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Salesnet Inc. has named Alan Goldsworthy as its new CEO, replacing Michael Doyle, who resigned earlier this month.
Goldsworthy, who has nearly 30 years of experience in the software industry, had joined Salesnet as a consultant in September. He was previously the president of CMI-Competitive Solutions Inc., which develops ERP (enterprise resource planning) software for automotive suppliers. Before that he was CEO of Applix Inc. from January 2000 to February 2003.
Doyle had been CEO of Boston-based Salesnet, a pioneer in hosted CRM (customer relationship management) services, since March 2000.
While at Applix, Goldsworthy guided that company through a transition from being primarily a CRM software developer to a developer of business performance management software. Applix sold its CRM software business to Platinum Equity LLC in January 2003. Shortly after Goldsworthy left, Applix announced that it would restate revenues for 2001 and the first three quarters of 2002 due to improper revenue recognition on two customer deals in that timeframe.
Goldsworthy said he has no plans to transition Salesnet out of the CRM business.
“Theres no reason for us to change,” said Goldsworthy, in Boston. “We have a lot of functionality that makes us a better solution for salespeople and sales managers, that makes us a better alternative to the market leader in the space.”
Goldsworthy said a big reason why Applix got out of the CRM space was because hosted services like Salesnet provided a better option for customers than the licensed software Applix developed.
“We couldnt get from licensed software into the on-demand world,” he said.
Salesnet is going up against much larger, better-funded competitors like Salesforce.com Inc. and Siebel Systems Inc. in the hosted CRM space. But Goldsworthy vows that 2005 will be a year of “aggressive growth” for Salesnet.
“We need to scale the business, and we needed someone whos been very successful in scaling business in the software industry,” said Salesnets chief marketing officer, Dan Starr. “Alans very modest about his background, but he has nearly 30 years of software business experience. Mike [Doyle] did a good job for us, but he wasnt a software guy.”
Goldsworthy said the current competitive environment for hosted CRM wasnt “problematic” for Salesnet.
“I wouldnt have come here if I thought the competition was an issue,” he said. “Really, I dont think the competitions that formidable.
“Theres still a lot of opportunity in the marketplace for a company with a competitive offering,” he said. “Youll see a much different look in how we go about attacking this marketplace. Its still a big market. Its not saturated, and its not gone.”