SirsiDynix Names Davison as New CEO

Library automation company SirsiDynix announced today that its COO, Bill Davison, has been promoted to CEO. He replaces Matthew Hawkins, who became CEO in December 2010. Davison will take over day-to-day operations as of today. Hawkins will stay on the company's board, however.

Davison returned to the company as COO in December 2010, after having previously served as COO and CMO for the company from 2002 to 2007. (He held positions at Dynix before the merger of Sirsi and Dynix in 2005.) He has also previously worked as COO of software company Alpha Bay, and as CEO of the online-education company American Academy.

Hawkins said that Davison's transition to CEO was "part of the plan" when he was first rehired in December. Hawkins will move over to investment firm Vista Equity Partners, which acquired SirsiDynix in December 2006. He told LJ that he will continue to work in an advisory capacity for SirsiDynix during the transition period. Before becoming SirsiDynix's CEO, Hawkins had been COO since 2007.

Davison told LJ that the company will continue to focus on improving customer service and the user experience. The company is also in the process of hiring ten to 15 additional software engineers with information architecture and UX expertise, who will work on merging traditional holdings with digital ones, "making it seamless to the user," he said. "[This is] an area of development for us." In particular, the company will be developing new "elegant" ways for the user to borrow ebooks.