Less than a year into his tenure as president and CEO of mid-market ERP provider Epicor, Thomas Kelly has turned in his wings, leaving to “pursue other interests,” a statement revealed today.
George Klaus, executive chairman of Epicor’s board of directors, will assume the posts of president, CEO, and chairman. The move effectively nullifies the succession planning that Epicor announced in February 2008, when Klaus ended his 12-year run as CEO by turning over the reins to Kelly, who had been an outside member of Epicor’s board of directors since 2000. At the time, Klaus moved into the role of executive chairman of the board.
Epicor declined to comment on Kelly’s motivation for leaving and did not make executives available for interviews today. In a statement, Robert Smith, a member of the board of directors, said, "During one of the most difficult markets we have seen, Tom successfully stepped up to the significant challenges of integrating NSB Retail, realigning our services organization, and launching Epicor 9."
During his time at the helm, Klaus oversaw Epicor’s expansion from a $30 million software company to a half-billion-dollar mid-market standout. The Epicor veteran retakes the corner office as the company faces an uncertain future. The ERP purveyor still faces the advances of Elliott Associates, a private equity firm that announced its intention to buy Epicor in October of last year. Since being spurned by Epicor’s board, Elliott has maintained a steady diet of Epicor stock purchases on the open market, shoring up its equity stake in the company, which exceeds 10%.