CentralReach appoints SaaS finance veteran to leadership team

CentralReach, a Matawan-based firm that produces software that assists those who help people on the autism spectrum, announced the appointment of Rick Russo as the company’s chief financial officer.

With over 30 years of experience, including multiple leading software companies, Russo brings a strong track record of building and scaling finance and accounting teams. Russo will lead financial operations and be a strategic thought partner to the leadership team as CentralReach continues to meet the unprecedented demand for its market-leading Autism and IDD Care Platform.

“I’m thrilled to welcome Rick to the team,” Chris Sullens, CEO of CentralReach, said. “In the past four years, CentralReach has experienced rapid and profitable growth with no signs of slowing down. As we look to the future, I have no doubt that Rick’s extensive financial, operational and strategic experience will help us scale even more effectively and efficiently. I look forward to partnering with Rick as we take CentralReach through the next phase of our growth journey.”

Reporting directly to Sullens, Russo joins CentralReach’s recent key leadership hires, Chief Revenue Officer Drew Hamilton, Chief Operating Officer Clark Convery and Chief Technology Officer Sean Banerjee, to help Sullens accelerate improvements to the customer experience, scale the company’s products and technology and drive continued growth at scale.

“I am honored to join CentralReach as CFO,” Russo said. “What CentralReach is doing really stands out. Not only does the company have an incredible growth story, but they are doing it in a way that has kept its mission at the center of it all. I’m eager to apply my experience to help CentralReach scale in a way that continues to support the autism and (intellectual and developmental disabilities) community and those that serve them.”

Prior to joining CentralReach, Russo most recently served as the CFO at ETQ, a leading enterprise Software-as-a-Service quality management software company, where he drove strategic initiatives that transformed the company in terms of scale and financial profile. Prior to joining ETQ, he served as senior vice president and chief accounting officer and vice president of finance at Epicor Software, a leading enterprise enterprise resource planning software company. Previously, he held various financial positions, including senior director of corporate financial planning & analysis at Solectron Corp., a global electronics manufacturing company.