Avid Appoints Wellford Dillard as Chief Executive Officer

Avid announced that it has appointed Wellford Dillard as the organization's next Chief Executive Officer (CEO).  Wellford succeeds Jeff Rosica, who is staying with the company in an advisory capacity to ensure a smooth and successful transition. The appointment follows the company's acquisition by an affiliate of private equity partner STG, concluded on November 7, 2023. Avid is now operating as a privately-held company, headquartered in Burlington, Massachusetts.
 
The new CEO announcement comes just in time for the company's presence at the NAB Show 2024 in Las Vegas, where Avid will have the first opportunity to present its product roadmap to the media, broadcast and content creation communities. Avid continues to be a leading vendor of technology solutions for newsrooms and post-production, and the both the former and new CEO will attend NAB to share their vision for the industry.

What began more than 30 years ago with the company's pioneering role in nonlinear digital video editing, expanded into one of the leading forces in the studio and recording world with the acquisition of Digidesign, the pioneer of the digital audio workstation (DAW), which Avid acquired in 1995. Avid Pro Tools still represents a significant share of its overall business, and remains the leading DAW solution in audio production for television, music, and film, a legacy that is both a solid foundation and an extraordinary challenge.

Avid is undergoing a migration from hardware into cloud-based collaborative software subscriptions, and facing significant challenges to establish that model seamlessly in the different application market its serves - some of which are heavily hardware dependent, such as live sound mixing consoles. This was precisely the transition that Jeff Rosica skillfully managed during its time as CEO, and which is expected to accelerate under the new company structure and management.

Wellford Dillard joins Avid after serving as the CEO of Marigold, a marketing SaaS company, during almost seven years. Wellford has more than 20 years of experience in the software industry and, prior to Marigold, held CFO roles at Opower and GetWellNetwork, among others.

"We are thrilled to appoint Wellford as the new CEO of Avid," says William Chisholm, Managing Partner, and Patrick Fouhy, Principal, of STG. "He has an exceptional background leading software businesses and brings a wealth of valuable experience to Avid. His strong track record driving growth will be invaluable during this next phase of the company's journey. In addition, we want to express our sincere gratitude to Jeff for his leadership and contributions to the company during his tenure as CEO and for his commitment in helping to ensure a successful transition prior to his retirement."
  "I am privileged to join such a terrific team and significant technology leader in the Media & Entertainment industry. It is a critical time for the industry, as well as an important time for Avid, and I am excited to be leading this iconic organization," adds Wellford Dillard. "The company’s continued focus on innovative technology that can help its preeminent customer base deliver on their creative and business objectives will remain at the center of Avid’s focus as we deliver on the company’s strategic goals and next phase of growth."
  
"I’m excited about the future of Avid under Wellford’s leadership, and personally believe that he is the right individual at the right time to lead the company," states Jeff Rosica. "It has been my honor to be the CEO of Avid over the past several years. I am confident that Wellford has what it takes to move the company forward and lead the team to even greater success in the years ahead." 
www.avid.com