HR vendor Ciphr has announced the appointment of Sion Lewis as its new CEO from February 1st. He takes over from founder and former CEO of 30 years Chris Berry, who will join the board as a non-executive Director. Lewis joins from GoTo, where he was GM EMEA and helped to grow the SaaS company over the last three years. Before that, he was CEO of the Accountancy and Education division of IRIS Software. He also held sales leadership positions at BMC Software, Salesforce and Clarus.
Sion Lewis, CEO of Ciphr, commented, “I’m really excited to join Ciphr and its leadership team at such a pivotal time. Ciphr is a successful and fast growth company, which provides business-critical people management solutions that support and empower the UK’s SMB sector – the bedrock and powerhouse of the nation’s economy. Having been intimately involved with UK PLC during my time at IRIS, the ability to do so again with Ciphr was simply compelling.
“People are an organisation’s greatest asset, and Ciphr’s impressive suite of workplace technologies are designed to enhance their employee experience and help them to do their best work. There are significant opportunities for the business to grow and to drive growth for its customers, and I look forward to leading the company in this dynamic and exciting market.”
End of an era
The arrival of Lewis sees founder Berry take a step back from a company he has led for thirty years. In May 2016, LDC backed the management buyout of Ciphr, led by CEO Chris Berry. The company is now backed by ECI Partners, which invested in Ciphr in 2020 after LDC exited its investment. Berry will become a non-executive board member. It is wise to step so far away, enabling Lewis to bring his leadership style to bear and focus on the day-to-day running of the business but still be in touch for advice. It is a significant change that Ken Hills, Ciphr’s chairman, noted, saying, “This is an important development for Ciphr, and we are delighted to be able to attract someone of Sion’s expertise and calibre to spearhead Ciphr’s future growth and take the company into the next stage of its development. The HCM market is changing in new and exciting directions, and I look forward to working with Sion during this next phase in the company’s evolution.”
Hills also recognised Berry’s massive impact on Ciphr over the years. He added, “On behalf of the board, I would also like to take this opportunity to thank Chris for his incredible contribution over the years. Ciphr simply wouldn’t be where it is today without his strong leadership, vision, and dedication.”
Berry commented, “It’s been a privilege to lead Ciphr over the last 30 years and I’m extremely proud of what we have achieved. The business is in a strong position, and it’s the right time for me to hand over the reins to a new leadership. I’m thrilled that we have secured someone of Sion’s credentials to continue to build on Ciphr’s success. He has a proven track record of growing SaaS enterprises, and I look forward to supporting him and the board in an advisory role.”
Enterprise Times: What does it mean?
The appointment of Lewis was also given the backing of investors ECI. Stephen Roberts, a partner at ECI, says, “Since our investment in 2020, Ciphr has continued to go from strength to strength. I’m delighted to be welcoming Sion into Ciphr. Given his skills and experience, we are confident that he is the right leader to succeed Chris and drive Ciphr forward on its organic and acquisitive growth journey.”
The next few months will be interesting. After 30 years of the same leader, some of the cultural aspects of the company will be down to Berry. How will Lewis look to evolve and change that, either consciously or unconsciously? It will be an interesting time for the 650 organisations that are Ciphr customers. Relationships with Berry will have grown over the years, and Lewis has to quickly step into a massive void.
With ECI backing the company, will they have more influence over the direction than before? How will the products such as Ciphr, Digits LMS and Payroll Business Solutions evolve over the coming months? And how will Lewis look to grow the business?
