Avalara Appoints New Chief Marketing Officer

Avalara has announced that Michael J. Turner has joined the company as its Chief Marketing Officer. Avalara is a developer of cloud-based software that automates sales tax, VAT and other transactional taxes for businesses around the world.

Turner is a tech industry veteran, recently serving as the CEO and president of 1-800-DENTIST. He has also held high-level executive positions at LegalZoom and Teleflora. In addition to his record of building and growing direct marketing and internet businesses ranging from large multinationals to venture-backed start-up and growth companies, Turner brings experience in strategy, analytics, and a strong global perspective gained during years supervising international trading within Cargill, Inc.

Avalara’s addition of a proven CMO comes on the heels of last year’s appointment of Pascal Van Dooren, formerly EVP, Sales and Marketing, to the role of Chief Revenue Officer. The dramatic growth of the company’s new and existing business sales force prompted greater focus at the executive level and the new CMO role was created to deliver highly focused executive leadership of the marketing function.

“Mike has significant expertise helping companies like Avalara successfully scale their business using a powerful blend of traditional, digital, and Internet-based channels,” said Avalara founder and CEO Scott McFarlane. “Our team has done a great job getting us to where we are today, and we look forward to leveraging Mike’s skills and experience to catapult us to the next level.”

Turner’s hiring is part of an ongoing drive to accelerate Avalara’s record of rapid growth. In the past four months the company received major new backing from an affiliate of Warburg Pincus, a global private equity firm focused on growth investing, and the investment firm Technology Crossover Ventures (“TCV”), a leading provider of growth equity for premier technology companies.

Turner takes over a strong marketing team that helped land Avalara on both Deloitte’s Technology Fast 500™, Fastest Growing Tech Companies in North America and JMP Securities “Hot 100” List of Best Privately Held Software Companies. In the first half of 2015, the company will open new facilities in Seattle, WA and Durham, NC to accommodate its rapidly growing sales teams and other functions.

“Avalara is at the forefront of U.S and international approaches to sales tax, VAT and transactional tax compliance,” Turner concluded. “Virtually all businesses are or will be affected by this. Avalara is strategically positioned as it continues to broaden and deepen its reach, combining powerful technology with deep content to provide businesses with a single user-friendly place to manage key compliance obligations.”