Ronald F. Verni, who will become the Sage Group's first president and chief executive for its U.S. operations.

Ronald F. Verni will become the Sage Group's first president and chief executive for its U.S. operations, overseeing all four Sage operations in the United States, including: Peachtree Software, a provider of accounting software for small businesses; Sage Software, a provider of accounting software for small to mid-size businesses; Best Software, a provider of human resource/payroll, fixed asset and planning solutions; and Sage Time Division, a provider of time and billing software, the company said.

"Because the company has grown so large in the U.S. we needed to get a strategic umbrella over the groups," said Verni, who added that prior to the creation of his position, the four units operated autonomously and reported to the parent company, Sage Group plc in England.

Those who will report to Verni, who now sits at the top of the chain in U.S. operations, are Jim Eckstaedt, chief financial officer of Sage U.S. Operations; David R. Butler, president and chief operating officer of Sage Software; Doug Meyer, president and chief operating officer of Peachtree Software; Jim Foster, president and chief operating officer of Best Software; and Kevin Howe, president and chief executive of Sage Time Division. Verni will report to Paul A. Walker, chief executive of Sage Group plc.

Under his new role, Verni said his first undertaking will be getting the word out to consumers that under its umbrella, the Sage Group has a plethora of products and services for businesses of all sizes.

"The most important thing I'm doing is understanding how we brand ourselves," he said.

While Verni may be new to the position, he is not new to the profession. The 21-year industry veteran has been the president and chief executive of Peachtree Software for the past five years. Prior to Peachtree, he was a vice president of marketing with Automatic Data Processing in the Electronic Services Division. He has also served as president and chief executive of NEBS Software, president and chief executive of One Write Plus, and vice president, general manager and corporate officer of New England Business Service.

The four U.S. divisions have combined annualized revenue of more than $300 million, 1.2 million customers, and 1,900 employees, the company stated. The Sage Group plc, which is headquartered in Newcastle upon Tyne, England, has major operations in the U.S., U.K., France and Germany.

-- By Antoinette Alexander

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