BlackLine Executive Appointments Aim to Accelerate Global Enterprise Adoption of Leading Cloud Platform for Finance Controls and Automation

Company enlists former Infor financial solutions executive to lead EMEA, adds chief strategy officer

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Sep 24, 2015, 06:00 ET

LONDON, PARIS and LOS ANGELES, Sept. 24, 2015 /PRNewswire/ -- On the heels of reporting that its EMEA (Europe, Middle East and Africa) business grew more than 100 percent year-over-year in the second quarter of 2015, BlackLine, a leading provider of finance controls and automation software, today announced the appointment of former Infor executive Joseph Awad as senior vice president, EMEA, to oversee the company's rapid business growth in the region.

"We are experiencing tremendous momentum across the EMEA region as more and more companies of all sizes see the value in automating key processes to improve internal controls and increase efficiencies across their Finance and Accounting organisations," said Therese Tucker, BlackLine CEO and founder. "Hiring Joseph, given his extensive financial applications and EMEA market experience, was a no-brainer. He is well known throughout the region for his ability to build high performing teams."

Awad is a seasoned financial software industry veteran with a successful 30-year track record, much of this time spent in leadership roles throughout the EMEA region. At ERP (enterprise resource planning) applications software leader Infor, he most recently held the position of vice president, EMEA Financial Solutions. In this position, he was responsible for direct and indirect channel sales, while overseeing operations for a business unit with more than 10,000 customers in over 60 countries throughout the region. Awad previously held sales and management positions at Geac Computer Corporation and Dun and Bradstreet Software.

"Over the past 30 years, I have seen an incredible transformation across EMEA as companies moved aggressively to adopt the latest advancements made available through core ERP systems," said Awad. "While the ERP world has matured, advancements in cloud computing are paving the way for a new generation of software aimed at providing a greater degree of automation and control over core accounting and finance processes. BlackLine is leading the way here and I am excited to be part of what is a huge and growing market opportunity."

Awad, who is fluent in French, English and Arabic, will lead BlackLine's EMEA efforts from the company's offices in Paris.

The company also announced that Mario Spanicciati, former executive director for EMEA and executive vice president of Operations, has been appointed to the role of chief strategy officer. Spanicciati has worked alongside company CEO Tucker since 2004 and headed up the company's EMEA operations, launched in London in January of 2013. During his tenure, BlackLine has increased its number of EMEA customers by more than 500 percent since 2013 and the company's new bookings for EMEA in just the first half of 2015 have grown by nearly 300 percent as compared to the full year of 2013. Spanicciati also led the company's expansion into France with the launch of the BlackLine Paris office in March of this year.

"Mario is a proven leader who helped me build BlackLine from the ground up," Tucker said. "He was instrumental in the rapid growth in our business in EMEA and forged key strategic relationships, such as our long-standing partnership with SAP. We could not have a smarter and more experienced executive driving our strategy. As we continue to scale our operations and expand our offerings, Mario's leadership will be vital to achieving the goal of expanding our global team and adding key partnerships."

Under Spanicciati's direction, the BlackLine Financial Close Suite for SAP® Solutions became an SAP-endorsed business solution, joining the ranks of fewer than 40 other software offerings globally across all industries and categories. Such strategic partnerships and other key alliances offer BlackLine significant opportunities for future global business growth.

In his new position, Spanicciati will be responsible for strategy and alignment across the entire global organisation, driving strategic partnerships and building out alliances worldwide.

About BlackLine
BlackLine is a leading provider of Enhanced Finance Controls and Automation (EFCA) software and the only one that offers a unified cloud platform supporting the entire close-to-disclose process. The BlackLine Finance Controls and Automation Platform is designed to help midsize companies and large enterprises strengthen controls, lower compliance risks and gain greater efficiencies and visibility. Delivered through a scalable and highly secure cloud model and built from a single code base, the platform supports many key accounting and financial processes including the financial close, account reconciliations, intercompany accounting and controls assurance, fueling confidence throughout the entire accounting cycle.

More than 110,000 users across 1,100 global companies in over 100 countries currently leverage BlackLine to increase accountant productivity and elevate controls and compliance functions to 'Modern Finance' status, with customers comprising more than 25 of the Fortune 100 and over 100 of the Fortune 500.

BlackLine complements existing enterprise systems for Corporate Performance Management, Governance Risk and Compliance and Enterprise Resource Planning. The BlackLine Financial Close Suite for SAP® Solutions is an SAP-endorsed business solution, joining the ranks of fewer than 40 other software offerings. BlackLine also is an SAP Gold Partner, Oracle Gold Partner, and participates in the partner programs of NetSuite and several other ERP providers.

BlackLine global headquarters are in Los Angeles, with offices in Atlanta, Chicago, London, Melbourne, New York City, Paris, Sydney and Vancouver. For more information, please visit www.blackline.com.

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SOURCE BlackLine