Redmond-based church software company Pushpay has picked a new chief financial officer after a roughly two-year search.
The company on Thursday announced Burt Chao, previously the CFO at the Atlanta-based supply chain tech company Kaleris, is taking the CFO role. Chao said his team has about 30 people in finance and accounting roles and will likely grow, but he didn't have a specific target for how much the team will grow in the near future.
"I think a lot of the growth will be concentrated here in Seattle and Redmond," Chao said. "I want to meet the team and understand what the team is doing right now."
Chao spent two years at Kaleris, according to his LinkedIn page, before which he spent five years at the consulting company Alvarez & Marsal working in private equity services. Chao, who officially joined Pushpay earlier this month, has been living in Austin, Texas, and Houston but plans to move to the Seattle area in the next few weeks.
Pushpay has been without a permanent CFO since October 2021, when Shane Sampson left the company. Sampson had been Pushpay's CFO since 2015. Chao said Pushpay has had interim CFOs in the meantime.
Pushpay CEO Molly Matthews took over her role in March 2021 when she replaced interim CEO Bruce Gordon. Kevin Kuck, the company's chief operations officer, has held the job since August 2021, when he replaced Don Harms.
Pushpay was founded in 2011. Its software helps churches and parishes launch apps, manage donations and engage with members. The company in 2021 acquired the streaming provider Resi Media for $150 million in cash and stock. In May, Pushpay was acquired by private equity firms Sixth Street and BGH Capital for $1 billion, taking the company off New Zealand's Exchange and the Australian Securities Exchange.
Matthews said at the time of the private equity acquisition Pushpay had more than 550 employees. According to the company, Pushpay has more than 14,000 clients. Chao said the private equity acquisition doesn't signal a change of course for Pushpay.
"It's probably more staying the course but accelerating the pace at which we grow," Chao said.
