The longtime CEO of a prominent Long Beach business has officially made the decision to pass the torch.
Chris Wacker—who has served as the CEO of Laserfiche since his wife, Laserfiche founder Nien-Ling Wacker, died in 2014—announced his retirement as CEO today, effective Aug. 1. Current president and CTO Karl Chan will assume the role of CEO in Wacker’s stead.
Wacker has been a longstanding presence at Laserfiche, which is a software as a service (SaaS) provider of content and business process management products, for 35 years, but he is now stepping back into a more passive role. He will still serve as the president of the Laserfiche board of directors while Chan will oversee the day-to-day operations of the business.
“Karl is an extraordinary business leader and visionary technologist who has been instrumental in Laserfiche’s success for the past 30 years,” Wacker said in a news release announcing the move. “The company is entering a new era of accelerated innovation and digital transformation, and Karl is well positioned to lead Laserfiche to continued global growth.”
Chan’s long-term tenure with Laserfiche has placed him at the center of many of its most important projects. In particular, he was instrumental in the success of the company’s cloud-based services, called Laserfiche Cloud. He also received a Lifetime Achievement Award from the Los Angeles Business Journal in 2015 for his work.
In a news release, Chan said he was honored to be selected to lead Laserfiche.
“The rapid pace of change we are seeing today means that there is [an] abundant need for process automation and digital transformation,” he said. “I’m excited to drive the delivery of innovative solutions that will empower our customers and enrich the world.”
Laserfiche also announced that Peter Wayman will be stepping into the role of president, and Michael Allen will be appointed chief technology officer.
