Epicor, a global leader in industry-specific enterprise software, today announced the appointment of Joe Ayers as their new Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer. Having served as interim CFO over the past quarter, Ayers played a crucial role in shaping the company's financial strategy and operations. In his permanent role, he will continue crafting the fiscal strategy of the firm, remaining committed to profitable growth while focusing on enhancing capabilities and value for the make, move, and sell industries.
"The days of finance being viewed as a back-office function are long gone," stated Epicor CEO Steve Murphy, emphasizing Ayers' critical role within the organisation. "Joe brings a strong skillset in leveraging finance as a strategic enabler for the business, empowering every part of the organisation with the right guidance, resources, and operational partnership to win in the marketplace." Murphy further highlighted Ayers' contributions in helping the company surpass the $1 billion annual revenue threshold and expressed excitement over the prospect of Ayers steering the company's continued expansion and growth.
Ayers carries with him over 15 years of broad experience across various sectors, including audit and accounting, SEC reporting and compliance, global business and finance operations, SaaS business models, M&A, late-stage startups, and private equity. He joined the Epicor team in March 2021 as Vice President of Finance, leading the financial planning and analysis (FP&A) and business intelligence teams.
Prior to Epicor, Ayers had significant stints at the Audit practice at KPMG, where he focused on private and Fortune 1000 public company audits, and at PG&E addressing SEC reporting and technical accounting. He also worked at Lithium Technologies (now Khoros) as Chief of Staff to the CEO and leading finance and accounting operations. Ayers graduated with a bachelor's degree in accounting from Bob Jones University and completed the Harvard Business Analytics Program.
In a statement, Ayers remarked on the growing emphasis on data-driven insights within the finance team at Epicor and the exciting shift from gatekeeper to growth-minded collaborator. "Much like Epicor serves its own customers, the Epicor finance team is working hard to equip our organisation with the right data-driven insights at the right time to make the best decisions possible. It's that shift from gatekeeper to growth-minded collaborator that's so exciting, and a big part of why I'm so pleased to take on this role in helping Epicor differentiate and scale across the industries we serve," he expressed.