Former President of SAP North America with Over 25 Years of Software Experience to Lead Certinia’s Next Phase of Growth and Innovation
Certinia (“Certinia” or the “Company”), the platform for services businesses, today announced that Donald J. “DJ” Paoni has been appointed as its Chief Executive Officer, effective October 14, 2023. Paoni joins the Company following more than 25 years at SAP, where he most recently served as President of SAP North America. He will also join the Company’s Board of Directors. Paoni succeeds Scott Brown, who is stepping down after nearly three years with the Company.
Paoni has a proven track record for driving growth and innovation, enhancing employee and customer engagement and delivering strong financial and operational performance. As President of SAP North America, Paoni was responsible for driving strategy, profitability, and customer success in the US and Canada, overseeing more than 25,000 employees and 200,000 customer relationships.
“I am thrilled to join such a talented team and to help lead Certinia forward as we set our sights on accelerating growth,” said DJ Paoni. “Certinia has developed the leading PSA offering alongside powerful ERP and Customer Success solutions, built a robust, loyal customer base in a market with rapidly growing demand, and cultivated a team-oriented culture where innovation thrives. I am very excited by the opportunity before us and look forward to working with the team to build on Certinia’s strong foundation for growth, better serve our customers’ evolving needs, and expand Certinia’s position as the gold-standard system of record for end-to-end software for professional services organizations.”
Paoni continued: “On behalf of the Board and the entire company, I want to thank Scott for his many contributions. Scott’s leadership has been essential in building the Company, developing Certinia’s best-in-class product offering, and establishing a strong culture and values. Certinia simply would not be where it is today without Scott’s exemplary leadership, and we are grateful for his contribution.”
“I am incredibly proud of the Certinia team and the progress we’ve made advancing our product offering, growing our customer base and differentiating Certinia as the leader for PSA solutions,” said Scott Brown. “It has been a privilege to lead such a talented and highly engaged group of professionals who are so committed to the Company’s culture of innovation, collaboration, and excellence. I have every confidence that Certinia will continue to thrive under DJ’s leadership and look forward to seeing many more achievements from this team in the years ahead.”
DJ Paoni most recently served as President of SAP North America. Prior to that, he held several positions at SAP, including Managing Director and Senior Vice President Midwest, General Manager and Senior Vice President North America Strategic Customers, and Regional Vice President of Sales. He has additionally served as a Director on Qualtrics’ Board of Directors during their transition to a public company and is currently a Director at GENYOUth Foundation, which delivers impact through a range of national initiatives including in-school programs which promote student nutrition security, physical activity, and leadership. Paoni graduated from the University of Illinois with a Bachelor of Arts in Speech Communications and earned an MBA from Northwestern University’s Kellogg School of Management.
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