Accela names Kara Wilson to Board of Directors
Accela announced that it has appointed Kara Wilson to its board of directors. Wilson possesses more than 25 years of experience in helping companies optimize for growth.
She currently serves as an executive advisor at KKR & Co. and as board member of software companies Paychex, OneStream, KnowBe4, Reliaquest, OutSystems, Skyhive and Corel. Wilson previously led marketing for several of the technology industry’s most influential companies, including SAP Cloud, Rubrik, FireEye, and Okta.
“With global government spending for software expected to surpass $161 billion this year, Kara’s expertise in leading growth at scale will be vital as Accela’s momentum in the dynamic government technology market continues,” said Accela Chief Executive Officer Gary Kovacs. “State and local governments are at a critical juncture in how they deliver services to residents and businesses in their communities, and they have access to unprecedented state and federal funding to accelerate technology modernization. We’re thrilled to welcome Kara to the Accela team during this exciting time for our organization’s growth.”
Accela closed the 2021 fiscal year with double-digit growth in annual recurring revenue and unparalleled professional services revenue performance. Additionally, Accela’s net customer retention is among the industry’s best at 109 percent, a testament to the caliber of its solutions and commitment to great government. Over the past two years, Accela has completed dozens of customer migrations to the company’s multi-tenant cloud on Azure, and continues at a steady pace each month.
As a member of the Accela board, Wilson will help to advise the company on how it can continue to rapidly scale the delivery of products, support and services that will accelerate better interactions and government experiences with agency staff, residents and business owners in communities around the globe.
“City, county, and state governments are rapidly digitizing their services and operations to accelerate recovery from an unprecedented set of economic, health, and societal challenges. Accela has an indisputable record as the long-trusted partner of government agencies, and I’m excited to join the board during this transformative inflection point,” said Wilson. “Accela is uniquely positioned to optimize interactions between government departments and their constituents wherever they are on their digitization journey. I look forward to helping Accela build upon its two decades of leadership in the industry.”
Accela is trusted by 80 percent of the United States’ largest cities and benefits more than 275 million residents and businesses. In partnership with the City of Madison, Wisconsin, Accela was recently named the winner of the National League of Cities’ Capstone Challenge. Microsoft US also awarded Accela two Partner Awards in 2021 for “Government Partner of the Year” and “Community Response.”