‘We’re investing in the channel constantly’: ADP CEO on exec team rejig and international expansion
Simon Chappell sits down with CRN to talk vendor diversification, double-digit evolution, and public sector ambitions
Assured Data Protection (ADP) is rallying around one core principle: change, after reshaping its leadership team.
From global expansion to a shift in partner strategy, the Leeds-based MSP is rethinking the way it operates across continents and sectors to meet its customer’s evolving needs and its own ambitious plans.
CRN sat down with CEO, chairman, and co-founder Simon Chappell just after his return from the US, where the business recently introduced a new leadership role.
Stacy Hayes, EVP Americas, became ADP’s first-ever chief security officer (CSO).
Hayes is, according to Chappell, part of the company's founding team, alongside himself, Rob Mackle, Andrew Eva, and Stewart Parkin.
“The reason this company was formed was because [Hayes] and I were best friends across borders, and we both ran back-up and recovery service providers prior to setting up Assured together.
“We have such scale now that we need someone dedicated to the CSO role.
“Because we’re truly global, many operations are now across the US and EMEA, there’s more complexity, and our stated aim is to move away from being a single-vendor company.”
While diversifying its vendor network, ADP, which has long partnered with Rubrik, doesn’t intend to distance itself from the security firm and plans to remain its largest MSP, as the relationship is at an “all-time high” across technical, operational, and sales enablement.
“We are only ever going to be a disaster recovery and cyber resiliency business.
“We're not going to go off and sell laptops, and we're not going to go off and do anything that's particularly changing the overall nature of what we do.”
On the other hand, ADP wants to enhance its disaster recovery and cyber resiliency with new vendors through, for example, its alliance with Nutanix, which already works with the MSP's partners such as CDW, ePlus, and Softcat.
“When we bring it into our portfolio, it clicks immediately.
“That’s why we needed a CSO. This strategy is new for us, and [Hayes] is the best person to lead it.”
NORAM and EMEA leadership changes
As Hayes moved from EVP Americas to CSO, Brian Dutton, the organisation’s CRO Americas, has now inherited a lot of his predecessor's responsibilities.
“[Dutton] takes over as the external face of the business in the Americas.
“If you look back at our early years, it was either me in the UK or [Hayes] in the US doing most of the external communication.
“[Dutton is] very strategic and was already driving US expansion, so this is a very natural step.”
Change has also affected EMEA, with Rob Mackle transitioning from MD of the region to CRO EMEA.
This move, Chappell tells CRN, reflects a strategic change in Europe.
He explains the company sees amazing opportunities in continental Europe, especially in France thanks to its strong relationships with Rubrik and Nutanix, and because the MSP found “a great country manager” in Erwan Jouan.
“France is a challenging market for UK and US companies,” highlights Chappell.
“Rightfully, French customers expect fully French delivery; sales, operations, everything.
“And we’ve delivered that.”
While the CEO intends to expend across the continent, he has yet to decide in which country exactly.
“Southern Med? Obviously. Eastern Europe? Possibly. That’s why [Mackle]’s new role matters.”
Continue reading to hear more about ADP’s international expansion plans...
UK activities and international expansion
The UK, ADP’s second most important region after the US, is home to hundreds of partners the MSP works with.
They range from global partners like CDW who span operations on both sides of the Atlantic, as well as national and regional collaborators.
The firm has also hired a new EMEA channel director, Rachel Yardy, who previously worked at other tech organisations such as Cohesity and Veritas.
“We’re investing in the channel constantly; it’s so important to our existing and future growth,” says Chappell.
While the country is still ahead of other regions like LATAM, Canada, France, the IT leader explains these areas are “catching up” as the company is investing more in them.
The firm also claims it doesn’t rely on buyouts to enter new geographies.
“It’s always organic,” says the CEO.
“We have no M&A strategy.
“That’s not to say we wouldn’t look at it one day - our investment partner Oakley Capital has great experience - but our current focus is purely organic growth.”
Instead, it counts on its relationship with vendors such as Nutanix, who give it the necessary “paperwork and infrastructure” to establish a local presence.
In August last year, ADP and Rubrik expanded their operations into Latin America through a joint venture.
The MSP is involved in other continents, for example in Africa, through partnerships there
There, it claims to be “behind the scenes; white-label, helping with go-to-market and technical delivery.”
While the CEO would be very interested in expanding to APJ, it would still “be a big leap”, as the move would require ADP to build a datacentre presence, partnerships, and hire country managers, which represents a big investment.
The organisation also has people on the ground in the Middle East and is reportedly doing deals across the region, “from Saudia Arabia to the Emirates.”
In October 2024, the company signed a strategic distribution partnership across the Middle East with Dubai-based VAD Mindware.
Soaring hires
To support this growing local presence, the company has increased its headcount by 60 per cent over the last 12 months and has plans to grow it by another 30 per cent over the next six months.
ADP currently hires 250 people globally and is searching for channel specialists and sales execs to get deals closed.
In operations, it needs more people for implementation, support, client services.
The CEO also describes the client services team as being really important.
“We want our customers to stay with us for a long time and to do that we need to be with them throughout their journey.
“We also have a large development team managing our orchestration layer, AssureView.
“We don’t outsource any of that, we hire permanent staff for it.
“Given how specialised we are in what we do, I suspect we’re the largest disaster recovery and cyber resilience provider by headcount, more than any of the majors or GSIs who specialise in this.”
Following these leadership reshuffles, the CEO doesn’t plan on making further changes to its exec team in the next year.
“I don’t expect any major changes at the C-level in the next six to 12 months.
“As we grow, we might need new roles, but for now, it’s just realignment.”
Click next to hear more about ADP’s new public sector division...
Double-digit organic growth and multifaceted customer base
For FY25, Chappell tells CRN the company expects “significant double-digit growth” only done organically, and not by M&A as he’s previously stated.
“If we hit those numbers, it’ll be something very special. We’re all fully committed.”
To drive these results, the company deals with nearly 1,000 customers across the world, in various industries such as retail, manufacturing, finance, public sector, healthcare and others.
“Every business needs data resilience,” he says.
“We do especially well where we can augment existing IT teams.
“We don’t replace anyone, we just come in and add our expertise.”
To reflect the diversity of its client base, Chappell lists a few recent deals the company has closed recently:
- A motor distributor
- A company in Peru
- An electronics manufacturer
- A pharma company
Public sector division and growing tensions
Beyond leadership moves, the MSP has also created a new public sector division, which represents “a major move.”
The new unit will allow the company to focus on the public sector across the pond.
“To deliver into US public sector markets, you have to Americanise certain aspects of your business, especially support and delivery, which must be US-based,” highlights Chappell.
“We always felt that move was a stretch because we had other priorities, but the opportunity is enormous.
“Now that [Hayes] has moved to CSO, he can focus on that.”
He adds the US public sector is very different from the UK’s, given there is no single framework, and every level of government has its own requirements.
“The focus is to build delivery in the US with people who have the necessary clearances.
“We hope to have that fully running in the next few months.”
While the company boasts of a global footprint, it has reportedly not felt the impact caused by the recent macroeconomic changes, the CEO explains.
“Of course it’s been bumpy, but when you’re a service provider like us, your base of customers tends to stick with you, especially when you’re delivering value and protecting their data,” says Chappell.
“Large investments in CapEx and hiring can feel risky, so using a specialist like us is the safer option.”
Far from seeing his company’s evolution hindered by the current macroeconomic instability, the leader refers to a world under constant cyberattack as ADP’s biggest tailwind.
“We’re there to mitigate those risks.
“If it happens to one of our customers, we expect to mitigate it completely, and quickly.
“We’re in a world under constant attack, and we can help.”