A New Chapter for Grand Avenue Software:
Welcoming Jessica Castillo as CEO
Grand Avenue Software has spent more than two decades helping medical device companies navigate one of the most compliance-intensive industries in the world. That kind of longevity isn’t accidental—it’s the result of staying close to customers, building software that actually works in regulated environments, and knowing when the moment calls for new leadership to carry the mission forward.
That moment is now. And Jessica Castillo is the person stepping into it.
Grand Avenue announced this week that Jessica has officially assumed the role of Chief Executive Officer in a planned transition—succeeding founder Ron Schmitz, who moves into a senior strategic advisory role and remains actively involved in product direction, strategy, and key company decisions. For customers and partners, Ron’s continued involvement in strategy and product direction ensures the institutional knowledge that built Grand Avenue stays at the center of where it’s headed.
The Right Leader at the Right Inflection Point
Jessica brings more than 20 years of experience that includes helping SaaS businesses scale in ways that deliver more value to existing customers and attract new ones. She spent 12 years at McKinsey & Company leading large-scale performance transformations across industries, then joined Vista Equity Partners as Executive Director of Value Creation, working directly with SaaS portfolio companies to sharpen go-to-market execution and improve customer outcomes. Most recently, she served as Chief Transformation Officer at Litera, an Hg-backed legal software company, where she led a company-wide AI and customer experience transformation program.
The thread connecting those roles is consistent: Jessica identifies where a company’s potential isn’t yet matching its customers’ needs, then builds the cross-functional alignment to close that gap. That’s the work ahead at Grand Avenue—not because something is broken, but because the opportunity to serve customers better is always worth pursuing.
“This is a planned transition I’m proud of, and one that I’m confident puts our customers in an even better position. Jessica’s background helping SaaS companies deliver more value to the people they serve is exactly what Grand Avenue needs at this stage. I’ll remain closely involved in strategy and product, and together, we’re focused on making sure the customers and partners who rely on us every day feel the difference.” —Ron Schmitz, Founder
What Customers and Partners Can Expect
Grand Avenue Software has spent over 20 years providing a scalable, modular eQMS platform that helps medical device organizations streamline quality processes, improve visibility, and maintain compliance with global regulatory standards including FDA 21 CFR Part 820, EU MDR, and ISO 13485. That foundation doesn’t change. What changes is the capacity to build on it.
Jessica’s focus will center on accelerating product innovation, deepening the partner ecosystem, and ensuring customers experience faster time to value at every stage—whether they’re an early-stage medical device company navigating their first quality system or a commercial-stage manufacturer scaling compliance operations across multiple product lines.
“Grand Avenue Software exists to help medical device companies streamline compliance, reduce documentation burden, and strengthen audit readiness—freeing them to focus on bringing life-changing products to market faster,” said Jessica. “That mission is what drew me here, and I’m excited to build on that foundation.”
The Moment Is Right. The Mission Hasn’t Changed.
The medical device industry is under mounting pressure to modernize quality systems, reduce documentation burden, and bring products to market faster without compromising compliance. Grand Avenue has spent two decades earning the trust to help customers do exactly that. With Jessica at the helm, it’s ready to do more of it.