Sage CEO Kelly steps down

Vendor thanks chief exec for carrying out the 'very heavy lifting' during transformation process

Sage CEO Stephen Kelly has stepped down from his role at the accountancy software vendor, with the process of selecting his replacement starting immediately.

Sage has endured a troubling time over recent months, but showed signs of recovery during an update to the London Stock Exchange at the start of August.

However, the vendor is now looking for a new CEO "practised in embedding sustainable processes at scale".

On his resignation Kelly (pictured) said: "I joined Sage four years ago and am immensely proud of the extraordinary change that I have had the privilege to lead.

"I joined a fragmented organisation with minimal presence in the cloud. The major cultural transformation has created Sage Business Cloud which has now grown to £386m of annualised recurring revenue from a standing start and has driven total shareholder return for Sage of over twice that of the FTSE100 during my tenure."

Sage spooked investors earlier this year when below-expectations results saw the vendor's share price plummet by almost 19 per cent.

Sage said that Kelly will "remain available" to the vendor until 31 May next year.

Chairman Donald Brydon said: "Stephen has much to be proud of in the very heavy lifting he has led as the group is transformed.

"He energised the group, drove change with relentless focus on customers, and under his leadership the strategy to become a leading SaaS business has been defined.

"The board remains fully supportive of the overall strategy. We wish Stephen well in the next phase of his life."