Descartes Systems Group announces Edward J. Ryan has been appointed as the company’s chief executive officer and J. Scott Pagan has been appointed as president and chief operating officer. Both moves are in accordance with the company’s leadership succession plan.
Ryan has served as Descartes’ chief commercial officer since 2011, in addition to several other senior executive roles since joining the company in 2000. Pagan has served as Descartes’ chief corporate officer and corporate secretary since 2011, in addition to other senior executive roles since he also joined Descartes in 2000.
“The board of directors congratulates both Ed and Scott on their well-deserved promotions. We’re highly confident in the strong leadership that they will continue to bring to Descartes,” says Dr. Stephen Watt, lead director of Descartes’ board of directors. “Their appointments reflect the company’s succession plan and are based on Ed’s and Scott’s proven ability to deliver over the last thirteen years. Together, they have led Descartes’ day-to-day operations for the past several years. They’ve had great success in working with our customers, providing leadership to our management team and employees, and delivering strong results to our shareholders.”
“I look forward to the opportunity to lead Descartes as CEO in its next period of growth,” says Ryan. “Descartes has a proven track record of helping our customers to improve the productivity and performance of their businesses through our cloud-based solutions and related services. Our continued focus on helping customers achieve results using our technology and people will be a critical driver of our future strategic, functional and geographic expansion.”
Ryan replaces the retiring Arthur Mesher as Descartes’ CEO.
Mesher served as Descartes’ CEO since 2004, after joining the company as executive vice president, strategic development, in 1998. Mr. Mesher has retired as CEO and Chairman of the Board due to health and personal issues.
