Former Salesforce CFO Joins BlackLine Board of Directors

LOS ANGELES, Aug. 4, 2015 /PRNewswire/ -- Graham Smith, former chief financial officer (CFO) at Salesforce, has joined BlackLine's Board of Directors.  Drawing on his experience serving in senior finance leadership roles at several leading technology companies and helping build Salesforce into the de facto leader in its space, the seasoned finance professional and cloud software veteran will help guide BlackLine through its next phase of growth.

"Graham built a world-class finance organization at Salesforce and helped guide them through an extended period of impressive growth," said Therese Tucker, Chairman and CEO, BlackLine.  "In addition to his success helping to scale fast-growing software companies, Graham brings to BlackLine a deep understanding of how innovative and disruptive technologies can drive business performance to new heights.  We anticipate these unique talents and experiences to drive contributions across our entire business."

 "Every CFO needs to be focused on automating processes and driving efficiencies across the entire department, while reducing potential exposure to compliance risk," Mr. Smith said.  "There is a tremendous untapped opportunity for large and mid-size businesses across the globe to adopt BlackLine and elevate their existing operations to true 'Modern Finance' status."

Mr. Smith has more than 25 years of experience as a financial executive in the software industry.  In his seven years as Salesforce's CFO, Mr. Smith managed the company's financial strategy, operations and systems through rapid growth as the company's annal revenues increased from $750 million when he joined, to more than $5 billion.  Mr. Smith also oversaw the integration of more than 30 acquisitions and raised over $1.7 billion through convertible debt offerings and loan financings.

Before joining Salesforce, Mr. Smith served as CFO at Advent Software, Vitria Technology and Nuance Communications.  Earlier in his career, Mr. Smith spent 11 years at Oracle in a variety of senior finance roles, including vice president of finance for worldwide operations.

Mr. Smith serves on the Boards at Splunk, MINDBODY and Xero.  He holds a bachelor's degree in economics and politics from Bristol University in England and qualified as a chartered accountant in England and Wales.

BlackLine revenues have increased more than 50 percent annually on a consistent basis for more than eight years.  In 2013, BlackLine partnered with Silver Lake Sumeru, the mid-market arm of leading technology-focused global private equity firm Silver Lake, and Iconiq Capital to drive growth. 

About BlackLine
BlackLine is the leader in Enhanced Finance Controls and Automation (EFCA) software and the only provider that offers a unified cloud platform supporting the entire close-to-disclose process.  The BlackLine Finance Controls and Automation Platform is designed to help midsize companies and large enterprises strengthen controls, lower compliance risks and gain greater efficiencies and visibility.  Delivered through a scalable and highly secure cloud model and built from a single code base, the platform supports many key accounting and financial processes including the financial close, account reconciliations, intercompany accounting and controls assurance, fueling confidence throughout the entire accounting cycle.

More than 100,000 users across 1,100 global companies in over 100 countries currently leverage BlackLine to increase accountant productivity and elevate controls and compliance functions to 'Modern Finance' status, with customers comprising more than 25 of the Fortune 100 and over 100 of the Fortune 500. 

BlackLine complements existing enterprise systems for Corporate Performance Management, Governance Risk and Compliance and Enterprise Resource Planning.  The BlackLine Financial Close Suite for SAP® Solutions is an SAP-endorsed business solution, joining the ranks of fewer than 40 other software offerings.  BlackLine also is an SAP Gold Partner, Oracle Gold Partner, and participates in the partner programs of NetSuite and several other ERP providers.

BlackLine global headquarters are in Los Angeles, with offices in Atlanta, Chicago, London, Melbourne, New York City, Paris, Sydney and Vancouver.  For more information, please visit www.blackline.com.

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SOURCE BlackLine

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