Certara's software grows 11% and it hires DocuSign's former CTO to run product

Certara's software line grew faster than the company as a whole for another quarter, and this time it cleared double digits. Third-quarter results published on 5 November show software revenue of $48.8 million, up 11%, against total revenue of $94.9 million, up 4%. Services went the other way, down 2% to $46.1 million.

The same release named Grant Peterson as Chief Product Officer, effective 2 November 2026. He was previously Chief Product Officer at Conga and spent 12 years as CTO at DocuSign.

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The numbers

Software bookings rose 15% to $46.9 million, which suggests the momentum isn't a one-off. Total bookings came in at $92.5 million, up 4%. Adjusted EBITDA was $30.2 million, a 31.8% margin.

Full-year guidance was narrowed to 2% to 3% revenue growth, with software expected to beat that range and services expected at or below its low end. Certara sold its regulatory and medical writing business in May, so these figures cover continuing operations only.

On the earnings call, CEO Jon Resnick called it "our first double-digit organic software growth quarter in two years". Talking about Phoenix Cloud, he said nearly 10% of all accounts have now moved to the cloud, and pointed to growing use of Simcyp and of non-animal methods as regulators ease away from animal testing.

Why a product hire matters here

Peterson's brief, in Resnick's words, is "to focus our portfolio investments on accelerating growth in both existing and new products." That's two jobs: tidying up a broad portfolio built partly through acquisition, and building new products in-house.

Resnick also described the AI plan as something closer to plumbing than a showpiece. Certara wants AI delivered as agentic components that sit inside customer workflows, plus an MCP-enabled data integration platform, rather than a standalone portal. He expects those capabilities to contribute in 2027.

The commercial reset

This is a company mid-rebuild. Resnick said Certara has brought in new commercial and product leaders over the past three quarters, including a new Chief Commercial Officer, and cut sales management and overhead after a reduction in force in May and June. It is now putting more sales and marketing effort into biotech, mid-sized pharma and CROs, and has started roadshows in China, Japan and Korea, with most of the impact expected in 2027.

Hiring a product chief from mainstream enterprise SaaS, rather than from inside biosimulation, is a clear signal. Certara has the science, with more than 400 scientists holding advanced degrees, according to Resnick. What it's buying is someone who has shipped software at scale.

What it means for hiring

A new CPO and CCO in quick succession usually means the layer below gets rebuilt next. We'd expect demand for product managers who understand modelling and simulation users and can work with a SaaS-style roadmap.
The push into biotech, mid-sized pharma and Asia points to account executives and regional leads who can sell scientific software to smaller, faster-moving buyers.
As NAMs move into routine use, scientists who can explain biosimulation to regulators and customers alike become valuable on the commercial side, not just in R&D.

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