Newport Beach, CA February 15, 2002 IPNet Solutions tapped a software industry veteran to lead the company with the announcement today that Michael J. Simmons would take over as CEO of the B2B integration provider.
Simmons will replace Don Willis, founder and former CEO, who will remain a member of the board and focus on board-related activities.
IPNet provides software that allows businesses such as Dole, Lowe's, Textron and others to connect with their business partners using electronic data interchange (EDI) and eXtensible Markup Language (XML)-based protocols.
"I'm honored to be a part of the team and am looking forward to working with the company, board of directors and, especially, Don Willis to take advantage of the market opportunity before us," Simmons said in an IPNet statement.
Simmons' background in software includes stints leading financial and enterprise resource planning (ERP) application companies such as Platinum Software (now Epicor) and PowerCerv.
In addition, Simmons currently serves on the board of directors for Bravanta, a solution company focused on the human capital management (HCM) market, as well as on the board of advisers for WiredCapital, a developer of enterprise software solutions for financial service organizations.
Simmons holds a bachelor's of science in economics from St. Peter's College and an MBA from Rutgers University. In addition, he is a U.S. Marine Corps veteran, having served in Vietnam. Simmons lives in Laguna Hills, Calif.
