BoardPro has announced that it has signed Charles Nowaczek as its new Chief Executive Officer. As outgoing Chief Operating Officer for Serko Ltd (NZX/ASX: SKO), his broad commercial acumen and operational management expertise are set to play an instrumental role in BoardPro's continued global expansion. With 30,000 users across 39 countries, the appointment comes as BoardPro announces reaching profitability.
“Everything BoardPro has achieved so far points to potential. They are the largest board software provider in NZ, with enviable NPS numbers, strong organic customer referrals and sustained YOY growth. I’m excited to be joining a talented team at an inflection point in their growth journey,” comments Nowaczek.
Nowaczek is an experienced technology executive with a strong focus on scale-ups in SaaS and platform environments. Most recently, as Chief Operating Officer for Serko (Australia and New Zealand's dominant online corporate travel booking system) he supported the business through a turnaround into significant growth which included a 5x climb in annual revenue from just under $20m NZD in FY17, through the COVID downturn, to now tracking toward $100m NZD. Serko’s clients include Flight Centre and American Express GBT as well as a major global partnership with Booking.com, for which Nowaczek played a key role, including building data science and analytics capabilities from the ground up.
“Charlie is well-known for his ability to not only help set the strategic vision for ambitious organisations, but also for an ability to build a high performance culture with the systems and processes needed to achieve it. His proven experience of delivering strong results in both revenue and market share is well aligned to our next phase of growth. We are excited to welcome Charlie onto the team as we pursue a targeted global expansion to deliver on BoardPro’s mission of making governance easy for SMEs and non-profits,” comments Chris Ridd, Chair of BoardPro.
Prior to Serko, Nowaczek’s career spanned complex project and programme management before moving into the technology sphere during the internet’s first wave. His leadership toolkit was further honed by tenures at several global management consultancies delivering transformation initiatives for some of the world’s largest companies. Following this, he spent over a decade of experience in the digital media space, mastering how to grow digital products, platforms and teams at scale.
Targeted global expansion
Effective 3 February, Nowaczek focus will be on the active pursuit of global growth. To date, BoardPro’s geographical reach has been largely driven by organic growth; but early validation of a scalable sales model in Australia has proven targeted expansion potential across additional markets including the UK and US.
Known as a leader who values purpose, Nowaczek was particularly excited about the startup’s mission. “I was impressed by the engagement and commitment of both the team and the large community of advocates who support BoardPro’s governance education activities for SMEs and not-for-profit organisations. We have an opportunity to demonstrate to the world that good governance is about far more than compliance. Done well, it’s a catalyst for change, leading to better decisions and leadership, and ultimately, better outcomes flowing from board tables to markets, communities and neighbourhoods.”
Nowaczek expects the team to grow to 50+ as it expands into additional markets.
Brett Herkt - Co-founder and outgoing CEO - will remain an active Board member.
