Governance software innovator BoardPro has signed Charles Nowaczek as its new chief executive. As outgoing chief operating officer for Serko Ltd, his broad commercial acumen and operational management expertise are set to play an instrumental role in BoardPro’s continued global expansion. With 30,000 users across 39 countries, the appointment comes as BoardPro announces reaching profitability.
“Everything BoardPro has achieved so far points to potential. [It is] the largest board software provider in New Zealand, with enviable NPS [net promoter score] numbers, strong organic customer referrals, and sustained [year-on-year] growth. I’m excited to be joining a talented team at an inflection point in their growth journey,” commented Nowaczek.
Nowaczek is an experienced technology executive with a strong focus on scale-ups in SaaS and platform environments. Most recently, as COO for Serko, he supported the business through a turnaround into significant growth that included a five-times climb in annual revenue from just under $20m in FY17, through the Covid downturn, to now tracking toward $100m. Serko’s clients include Flight Centre and American Express GBT as well as a major global partnership with Booking.com, for which Nowaczek played a key role, including building data science and analytics capabilities from the ground up.
“Charlie is well known for his ability to not only help set the strategic vision for ambitious organisations, but also for an ability to build a high-performance culture with the systems and processes needed to achieve it. His proven experience of delivering strong results in both revenue and market share is well aligned to our next phase of growth. We are excited to welcome Charlie onto the team as we pursue a targeted global expansion to deliver on BoardPro’s mission of making governance easy for SMEs and non-profits,” BoardPro chair Chris Ridd commented.
Prior to Serko, Nowaczek’s career spanned complex project and programme management before moving into the technology sphere during the internet’s first wave. His leadership toolkit was further honed by tenures at several global management consultancies delivering transformation initiatives for some of the world’s largest companies. Following this, he spent more than a decade of experience in the digital media space, mastering how to grow digital products, platforms and teams at scale.
Effective February 3, 2025, Nowaczek’s focus will be on the active pursuit of global growth. He said he was particularly excited about the startup’s mission. “I was impressed by the engagement and commitment of both the team and the large community of advocates who support BoardPro’s governance education activities for SMEs and not-for-profit organisations.
“We have an opportunity to demonstrate to the world that good governance is about far more than compliance. Done well, it’s a catalyst for change, leading to better decisions and leadership and, ultimately, better outcomes flowing from board tables to markets, communities, and neighbourhoods.”
Co-founder and outgoing CEO Brett Herkt will remain an active board member.
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