ghSMART Appoints Kevin Burns Senior Advisor and Founding Member of Chairman's Council
WASHINGTON, March 21, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- Kevin Burns has joined ghSMART & Company, Inc. as Senior Advisor and founding member of the firm's Chairman's Council.
"Our goal for our advisory board is to help accelerate our learning and growth as people and as a firm. Our Senior Advisor, Mike Peel, former CHRO of General Mills and Yale University, is helping us improve how we scale the people side of our business. And now, Kevin Burns, a former public company CEO and successful tech investor, has joined the board to help us improve our market-driven strategy and use of technology to amplify our positive impact," said Geoff Smart, ghSMART's Chairman & Founder.
Early in his career, Mr. Burns joined Cincom Systems where he contributed to rapid growth, serving in leadership roles in software development, sales, marketing, and general management. In 1982, he founded Sage Software in Rockville, MD. As CEO for 15 years, Mr. Burns developed a suite of market-leading application development products, led Sage's 1986 IPO, and grew the company to $250M in annual revenues with operations in 9 countries. Sage was acquired in 1997 in a transaction that valued the company at $650M. In 1998, Mr. Burns co-founded Lazard Technology Partners. He served as a Managing Principal for 15 years as the fund invested approximately $360M in 29 technology companies, resulting in top quartile returns for investors.
Mr. Burns said, "I have had the unique opportunity to see first-hand the performance enhancing power of ghSMART's suite of leadership services at many different companies over an extended period. I'm excited by the opportunity to work with the ghSMART leadership team on new digital strategies to unlock the full potential of the firm's rich IP and talented consultants."
"Kevin Burns has rare and valuable expertise at the intersection of business strategy, marketing, and technology. He has been a client and trusted advisor to our firm for over a decade. We are fortunate to have his counsel as we continue to grow our impact with clients and provide the very best career platform in the world for our colleagues," said Andre Zafrani, Partner of ghSMART.
"Kevin has served on the boards of 15 companies and is typically regarded as one of their most value-add board members. Founders and CEOs have praised Kevin's useful advice for creating repeatable, scalable products, services, and solutions to deliver great value for customers and great career experiences for employees," said Randy Street, Managing Partner.
About G.H. Smart & Company, Inc.
ghSMART is a leadership advisory firm with 12 offices in North America, Europe, and Southeast Asia. In 2017, Forbes named ghSMART the best management consulting firm in its field. Harvard Business School has published two case studies on the firm as a pioneer in its industry. Firm leaders authored New York Times bestselling book Who: The A Method for Hiring (Smart & Street), The Wall Street Journal bestseller Power Score: Your Formula for Leadership Success (Smart, Street, & Foster), and The CEO Next Door: The 4 Behaviors That Transform Ordinary People into World-Class Leaders (Botelho & Powell). For more information, please visit www.ghsmart.com.
Contact
Jessica Butts, Office of the Chairman
jbutts@ghsmart.com
Share this article