Certinia Introduces New Executives to C-suite to Accelerate Growth

Certinia adds new Chief Operating Officer, Chief Financial Officer, Chief Revenue Officer, and Chief People Officer as company moves into new phase under leadership of CEO DJ Paoni

SAN JOSE, Calif. – November 8, 2023 – Certinia (“Certinia” or the “Company”), the platform for services businesses, today announced the appointment of four new C-level executives to lead the company forward. The leaders, COO Robert Cesafsky, CRO John Tully, CFO Erin Sawyer, and CPO Kris Kildahl, bring decades of key industry experience to Certinia and will play a central role driving revenue growth and innovation as the company enters its next stage of maturity.

“I am excited to welcome four seasoned enterprise software veterans to Certinia’s C-suite. These executives join a talented existing team and will drive Certinia forward as we set our sights on accelerating growth,” said DJ Paoni, CEO, Certinia. “Certinia is the gold-standard end-to-end software upon which professional services organizations run their businesses. Robert, John, Erin, and Kris each bring unique experiences and a proven track record that will help Certinia build upon that standard.”

Robert Cesafsky, Chief Operating Officer 

Robert Cesafsky is an operational enterprise software executive with direct experience in private equity as well as on management teams of high-growth software businesses. Robert joins Certinia as the Chief Operating Officer leading finance, legal and IT, Robert has spent time working within all functions to accelerate growth and profitability. Previously, Robert served as COO and CFO at AutoAlert and Vice President of Finance at Vertafore. 

Based in Denver, Robert joined Certinia on October 12, 2023 and reports directly to CEO DJ Paoni.

John Tully, Chief Revenue Officer

John Tully brings more than 25 years of sales experience to the CRO role. Most recently, John was the Sr. Vice President and Managing Director of Sales at SAP.  John specializes in building high-performance, people-centric cultures that drive customer success. Industry analysts and media frequently cite John for his perspectives on how technology is transforming industries where organizations are deriving value from digital transformation projects.  

John started November 1, 2023, in Certinia’s Austin office. He leads both Certinia’s sales and marketing functions, reporting directly to Paoni.  

Erin Sawyer, Chief Financial Officer

Erin Sawyer joins with 20 years of financial and operational experience and 10 years in the software industry.  Most recently, Erin was the CFO of Wowza and Deputy CFO at Vertafore. Erin specializes as an executive strategist focusing on financial and operational discipline through business partnership, value creation and operational excellence.

Erin started on October 30, 2023, and is leading the finance and accounting team as well as the office of the CIO functions. She is based in Denver and reports to COO Robert Cesafsky.  

Kris Kildahl, Chief People Officer

Kris Kildahl joins Certinia to lead the people strategy and team, fostering an environment where employees can thrive personally and professionally to deliver great outcomes for our customers and the business. With over 25 years of human resources management experience in enterprise software, banking, manufacturing, private practice consulting, public sector and non-profit organizations, Kris brings a broad perspective on practices that optimize employee engagement and operational excellence. Prior to joining Certinia, Kris served as Chief People Officer for Syntellis Performance Solutions.

Kris starts as Chief People Officer at Certinia on November 13, 2023. She will report directly to Paoni and lives in Portland, Oregon.

About Certinia

Certinia (formerly FinancialForce) delivers a Services-as-a-Business platform that powers and connects all aspects of services operations, from services estimation and delivery to customer success management and financial planning and accounting. The company’s Professional Services Automation (PSA), Customer Success, and ERP solutions—delivered on Salesforce’s leading cloud platform—provide the ability to run a connected services business, deliver with intelligence, and achieve business agility. Headquartered in San Jose, California with offices around the world, Certinia is backed by Haveli Investments, General Atlantic and Salesforce Ventures. For more information, visit www.certinia.com.

Certinia, the Certinia logo, FinancialForce, FinancialForce.com, and the FinancialForce logo are trademarks or registered trademarks of Certinia Inc. or its licensors. Any third-party brands or names referenced herein may be trademarks of their respective owners.

Certinia Media Contacts:

Mike Tomlinson
Certinia
[email protected]

Sarah Medina
10Fold
[email protected]