Sion Lewis appointed a new CEO of Ciphr

SaaS HR provider Ciphr has appointed Sion Lewis as its new CEO.

He joins the Marlow-based, ECI-backed group effective from 1 February, bringing with him considerable leadership and management experience in growing successful SaaS businesses.

Lewis succeeds Chris Berry, Ciphr’s founder, who has moved into a non-executive role on the board, after over 30 years as CEO.

Lewis most recently served as general manager of EMEA at GoTo, the all-in-one business communications and IT support specialists, where he helped inform international strategy and build and expand on the brand’s European presence. Prior to that, he was CEO of IRIS Software’s accountancy and education divisions, growing revenue by over 150%. He has also held senior roles with BMC and Salesforce.

Sion Lewis, CEO of Ciphr, says: “I’m really excited to join Ciphr and its leadership team at such a pivotal time. Ciphr is a successful and fast-growth company, which provides business-critical people management solutions that support and empower the UK’s SMB sector – the bedrock and powerhouse of the nation’s economy.

“Having been intimately involved with UK PLC during my time at IRIS, the ability to do so again with Ciphr was simply compelling. People are an organisation’s greatest asset, and Ciphr’s impressive suite of workplace technologies is designed to enhance their employee experience and help them to do their best work.

“There are significant opportunities for the business to grow and to drive growth for its customers, and I look forward to leading the company in this dynamic and exciting market.”

Chris Berry, founder and former CEO of Ciphr, says: “It’s been a privilege to lead Ciphr over the last 30 years and I’m extremely proud of what we have achieved. The business is in a strong position, and it’s the right time for me to hand over the reins to a new leadership.

“I’m thrilled that we have secured someone of Sion’s credentials to continue to build on Ciphr’s success. He has a proven track record of growing SaaS enterprises, and I look forward to supporting him and the board in an advisory role.”

Ciphr is a specialist provider of cloud-based HR, payroll, recruitment and learning software. More than 650 organisations use the group’s people management solutions – Ciphr, Digits LMS and Payroll Business Solutions – globally across the public, private and non-profit sectors.