Published on the 14/07/2016 | Written by Newsdesk
Outspoken Pronto COO Chad Gates is stepping up to the top job as long-term MD David Jackman retires…
Aussie business management software firm Pronto will this week bid farewell to its long-standing managing director, David Jackman after 17 years in the role. After internally signalling his desire to retire, Jackman and current chief operations officer Chad Gates, who has been with the company for the past 11 years, engaged in a 24-month transition process to ensure a smooth change of leadership.
“The hallmark of Pronto Software is our ability to adapt and build long-term success and industry leadership through our continual investment in innovation and people. Succession planning is part of our commitment to excellence and it is with great pleasure that I pass on the responsibility to Chad, a proven executive that has grown with the business over the past 11 years. Chad has deep knowledge and longstanding experience, from marketing and product development to customer engagement whilst also being a respected individual and leader,” said Jackman in a statement.
Since his appointment to the position of COO in 2014, Gates has been a major spokesperson for Pronto, driven the latest releases of Pronto Xi and prepared the company for the launch of two new divisions: Pronto Cloud Managed Solutions and digital consultancy, Pronto Woven.
Gates continues to look to the future, saying in a statement, that Pronto will continue to make significant investment in the areas of cloud, analytics and mobile applications to ensure it delivers smarter and more flexible ERP solutions that help customers excel and succeed.
“David has been an inspiration and mentor during my time at the company, and I wish him all the very best on his new chapter,” he added.
Jackman, whose last day is July 15th, thanked “the wonderful team” at Pronto Software for their commitment and enthusiasm over these many years.
During his 17-year tenure, he has tripled the size of Pronto Software. He engineered the staff buyout of Pronto Software in 2002 which has led to consistent growth and strong profitability; ensured Pronto Software funded its own growth with zero debt and zero external shareholders, which is a very different structure from venture capital influenced competitors; grew the team from 160 to 380 people; and increase the number of Pronto Xi customers to more than 1,700.
