Technology Marketing Leader Michael J Turner to Join Avalara as CMO
Bainbridge Island, WA (PRWEB) April 09, 2015 -- Avalara (http://www.avalara.com), a leading provider of cloud-based software delivering compliance solutions related to sales tax, VAT, and other transactional taxes, today announced the appointment of Michael J Turner as Chief Marketing Officer.
Turner is a highly successful veteran in the tech industry; he most recently served as CEO and president at 1-800-DENTIST and has held high-level executive positions at LegalZoom and Teleflora. In addition to his formidable record of building and growing direct marketing and Internet businesses ranging from large multinationals to venture-backed startup and growth companies, Turner brings experience in strategy, analytics, and a strong global perspective gained during years supervising international trading within Cargill, Inc.
Avalara’s addition of a proven CMO comes on the heels of last year’s appointment of Pascal Van Dooren, formerly EVP, Sales and Marketing, to the role of Chief Revenue Officer. The dramatic growth of the company’s new and existing business sales force prompted greater focus at the executive level and the new CMO role was created to deliver highly focused executive leadership of the marketing function.
“Mike has significant expertise helping companies like Avalara successfully scale their business using a powerful blend of traditional, digital, and Internet-based channels,” said Avalara founder and CEO Scott McFarlane. “Our team has done a great job getting us to where we are today, and we look forward to leveraging Mike’s skills and experience to catapult us to the next level.”
Turner’s hiring is part of an ongoing drive to accelerate Avalara’s record of rapid growth. In the past four months the company received major new backing from an affiliate of Warburg Pincus, a global private equity firm focused on growth investing, and the investment firm Technology Crossover Ventures (“TCV”), a leading provider of growth equity for premier technology companies.
Turner takes over a strong marketing team that helped land Avalara on both Deloitte’s Technology Fast 500™, Fastest Growing Tech Companies in North America and JMP Securities “Hot 100” List of Best Privately Held Software Companies. In the first half of 2015, the company will open new facilities in Seattle, WA and Durham, NC to accommodate its rapidly growing sales teams and other functions.
“Avalara is at the forefront of U.S and international approaches to sales tax, VAT and transactional tax compliance,” Turner concluded. “Virtually all businesses are or will be affected by this. Avalara is strategically positioned as it continues to broaden and deepen its reach, combining powerful technology with deep content to provide businesses with a single user-friendly place to manage key compliance obligations.”
About Avalara
Avalara helps businesses of all sizes achieve compliance with sales tax, excise tax, VAT, and other requirements by delivering comprehensive, automated, cloud-based solutions that are fast, accurate, and easy to use. Avalara’s end-to-end suite of solutions is designed to effectively manage complicated and burdensome tax compliance obligations imposed by state, local, and other taxing authorities in the United States and internationally.
Avalara offers hundreds of pre-built connectors into leading accounting, ERP, ecommerce and other business applications. The company processes millions of tax transactions for customers and free users every day, files hundreds of thousands of transactional tax returns per year, and manages millions of exemption certificates and other compliance related documents.
A privately held company, Avalara’ s venture capital investors include Sageview Capital, Battery Ventures, Warburg Pincus, Technology Crossover Ventures, Arthur Ventures, and other institutional and individual investors. Avalara employs more than 800 people at its headquarters on Bainbridge Island, WA and in offices across the U.S. and in London, England and Pune, India. More information at: http://www.avalara.com
Sheri Pollock, Avalara, http://www.avalara.com, +1 206.769.1780, [email protected]
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