Simon Paris puts it simply: “The role of leadership is to take risk-weighted decisions.” By that logic, stepping into the CEO role at Unit4 earlier this year was a calculated move, and one worth making. The draw was a company already aligned around four core markets: local government, education, not-for-profit, and professional services—sectors that rarely get the spotlight in enterprise software.
“ERP, as a system of record, is a privileged place to be in enterprise software,” Paris said. “Add that to the scale… plus the SaaS transition we’re doing spectacularly well, and the road ahead is actually a very exciting place to be.”
Paris understands enterprise software from the inside out—and from the top down. He previously served as CEO of Finastra, one of the largest fintech firms globally, for nearly a decade. He also held leadership roles at Infor and SAP. At Unit4, he saw a business with product-market clarity and the scale to grow. The company was already delivering enterprise tools across finance, HR, and project management—core systems mid-market organizations rely on, but often outgrow. Paris took the helm with an eye toward acceleration.
At Unit4, generative AI is being integrated through structured policies and grassroots experimentation. Paris has focused on building the right guardrails—governance, risk, and compliance—while enabling teams to explore use cases that align with day-to-day work across engineering and product.
Team structure and culture matter just as much. He turns to a proverb to explain his view on collaboration: “If you want to go fast, travel alone. If you want to go far, travel together.” That mindset has guided his early months, especially on issues like diversity and inclusion. Under his leadership, Unit4 set measurable goals: 43% women employees and 36% women in leadership by 2026, and introduced global benefits for caregiving, gender transition, and disability access.
That people-centric approach—what the company builds, how it sells, where it operates, and who it serves—led Paris to ask a defining question: “Why do we have a right to exist, and why do we have a right to win?” As CEO, earning that right means proving it. The fundamentals were already in place. The next phase is about execution.
