Mike Ettling
CEO
Unit4

(4.5)
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  1. Mike is a galvanizing leader who ensures that “In Business for People” is more than a strapline. He truly lives one of Unit4’s Operating Principles: “Create an extraordinary people environment so our people take extraordinary care of our customers.” He also is decisive; focused, and communicates a clear vision for Unit4’s future, and has built high-performing teams to accomplish big milestones despite the pandemic. In fact, several of Unit4’s leaders today are people who worked with him at other times in their careers. He is able to draw top talent. Mike’s dedication to employees and focus on achieving big goals was very evident during COVID. When lockdowns started in early 2020, Mike immediately committed to taking care of employees and keeping the business on track. While many companies immediately went into “conservation” mode, made cuts in resources and revised financial plans, Mike instead made it a point to direct teams NOT to do scenario planning that would lower targets or ambitions. And he was determined not to make any employees redundant, nor impact salaries and bonuses. Instead, he worked to re-allocate employees to different roles, and enabled teams to work together to achieve their goals and communicate upward what resources they needed. As a result, no one was made redundant, bonuses were paid, and we grew the business. His authentic dedication to providing an extraordinary employee experience saw the launch of many wellness initiatives to protect a sense of community, avoid burnout and taking care of our whole selves. During COVID, Unit4 saw its Glassdoor ratings move from 3.5 to 4.1. Many of the programs below have become permanent. Initiatives introduced during COVID include: Daily updates on People portal Daily Fit4U employee-led virtual sessions. Mike himself led the first one. Steps challenge app to promote physical activity and breaks from work. Weekly communications to all staff Training and toolkit for managers on leading through COVID Employee assistance program rollout Mental health and wellbeing training for managers Thrive Mental Health app Flex4U work where you’re comfortable These leadership qualities coalesced to achieve outstanding outcomes: A net revenue retention growth through 2020 to 108%. Glassdoor score increased significantly – from 3.5 to 4.1 in 2020. And despite travel restrictions, in-person meetings, and broader market uncertainty, Mike led a successful growth buyout by TA Associates announced in March for $2.15bn. At Unit4’s 2021 kick off, feedback via a survey sent to all our people showed that 100% understand the company strategy.

    Staff, submitted on

  2. When Mike Ettling joined Unit4 as CEO in 2019, he brought fresh leadership to the company, focused on building a new culture, corporate identity and People Experience for our people and customers. Unit4 had had several different owners over the years, and was a relatively unknown brand. Its people faced change fatigue and mistrust of new management. In less than two years, Mike has transformed the business towards a true cloud company, resulting in a successful growth buyout by TA Associates announced in March for $2.15bn. The company rebranded, introduced many new people success initiatives and a new CSR program, refreshed its global partner program, and launched the most significant product in the company’s 40 year history. Unit4’s Glassdoor scores increased significantly – from 3.5 to 4.1 in 2020. At Unit4’s 2021 kick off, feedback via a survey sent to all our people showed that 100% understand the company strategy. Unit4 has received very strong analyst endorsement over the past 12 months, helping solidify our ‘people experience’ message, including: • Unit4 named as a Sample Vendor in Gartner’s 2020 Hype Cycle for ERP. In 2020, Constellation Research rated Unit4 as the market leader amongst Service-Centric ERP providers for mid-sized organizations. IDC expects ERx to set a new trajectory for Unit4 as we move to a digitally transformative future.

    Senior-Level Professional, submitted on

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