Kaseya on the hunt for fresh CEO

Kaseya is looking for a fresh CEO after current incumbent Fred Voccola announced a move upstairs to take a position as vice-chairman.

He has been at the helm of the MSP technology specialist for the past decade and has seen the firm through highs and lows, from suffering a highly publicised cyber attack to sealing significant M&A milestones by picking up the likes of Datto and building its Kaseya 365 platform, which generates more than $1.5bn in annual recurring revenue.

The past couple of years have seen Voccola focusing on the platform approach, with the vision to help managed service providers increase their profitability by providing a single home for a range of services that can be delivered at price levels that boost margins for partners.

In his latest role, he will be dedicating his time to identifying where the business and the long-term strategy should go next and where innovation should be taking place.

He will be assisting in the search for a fresh CEO who will not only handle the day-to-day operations but get the firm ready for a potential public offering.

“With Kaseya coming off the strongest quarter and year in our history, now is the right time for me to step up into the role of vice-chairman and hand over operating responsibilities to a new CEO,” said Voccola. “It has been the honour of my professional life to lead Kaseya and work alongside the talented team that has driven our success.”

Kevin Thompson, a current Kaseya board member, is also going to play a major role in the transition period, and will help to find the next CEO. “Kaseya’s future is incredibly bright, and I’m excited to work with Fred and the board to identify a new leader who will guide the company through this transformative period,” he said.

Over the past couple of years, Voccola has become a spokesman for the MSP community, bemoaning the profit margins many of the channel are operating on when compared with other SME-facing lawyers and accountants.

 “The average profit margin of an MSP in the UK is about 9.5%, while the US is around 10% and Western Europe is about 9.4%,” said Voccola, a few months ago. “The same customers that are hiring the MSP, they hire two other service providers at scale, they have solicitors, law firms and accounting firms. The average profit margin of a law firm or a solicitor is around 40%, while for an accounting firm it’s about 35%.

“We have a situation where the MSP, which is a hundred times more important than the law firm or the solicitor to their client and to our society, not to mention what they do is a thousand times harder...and they’re making a third or a quarter of the financial rewards. That’s a problem.”

As a passionate supporter of the managed services model and a firm believer that there is still plenty of growth left in the MSP market for both existing players and new entrants, he has been able to speak about the health of the market beyond just concentrating on Kaseya’s financial performance.

Mike Triplett, managing director at private equity player Insight Partners, also gave the transition to a fresh CEO his blessing and thanked Voccola for getting the vendor into its current strong position.

“Fred’s transition to vice-chairman will enable him to focus on the long-range innovation and go-to-market strategies that will ensure Kaseya’s long-term success and prepare the company for a potential IPO,” he said.