Enterprise Software And Investment Banker Veteran Joins Third Largest Enterprise Apps Vendor

Today’s announcement that former Oracle President Charles “Chuck” Phillips has taken the helm as CEO of Infor continues the executive management shuffle impacting the enterprise software space.  Based in Alpharetta, GA, Infor serves 70,000 customers in 125 countries worldwide and employs over 8,000.  Some key takeaways from today’s announcement include :

  • Infor gains a seasoned executive. At Oracle, Charles Phillips played a key part in Oracle’s mergers and acquisition strategy.  Prior to Oracle, Chuck was the managing director for enterprise software coverage at Morgan Stanley.

    Point of View (POV):     During Phillips’ tenure, he was responsible for the sales, marketing, and service functions.  Customers found him effective because he invested time to understand their concerns, put action plans in place, and kept his word.  Chuck’s background in investment banking will play a key role in Infor’s goal to IPO in the next 12 to 18 months
  • Jim Schaper will continue to drive strategy. As the guiding force in Infor’s original strategy and M&A execution, Schaper stays on as Chairman.  Jim also remains a senior operating partner at Golden Gate Capital, Infor’s major investor.

    (POV):     Jim’s played a key role at Infor in executing the original roll-up strategy.  Now at $2.2B in revenues, he and the board smartly brings in a CEO who can take the company to the next level.  The move will be good for customers, partners, and employees.

The Bottom Line:  Infor’s Aims To Go Public

All signs indicate that Infor intends to file its initial public offering.  With a new product platform arriving in 2011, changes in its R&D organization, and now a new CEO in charge, the mid-market software has many of the pieces needed to launch to the next inflection point.  Industry watchers expect Charles Phillips to bring in additional software veterans to drive new product sales and shore up existing partnerships.

Your POV.

Does this announcement surprise you?  Are you an Infor customer?  What do you think of the latest management shuffle?  You can post or send on to rwang0 at gmail dot com or r at softwareinsider dot org and we’ll keep your anonymity.

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