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After a long and successful career, Jay Haladay, Viewpoint Construction Software‘s CEO and chairman of the board, announced his retirement last week.

Haladay, 65, said the demands of the job, with long hours and a heavy travel schedule, will continue to increase, so he’s decided to step down while remaining on the board of directors.

Viewpoint has grown tremendously since Haladay bought the company 27 years ago after running it for about three years. From a local firm with about 50 employees to a global company with close to 800 employees today, he said, Viewpoint will continue to grow, not just here, but around the world.

鈥淐onstruction is a global business, even more than 20 or 30 years ago,鈥� he said. 鈥淲e now have customers in 26 countries and it’s important that we are considered a global brand.鈥�

That global reach started in Canada about 10 years ago when Viewpoint was asked to develop software for American companies doing work there. The laws and requirements are different in Canada, of course, but eventually led to Viewpoint’s expansion into Australia, New Zealand and the United Kingdom.

鈥淲e made modifications to serve Canada, and once you do it for one British Commonwealth country it becomes easier,鈥� Haladay said.

Haladay said his company has gotten a lot of assistance from Bain Capital, which has helped it expand.

鈥淎 private equity company is a very important source of not only capital for expansion, but also a lot of management guidance and expertise,鈥� he said.

About a year ago, Bain bought out two other private equity groups invested in Viewpoint.

鈥淭hey are much better positioned with companies they think will be a market leader,鈥� Haladay said.鈥� So they made a rational decision to be Viewpoint’s sole partner.鈥�

Bain Capital grew out of Bain Consulting, Haladay said, and helps Viewpoint with best business practices.

鈥淚t’s always useful to have access to people who have 鈥榖een there, done that,’ and Bain Capital is one of the top five or six in the world,鈥� he said.

Bain’s expertise will help in choosing the next CEO for Viewpoint, Haladay said, and he will also have a hand in choosing his successor, by either promoting from within or doing a global search.

Whatever happens, Viewpoint will remain a family business. Haladay’s daughter is a meteorologist for a wind energy company, but his three sons all work for the company.

鈥淭he business reflects our family values and personalities,鈥� he said. 鈥淭hey will have every opportunity to reinvent (Viewpoint), but whether they stay is up to them.鈥�

Carrying family values into the workplace is just one reason Viewpoint has been so successful, Haladay said.

鈥淚f I had to look back at three or four elements that made me successful, I would say to find good people and give them a lot of rope,鈥� he said. 鈥淵ou can’t micromanage them and I’ve delegated a lot to them.

鈥淚’ve also opened my eyes to a lot of different markets and while some think of construction as dull, I’ve been able to look at our market in a unique way, been able to grow meaningfully in an area underserved by technology, and reached out to get information on things I don’t know about,鈥� he said.

Keeping his personal life simple has been important to his success, Haladay said, and his wife has been an essential partner.

鈥淢y wife of 41 years has been incredibly supportive of what I’ve done,鈥� he said. 鈥淲e have a very strong relationship and I don’t know if I could have done it without a strong relationship with her. I can’t imagine doing what I’ve done if my personal life was a mess.鈥�

Giving his personal life a higher priority is the reason he’s retiring, Haladay said.

鈥淥ver the last 15 years, I can’t think of more than four or five days where I haven’t thought about business,鈥� he said. 鈥淎ny successful business owner is crazy if they say they leave work at the office.鈥�

Running Viewpoint and watching it grow has still been 鈥渁 helluva lot of fun,鈥� Haladay said, but now it’s time to reorder priorities and put his family first.

With a home on a golf course in Hawaii and another near a ski resort in Canada, the Haladays have plenty of options on how to spend their retirement.

鈥淚 want to play more golf and we are all avid skiers and snowboarders,鈥� he said. 鈥淚’ve also ridden in Cycle Oregon and want to get back to more cycling.鈥�

They also plan to travel a lot more. For his 65^th birthday, Renee Haladay gave her husband a ticket to the British Open in July, and that’s just for starters.

鈥淚n the fall we’re going to Iceland to see the northern lights,鈥� he said. 鈥淎nd I’ve always wanted to see the Galapagos (Islands), so we will be doing that next year.鈥�