SPS Commerce names Twin Cities-based software executive as its next CEO

Archie Black has an end date as CEO of SPS Commerce.

The company on Thursday said Twin Cities resident Chad Collins, most recently CEO of software for German technology firm Körber Supply Chain, will take over as SPS' chief executive Oct. 2.

Minneapolis-based SPS Commerce announced in March that Black, the company's CEO for the past 22 years, would retire and move to a role as executive chairman as soon as a successor was found.

"SPS is well positioned to capitalize on the tremendous opportunities ahead, and I believe Chad is uniquely qualified to lead the company through its next chapter of growth and innovation," Black said in a statement.

Prior to his tenure at Körber, Collins was president and CEO of HighJump Software and its parent company, Accellos Inc. Körber acquired Bloomington-based HighJump Software in 2017.

Collins, who is a Twin Cities resident, signed a five-year employment contract. His annual salary will be $525,000 and he will get a restricted stock award valued at $4.2 million and a performance stock unit award valued at $4.2 million.

He also will receive a combined $11 million in equity awards as an incentive to join SPS. The equity awards are subject to various vesting and performance requirements.

In addition to the chief executive appointment, SPS on Thursday said Jim Frome, the company's long-time president and chief operating officer, plans to retire from his role in December 2024.

"Jim has been a key contributor to SPS' growth for 23 years," said Phil Soran, chairman of the SPS board. "He was integral to the creation of the industry's first integrated suite of products and the largest retail cloud solution architected for today's omnichannel market."

And Frome continued to lay the foundation for "competitive market disruption."

SPS Commerce has 2,215 employees and had annual revenue in 2022 of $450.9 million. The provider of cloud-based supply chain management software that connects retailers and suppliers has a streak of 89 consecutive quarters of increased revenue growth.