Executive promotions at Access

Not to be outdone by Sage’s announcement of a new CEO, Access has appointed a new managing director as part of an executive overhaul at the mid-market software company.

New MD Chris Bayne previously held the same position for the company’s solutions division and was MD for Armstrong Consultants before it was acquired by Access in 2008.

While Bayne takes over as group MD, software division MD John Beech will become the group’s strategic projects director, working with Access founder Alistair O’Reilly, who retains the role of group managing director.

The executve promotions come a year after Access went through a rebranding and restructuring exercise to shift its emphasis from being a software developer with resellers to a direct-to-market, consulting-led business software provider. In February this year, Access acquired the HR and payroll software specialist Select Software to widen its portfolio.

O’Reilly commented, “Both John and Chris have worked tremendously hard over the past year and have successfully completed their remit leading the two divisions and taking us forward as a consulting-led software and solutions company. John was pivotal in running the integration project which saw five ATG subsidiaries come together under one brand and working with our director of innovations to further integrate the product portfolio. Chris has been key in developing our new consultancy and direct sales arm and will now manage the overall day-to-day running of the business. John will embark on further high-level projects within the group to ensure future business expansion and growth.”