MercuryGate names Mike Lipps new president and chief operating officer

Logistics technology provider MercuryGate International Inc. today said it has made another change in the executive suite, naming industry veteran Mike Lipps as the company's new president and chief operating officer and charging him with boosting product innovation.

Company CEO and co-founder Monica Wooden will continue in her role as leader of the transportation management system (TMS) provider, while co-founder Steve Blough, the previous president, takes over leadership of a new innovation group, Cary, N.C.-based MercuryGate said.

The innovation group was formed to meet evolving customer needs and stay ahead of the shifting competitive landscape, the company said. The group is meant to serve as a catalyst for the company to quickly transform its business models, processes and programs, and user experience, MercuryGate said. "Having resources dedicated to new product innovation enables us to focus on a multifaceted agenda of expanding important features and functionality of our current platform for our existing customers while exploring new opportunities, customers, and markets through dedicated research and development," Blough said in a statement.

Lipps joins MercuryGate after a variety of leadership roles at the legal software division of LexisNexis and at Intuit Inc. His hiring comes two weeks after MercuryGate named JDA Software Group Inc. executive Jamie S. Howard as its chief delivery officer, along with four other vice president-level changes, and one year after the company made another sweeping upgrade to its top management team.