's death in 2012, Musallam became the firm's leader and has since been the main public face of Veritas in negotiations with sellers, lenders and government clients. His tenure has coincided with a shift in Veritas from a niche defence investor into one of the larger private equity firms in New York, while keeping its focus on the same core sectors.
Philanthropy and public life
Musallam keeps a low public profile and gives few interviews. Public information about his personal giving is limited, though he has supported his alma mater Pitzer College and educational causes, and he has served on boards of nonprofit organisations.
In business circles he is known for speaking about the role of technology in improving government services and healthcare administration. He rarely comments on politics, and Veritas generally communicates through announcements of transactions rather than broad public campaigns. Industry rankings of private equity leaders have regularly included him, but he has not sought a role in public debate beyond his business.