Sage (FTSE: SGE), the market leader for integrated accounting, payroll, and payment systems, today announced that three Sage colleagues have been named to Accounting Today’s 2019 list of the Top 100 Most Influential People in Accounting, including Chief Technology Officer Aaron Harris.
This much-anticipated listing identifies the thought leaders, change-makers, regulators, and other leaders who are shaping the profession, and the issues that they face as they chart the future of accounting. The three Sage colleagues making the list were Aaron Harris, Sage CTO; Taylor Macdonald, SVP of Channels for Sage Intacct; and Ed Kless, senior director of partner development and strategy for Sage. Here are their backgrounds:
Aaron Harris has more than 25 years of high-tech engineering experience in business applications and software development strategies. In his role as CTO, Aaron is responsible for Sage’s technology strategy and software architecture. A founding member of Intacct (acquired by Sage in 2017), Aaron led the company’s product vision and technology direction. Aaron was recognized on the 2019 Top 100 list for his instrumental role in Intacct’s acquisition by Sage in 2017 — enabling Sage Intacct to “accelerate deployment of tools including AI to U.S. businesses much more quickly than it could have without Sage, while enabling Sage to understand the mid-market space in a broader way.”
Taylor Macdonald is responsible for managing the Sage Intacct Value Added Reseller (VAR) and CPA channel initiatives. Taylor has more than 25 years of experience building and operating some of the largest and most successful channel programs in the world for financial and ERP providers. This is the 16th time Taylor was recognized on the Accounting Today Top 100 list. He was praised for being in a perfect position to evangelize for the accounting profession to be “forward-looking, not backwards-looking” and to give Sage Intacct channel members the key tools they’ll need to do so.
Ed Kless has been with Sage for more than 16 years and serves as senior director of partner development and strategy. Ed also hosts the Sage Advice Podcast which offers business and leadership thinking for entrepreneurial organizations. Ed was recognized by Accounting Today for the many initiatives he has run at Sage, including being a senior fellow at the VeraSage Institute, a radio host, thought leader, and speaker. What ties it all together is, “His keen intelligence, his rigorous thought, and his willingness to translate that thought into real-world positions.”
Other notable people that made this year’s list were: Erik Asgeirsson, CEO of CPA.com; Jay Clayton, Chairman of the SEC; Kevin Dancey, CEO of IFAC; Russell Golden, Chairman of FASB; Steven Mnuchin, Treasury Secretary; and Donald Trump; U.S President.
About Sage
Sage (FTSE: SGE) is the global market leader for technology that helps businesses of all sizes manage everything from money to people – whether they’re a start-up, scale-up, or enterprise. We do this through Sage Business Cloud – the one and only platform that customers will ever need, comprising Accounting, Financials, Sage Intacct, Enterprise Management, People & Payroll, and Payments & Banking.
Our mission is to free business builders from the burden of admin, so they can spend more time doing what they love – and we do that every day for three million customers across 23 countries, through our 13,000 colleagues and a network of accountants and partners. We are committed to doing business the right way and giving back to our communities through Sage Foundation. Find out more at www.sage.com/en-us.