Fleetmatics Group PLC, a global provider of mobile workforce solutions for service-based businesses of all sizes delivered as software-as-a-service (SaaS), announced that its board of directors has approved a succession and transition plan for the company’s CEO position. Effective at the end of 2016, Jim Travers, the company’s chairman and CEO for the past decade, will step down as CEO.
He will be succeeded as CEO by Jill Ward, currently the company’s president and chief operating officer (COO). Ward also will join the company’s board of directors when she becomes CEO. Travers will remain chairman of the board. Ward was hired in 2015 and, in her current role is responsible for leading the company’s operating functions, including global sales and marketing, product strategy and development, customer support, operations, human resources and IT.
“As we enter our next stage of growth, Jill’s leadership and operating experience within rapidly growing multi-product software companies make her uniquely qualified to be our CEO,” said Travers. “While I am looking forward to spending more time on a variety of important philanthropic interests, I plan to continue to be actively involved in various strategic initiatives of the company and assist Jill in this transition.”
Travers joined Fleetmatics in 2006, two years after the company was founded in Dublin, Ireland. Since then, the company has expanded its leadership position in the software-based fleet management market, completed a highly successful IPO, expanded its global presence from three countries to nine, grown from less than 100 employees to more than 1,000 and built an impressive track record of revenue and earnings growth.
“I appreciate Jim’s support and the confidence expressed by the board of directors,” said Ward. “I’m excited by the opportunity to take on the role of CEO as we move into our next stage of growth. I am thrilled by both the tremendous global opportunity we have in front of us and the product and platform strategy we have in place to achieve it.”
Prior to joining Fleetmatics in April 2015 as president and COO, Ward was senior vice president and general manager at Intuit Inc., a global provider of SaaS offerings for small businesses and consumers. She led the accountant and adviser groups, serving accounting professionals who are pivotal to Intuit’s success with SMBs on a global scale. Throughout her 12-year career at Intuit, she led multiple business units to deliver growth through business management solutions for SMBs and enterprise clients. Prior to joining Intuit in 2001, Ward was president of CRM outsourcer Telespectrum Customer Care, held senior small business and consumer marketing positions at Fidelity Investments, and led strategy consulting teams at global consultancy Bain & Co.
Ward earned a Master of Business Administration at the Amos Tuck School of Business at Dartmouth College and a Bachelor of Arts at Wellesley College.
