Sherwood software firm ABC Financial announces new CEO, expands executive leadership team

ABC Financial Services LLC, the longtime Sherwood-based technology and billing software firm primarily serving the health and fitness industry, has appointed a new chief executive and announced a series of leadership appointments designed to strengthen the niche-market firm’s long-term viability, company officials announced.

Company President Bill Davis was named CEO of the local financial services firm on July 18, replacing longtime industry veteran Paul Schaller. Company officials said Schaller will move to the position of vice chairman of ABC’s board of directors, but continue to work closely with Davis and the company’s expanding leadership team to execute strategic initiatives and support ABC’s accelerated growth.

“I could not be prouder and more excited to have handpicked Bill as my successor, to lead us into the next phase of our unprecedented journey,” said Schaller, who has been part of ABC for 27 years, rising from a sales position to president and CEO. “He shares my deep passion and commitment to our customers and our employees. He has an excellent track record of attracting exceptional talent to join our team for the sole purpose of delivering a world-class experience and innovative solutions for our customers and, ultimately, the fitness industry as a whole.”

In his new role, Davis will continue to serve as president and serve on the privately-held Arkansas specialty software firm’s board of managers. He joined ABC nearly six months ago after previously serving as CFO of Paycor Inc., a Cincinnati-based human capital management company. Company officials said Davis’ experience working at the intersection of high growth and competitive industries with disruptive technology makes him uniquely suited to lead ABC, which is seeking to expanding the firm’s scope of offerings in the increasingly personalized and integrated fitness industry.

“Paul set the bar very high during his tenure as ABC’s CEO, and I want to do everything I can to ensure that the success he built here is honored and we continue to exceed client expectations,” said Davis. “I am really excited about the prospect of applying my past experiences in healthcare, information technology and financial services to ABC.”

Founded in 1981, ABC provides financial services to more than 7,000 health clubs across the U.S., Canada, Mexico and Puerto Rico, serving clients like Planet Fitness and Gold’s Gym. The Arkansas firm was acquired in late 2017 by Silicon Valley-based Thoma Bravo, a private equity software portfolio investment firm that owns stakes in more than 35 middle-tier tech companies that generate over $10 billion in annual revenues.

Longtime ABC Financial’s chairman and founder Jim Bottin, an Arkansas Business Hall of Fame inductee, stepped down as CEO in 2015 and was replaced by Schaller. A company spokesperson did not immediately respond to Talk Business & Politics request for details of ABC’s annual revenues and current employee count in Arkansas.

Among San Francisco-based Thoma Bravo’s most well-known technology brands is Compuware, the largest software company in the world solely devoted to IBM IT frameworks. In addition to Davis’ promotion to CEO, the Sherwood software firm recently hired several executives to join the company’s leadership team. They include:

Khal Rai, who assumed responsibilities as ABC’s COO. Kahi previously served as the president and CEO of SRS Health, a SaaS company in the healthcare industry.

Ryon Packer has joined ABC as the firm’s new Chief Product Officer. He previously served as the SVP of product management for the financial services company FISERV.

Ashok Pinto is the new Chief Technology Officer for ABC. Pinto most recently worked as the CTO at cxLoyalty, a customer engagement company.

Cristine Kao recently joined ABC as the Chief Marketing Officer after serving as the Vice President of Global Marketing at ACTIVE Network, a portfolio company of Global Payments Inc.

Kyle Garner joined ABC in January 2019 and is ABC’s Chief Sales Officer. He previous served in sales, marketing, service and operational experience with Xerox, most recently as vice president of the software giant’s Graphic Communications division.

Rachana Jain was recently hired as ABC’s new Chief People Officer. She has over 20 years of strategic management experience in human resources where she has led teams through organizational development and growth transformation.