Gregory S. Gilmore ’85 says he is always pursuing “it” and is pleased to have “it” in the ranks of his employees, though he can’t really explain what “it” is.

As president and chief operating officer of Planview, Gilmore says his internal gauge of “it” has led him through many good decisions.


“We are a group of people who strive to delight our customers and ourselves,” Planview president and CEO Gregory S. Gilmore ’85 told students. “We value our integrity and we believe in our faith.” (view more photos)

“You can’t buy it and you can’t create it, but you know it when you encounter it,” he says. “I have an employee who has “it,’ and I know he would do anything I ask and then some — and with enthusiasm. I trust him with the reputation of the company because he is going to handle it properly.”

For the past 16 years, Gilmore has been the driving force behind Planview’s market leadership as an independent provider of enterprise-wide portfolio management solutions. He urges the students to use some internal gauge when pursuing jobs. “I think you should be looking at the culture of the company,” he says. “You should see if you see an environment that suits you. Be intentional about measuring the culture against your own.”

When he visited Texas A&M recently as a dean’s distinguished executive speaker, Gilmore started the class sessions by asking all the students to introduce themselves and then Gilmore introduced himself. He did so to emphasize what he considers the most important element of any job — the people.

“You have to intentionally communicate,” he says. “In fact, at Planview we overcommunicate. That way no one is confused.”

He says at Planview, the company mission is to “innovate with integrity.” “We are a group of people who strive to delight our customers and ourselves,” he said. “We value our integrity and we believe in our faith.”

Gilmore has more than 25 years of experience in sales, consulting, and operations management at organizations including Ernst & Young, Texas Instruments, James Martin & Co. and ABT. He is active in business and charity communities; he sits on the boards of Regent School of Austin and the Foundation for the Homeless, and is a former board member of the HillView Christian Ministries. He received his bachelor’s in business analysis from Texas A&M. The Dallas native lives in Austin with his wife Sheila and their three children.

The employees are encouraged to be involved in charitable organizations and each year, the company has “20 Days of Giving,” during which employees can take up to four hours off to volunteer or they can donate money to charitable organizations and have those donations matched by the company.

Gilmore says the most difficult thing he does each day is deal with people. “But you have to handle every situation with dignity and grace,” he says. “Never be afraid to take the hard paths or face the hard decisions, but always do what you do with integrity.”

About Planview

Planview has been advancing the discipline of portfolio management, helping our customers change the way they manage people and money to make better business decisions. With a singular focus on portfolio management, Planview is the only company that combines customer-driven software, unmatched domain expertise, and proven best practices to solve each customer’s unique business problems. For more information, visit www.planview.com.