Latest news with #MichaelPraeger
Forbes
17-06-2025
- Business
- Forbes
Preparing For The CEO Role: Lessons From A Fintech Leader
Michael Praeger is Cofounder and CEO of AvidXchange, a leading provider of accounts payable and payment automation technology. This year, AvidXchange celebrates its 25th anniversary, and I celebrate 25 years of being its cofounder and CEO. Leading a company that pioneered accounts payable automation has taught me invaluable lessons about leadership, adaptability and growth. Like many pioneers, I faced challenges without a clear roadmap. Navigating uncharted territory required constant learning, a willingness to embrace uncertainty and a commitment to seeking guidance beyond my immediate network. Early in my career, AvidXchange encountered growth hurdles due to our unprecedented business model. My mentors helped me realize that the solutions we needed lay outside my comfort zone. I had to be vulnerable enough to ask for help—not just from advisors but directly from our customers. The key wasn't just asking questions but learning to ask the right questions, a skill that ultimately helped solve some of our toughest challenges. One pivotal moment revealed the need to redirect our business model entirely. Investors had bought into the original vision, making the decision daunting. Yet, embracing uncertainty and making that bold move helped AvidXchange grow into a company generating over $400 million in annual revenue and serving over 8,500 middle-market companies in North America. Over the course of my career, I've learned there's no single roadmap to success. However, three key practices can strengthen leadership: focusing on the core customer, driving innovation and scaling effectively. A 2024 Qualtrics report revealed that 66% of customers don't directly report poor experiences to a company. This underscores the importance of proactively engaging customers. When customers feel valued, they're more likely to share feedback that holds critical insights for business success. Customers are far more than just a market segment or revenue projections—they're partners in your growth. Building genuine relationships with customers can elevate a business from good to great. Fostering these connections builds a customer-obsessed mindset that should resonate across all departments, not just customer-facing teams. From C-suite executives to sales, marketing and product teams, everyone should be equally passionate about solving customer challenges. As a leader, you must continuously pursue innovation, growing alongside your company to drive its continued success. A strong culture of curiosity and improvement is essential—it requires questioning the world around you, seeking inspiration in every opportunity and challenging the status quo. This mentality must be embedded in your company culture. When you prioritize curiosity, innovation and a strong team, you attract others who believe in your vision. Research shows that 66% of CEOs regret not focusing earlier on building their teams. The right people fuel success—by bringing on those who lead with innovation, you strengthen your potential for long-term growth. Scaling a business effectively requires measurable reinforcement across departments to maintain focus and drive progress. A Harvard Business Review study (paywall) found that decisive CEOs—those who make confident, informed decisions—tend to perform better. Establishing operational rhythms fosters alignment. For instance, my teams have used a red-yellow-green status system in meetings to ensure transparency and collaboration, helping move projects from risk to success. This ensures that our results remain on track throughout the year. New CEOs will quickly realize that learning never stops. A genuine curiosity to learn—and the humility to be wrong—are essential leadership traits. My curiosity is fueled by reading and engaging with diverse perspectives, which bring fresh insights to the workplace. I encourage all leaders to stay curious—it's a powerful way to evolve. Forbes Technology Council is an invitation-only community for world-class CIOs, CTOs and technology executives. Do I qualify?
Business Journals
20-05-2025
- Business
- Business Journals
AvidXchange CEO reveals pivotal decisions behind tech giant's success story
Michael Praeger, co-founder and CEO at AvidXchange, talks with Mike McGuire, former CEO at Grant Thornton, during the headline speaker portion of Seed The South on May 20. Melissa Key/CBJ
Business Journals
20-05-2025
- Business
- Business Journals
Michael Praeger shares AvidXchange's path to $2.2B acquisition
Michael Praeger, co-founder and CEO at AvidXchange, talks with Mike McGuire, former CEO at Grant Thornton, during the headline speaker portion of Seed The South on May 20. Melissa Key/CBJ
Finextra
07-05-2025
- Business
- Finextra
Corpay and TPG team up to buy AvidXchange
Business payments automation firm AvidXchange is going private through a $2.2 billion deal that sees asset firm TPG take majority ownership with Corpay picking up a minority stake. 0 This content has been selected, created and edited by the Finextra editorial team based upon its relevance and interest to our community. TPG and corporate payments player Corpay will pay $10 per share in cash, a 22% premium on AvidXchange's closing price on 6 May and a 45% premium over the closing price on March 12, the day before media reports sur about a possible sale surfaced. TPG will take a 67% stake in the business, with Corpay paying $500 million for 33%. Founded in 2000, AvidXchange offers a single platform that eliminates the paper invoice and cheque and offers multiple e-payment options for more than 8000 companies. The firm went public in 2021 but called in advisers to explore a sale this year as its share price tumbled. 'We are pleased to have reached an agreement that delivers significant value for AvidXchange stockholders and positions our business for long-term growth and success for our valued customers,' says Michael Praeger, CEO, AvidXchange. Last month, Corpay received a cash injection when Mastercard agreed to pay $300 million for a three per cent stake in its cross-border payments business. It's not all been plain sailing for Corpay in the M&A space, after an all-cash bid for London-based financial services provider Alpha Group International was rejected on Tuesday. Alpha said the board "carefully considered" the proposal with its financial advisers and unanimously rejected it.
Axios
07-05-2025
- Business
- Axios
AvidXchange acquired for $2.2B
Charlotte-based fintech company AvidXchange is being sold for $2.2 billion to two firms. Why it matters: AvidXchange is one of Charlotte's biggest startup success stories, growing from a couple of guys in a coffee shop in 2000 to a unicorn by 2021, and now employing 1,600 people nationwide. Nearly 1,200 of those employees are based in the Charlotte metro, according to the company's LinkedIn. Driving the news: TPG, a San Francisco-based private equity firm, will acquire a majority interest in AvidXchange, according to a press release. Atlanta-headquartered Corpay, a global business payments and spend management company, will acquire a minority interest. AvidXchange, which went public in 2021, will become a private company. TPG and Corpay will acquire AvidXchange for $10 per share in an all-cash transaction. This represents a 22% premium over the company's closing price of $8.20 on Tuesday and a 45% premium over the $6.89 closing price as of March 12 — the last trading day before reports of a potential sale surfaced. Some AvidXchange executives agreed to roll over a "significant portion" of their equity for the deal, according to the press release. Flashback: As the story goes, CEO Michael Praeger and co-founder David Miller started AvidXchange in 2000 in a coffee shop, with the idea to change how mid-sized companies manage their accounts payable and payments. The company grew organically and through acquisitions, including the 2014 purchase of Salt Lake City-based Piracle, into a leading provider of accounts payable automation software and payment solutions. AvidXchange moved into a newly built headquarters at the Music Factory in 2017 and holds the naming rights to the complex. That same year, the company reached unicorn status with a valuation of $1 billion. What they're saying: In a joint press release, the companies said taking AvidXchange private will allow "flexibility to continue investing in growth and delivering integrated payment solutions that enable greater efficiency, visibility, and control for customers." Ron Clarke, chairman and CEO of Corpay, said AvidXchange is highly complementary to its corporate payments business. AvidXchange works with more than 8,500 middle-market businesses. "With TPG and Corpay, we will have the resources and long-term focus to scale our platform and provide more innovative solutions that help our customers across the country transform their accounts payable processes," Praeger said. What's next: The transaction is expected to close in the fourth quarter of 2025.
