‘Todd has played a pivotal role in driving growth, and operational excellence during his time at the company,’ according to Pia.
Pia CEO Gerwai Todd has resigned after about a year with the help desk automation platform provider, which will operate under its CEO executive group.
Todd will continue to serve as CEO of Tampa, Fla.-based TimeZest, a scheduling automation tool provider for MSPs that he co-founded in 2020, according to Pia’s statement Friday.
“Todd has played a pivotal role in driving growth, and operational excellence during his time at the company,” according to Pia.
[RELATED: Here’s How Pia Is Reducing Labor Costs For MSPs Using AI, RPA]
Pia CEO Out
Todd told CRN in a LinkedIn message that “the team is doing great work…. I’m confident they are in a place where they can continue to build on the success of 2024.”
He confirmed his departure in a public LinkedIn post Friday, saying that “leading two companies is the hardest thing I’ve ever done in my career,” comparable to “having two families, in different houses and different countries.”
Todd said that he took the Pia job knowing he’d have to fully leave TimeZest, but “unfortunately, removing myself from a company I was part of founding was a more complicated and longer journey than I anticipated.”
“That isn’t fair to Christian (Pacheco, Pia’s founding CEO) and my Pia work family,” Todd wrote. “They deserve a 100% dedicated leader now, not later. We did a lot of great work in 2024 and I’m confident the team is setup for more success in 2025. The Pia team is reinventing how an MSP will operate a service desk in the future.”
Addressing the employees of TimeZest, the CEO said “we’ve got a tremendous opportunity in front of us in 2025 to continue to eliminate scheduling ping pong.”
The CEO’s departure comes about seven months after Pia channel chief Tim Coach left the vendor.
Pia said that Todd stepped down effective immediately and that the “parties have agreed it was time for Pia to pursue a dedicated full-time CEO to better meet the needs of the company’s growing customer base” since Todd was sharing his time with Pia and TimeZest.
In its statement, Pia thanked Todd for overseeing the vendor’s alignment “around an ambitious roadmap” and the launch of the AITriage help desk ticket offering. Todd also grew the company’s customer base, particularly in the U.S., and “led the ushering in of new pricing models to help more MSPs embrace Pia’s capabilities.”
Along with operating under the CEO executive group, Pia will establish a growth advisory committee that will “guide the company’s future direction and maintain continuity as it conducts a comprehensive, global search for its next leader,” according to the vendor.
The vendor’s website shows no executive with the CEO title and with executives including Chief Technology Officer Aron Hardy-Bardsley, Chief Information and Security Officer (CISO) Terry Irons and Chief Financial Officer David Apolo retaining their titles.
According to CRN’s 2024 Channel Chiefs, Pia has been working to “add more qualified partners” and “increase overall percentage of company revenue that comes through the channel.”
