Poor health forces Goldman to throw in Sage towel

David Goldman, chairman of Sage, is to retire from the board on 1 October due to ill health.

Goldman founded the company in 1981, and it is now the world?s largest supplier of accounting software to small and medium-sized businesses. Last year, Sage achieved a turnover of #136 million.

Non-executive deputy chairman Michael Jackson will become non-executive chairman of Sage, working closely with chief executive Paul Walker.

A Sage representative said that Goldman had been reducing his role and taking a lower profile over the past year, and that his retirement had been planned for. She added that everyone at the company was very sad to see him go.

Industry figures echoed this sentiment, paying tribute to the role Goldman had played in the company?s success. Jyoti Banerjee, managing director of Tate Bramald Consulting, said Sage would be poorer without him.

Industry analyst Richard Holway said: ?I am very sad. He contributed so much to our industry he deserves a really long and happy retirement.?

Sage is one of only five companies to win Holway?s ?boring? award for companies that have never seen profits fall. Since 1989, Sage?s shares have jumped 25-fold.