Alastair Sorbie, President and CEO of ERP player IFS, is retiring.

During his 12 years at the helm of the company, IFS’ IT Applications have become a major global success story, especially in midmarket ERP, project management, EAM (maintenance) and FSM (field service solutions).

Sorbie will remain as part of the IFS Owner's EQT Industrial Network.

The new CEO of IFS will be Darren Roos, who will be joining the company in April. Roos was recruited from IFS competitor SAP, where he was heading the company’s Cloud ERP business. Prior to that, Roos was one of the main stakeholders behind the three-fold growth of German Software AG.

“I am excited and privileged to lead IFS in this next chapter. IFS is an incredible business! The combination of its strong ERP heritage, leadership in EAM and FSM, and exemplary customer satisfaction gives it the perfect platform to play a dominant role in the enterprise software industry,” Roos stated.

Don’t miss engineering.com’s PLM TV News Report with the soon-to-be retired IFS chief Alastair Sorbie: ERP Player IFS is in Attack Mode: “Tigers Like Other Tigers”.

IFS’ NEW LEADER COMES FROM SAP. The new IFS manager, Darren Roos, is the former head of SAP's Cloud ERP business, and was previously the CEO of Software AG's international expansion, resulting in a threefold increase in sales.

Darren Roos will take over as of April 1, 2018.

This change comes during a very interesting time for IFS, which was acquired by equity firm EQT in late 2015. With these added financial muscles, IFS has taken great steps towards becoming a global player, showing 10 percent annual growth rates during Sorbie’s tenure. The company has also been well-developed from a technological standpoint; not least with the 2015 launch of the Application Suite version 9.

Both Gartner and ARC Advisory have pointed to the company as a leader in the ability to execute within areas such as midmarket ERP, project management, EAM and FSM. The number of customers and users has also grown, and today more than 1.1 million users are using IFS solutions.

High Ambitions

German ERP giant SAP has made for a tough competitor for developers hoping to acquire market share in the ERP business. However, IFS has been able to challenge SAP within its focus on custom solutions in industry segments such as aviation, defense, oil & gas, manufacturing and global logistics.

Adding an SAP veteran as IFS’ top executive demonstrates the company's high ambitions. “I plan to bring my experience and skills specifically around scaling companies, building cloud businesses, and establishing high-performing teams to enable IFS to continue to flourish,” Roos said.

Proven Business Executive with SAP Background

As mentioned, Darren Roos is also a proven business leader in the software industry. He has an excellent track record in establishing and scaling up global software companies with SAP’s Cloud ERP business, and Software AG’s international expansion.

“I’m looking forward to meeting and engaging with the 3,500 women and men who have built this business, and the 10,000 customers and partners who make it great,” Roos commented.

EXITING IFS BOSS ALASTAIR SORBIE. Do not miss the TV Report with Sorbie on engineering.com. PLM TV News editor-in-chief, Verdi Ogewell, met Sorbie and discussed success factors, the significance of analyst reviews and why IFS acquired companies like MXI and Workwave. We also spoke with company customers such as Polygon and Norwegian global industrial color manufacturer Jotun. The report discusses the legacy that Darren Roos will soon be taking to the next level.

Aiming to Extend Its Lead Position

Per Franzén, a partner at IFS’ owner EQT, is also commenting on the replacement of the top job.

“Roos’ experience, knowledge and proven track record of building successful businesses in the markets where IFS operates makes him a great choice as CEO. His appointment comes at a time when IFS has a real opportunity to generate further momentum in the sector and extend its leadership position. This is good news for customers, partners and of course, employees.”

Franzén also notes that Alastair Sorbie played a very important role in the company's growth and market success.

"He has been very committed to the company and we are grateful for establishing IFS as the successful business it is today. We are also looking forward to continuing working with Alastair Sorbie as part of EQT's industrial network.”