SafetyCulture founder Luke Anear is stepping back from his role as chief executive of the Sydney software unicorn, with an American property executive to take the day-to-day reins next year.
The company announced the change on Monday, months after securing a $75 million raise that cut its valuation back to $2.5 billion in a tough investment climate.
Mr Anear will move to a new role of SafetyCulture executive chairman from January, focusing on strategy and investor relations when Kelly Vohs arrives as CEO.
Mr Vohs joins from LivCor, a US real estate firm that manages some of private equity giant Blackstone’s residential properties.
Mr Anear founded SafetyCulture as a workplace safety checklist app 20 years ago. It has expanded into enterprise software and insurance products, and is now one of Australia’s biggest private technology companies.
In a statement, he said the time is right to transition into the new role, which includes chairing the SafetyCulture board, and the business “has never been in a better position”.
“I couldn’t be any prouder of the impact SafetyCulture has had on the world to date, but we are just getting started, and it still feels like we are 1 per cent of the way there!” Mr Anear said.
“In 2022, I set a goal to 100x the business by 2032, and just two years on, it’s now only 50x to reach that goal. We are very fortunate to have such a large opportunity in front of us and we have all the foundations to execute on that opportunity.”
According to the company, it has around 2 million users from 85,000 companies and sign-ups are at record levels. Around 900 staff work from six offices around the world, including its headquarters in Sydney’s Surry Hills.
Mr Anear is the latest CEO to step back in recent weeks after the unexpected resignation of superannuation software provider Grow Inc’s Mathew Keeley earlier this month and the ousting of WiseTech Global chief and billionaire Richard White.
Incoming SafetyCulture chief executive Kelly Vohs in a statement said he arrives with a clear mandate to move the company towards stated goals like reaching 100 million users by 2032.
“I’ve seen firsthand the potential SafetyCulture’s platform has to completely transform workplaces, help teams improve and keep people safe. I’m ready to tackle the challenge of helping even more customers start that journey,” he said.
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