Umbraco, a celebrated player in the open-source web content management sphere, has entrustingly appointed Mats Persson as its new Chief Executive Officer. This strategic move comes at a time when the company is experiencing notable growth, marked by three recent acquisitions and a significant uptick in the utilization of Umbraco Cloud services.
Former CEO Kim Sneum-Madsen, who held the position since 2019, oversaw a transformative period for Umbraco. Under his leadership, the company expanded its workforce from 56 employees to a much larger team, enhanced the capabilities of Umbraco Cloud, and successfully executed several acquisitions aimed at broadening its product portfolio. Today, Umbraco stands as one of the top three web content management systems within the UK public sector, boasting a distinguished clientele that includes the Carlsberg Group, UK Power Networks, and the Council of the European Union.
Martin Henricson, Chairman of the Board at Umbraco and Managing Director at Monterro (which acquired a majority stake in Umbraco in 2021), remarked on the transition, stating, “Umbraco has achieved consistent, strong growth over the past two years, and Kim believes that now is the right time to hand over the baton. We are delighted to welcome Mats Persson as our new CEO. I’m confident that Mats’ extensive international experience and leadership will be invaluable as he, along with Umbraco’s staff, community, and partners, builds on Umbraco’s world-class solutions and continues its international expansion.”
Persson brings over three decades of leadership experience to Umbraco. He has held significant roles at prominent companies like PWC, IBM, Adform, and Cavai, and boasts academic credentials that include a Master’s degree in computer science and a Bachelor’s degree in economics. Reflecting on his new role, Persson stated, “This is a really exciting time to be joining the company. Umbraco has steadily grown to 150 people, with its international presence reinforced by a well-established partner network and a global community of highly engaged open-source software contributors.” His extensive experience positions him uniquely to propel Umbraco into its next growth stage, especially as he notes that companies of this size gain substantial momentum in their respective markets.
Persson is particularly optimistic about the increasing adoption of open-source software in enterprises and the public sector, viewing this trend as a key growth avenue for Umbraco. “I’ve spent decades working with proprietary software enterprises and start-ups, so I am looking forward to applying my experience within an open-source CMS company. This structure allows digital organizations the flexibility to build tailored solutions that precisely fit their needs,” he added.
Aligning with the company’s ethos, Persson conveyed that his leadership style complements Umbraco’s culture of being user-friendly and partner-focused. “Umbraco is branded as the friendly CMS. Those core values exemplified in making things easy for users and taking care of its partners, the open-source community, and its employees are evident at every organizational level,” he explained.
The role of the open-source community and the network of digital agency partners is crucial for expanding Umbraco’s global footprint and offering localized support to international clients. As Persson noted, “Umbraco already has partners and customers throughout the EU, UK, US, Australia, New Zealand, India, Vietnam, and Nepal. I’m excited about the prospect of helping to strengthen the company’s global presence.” The flexibility and scalability of their open-source CMS platform provide clients with the freedom to develop digital experiences that can quickly adapt to changing business requirements.
To summarize, the ascension of Mats Persson to the CEO position at Umbraco marks a pivotal moment for the company and underscores its commitment to enhancing its product offerings and global reach. With a robust strategy based on user-centric values and the innovative potential of open-source software, Umbraco is poised for an exciting phase of international expansion.
