We are very excited to announce that Christopher Pond, previous Microsoft global black belt formerly of CPS and Edison 365, will be joining our ever-expanding team as Commercial Director.

The journey has been one of delighted customer and advocate to converting to lead the sales team on our exciting adventure to fortune. Christopher had this to say about his journey to the appointment: "I'd known Law365 and Kim for several years. CPS had always used another legal firm for the usual reason of 'we've always used them' - yet they weren't a specialist in all things Microsoft.

When Kim launched Cloud Contracts 365 at South Coast Summit in 2023 I was intrigued and spent time with the crew on the stand to understand more about the product, and the value it could bring to CPS.

It was clear to me that the product could help CPS in several ways:

  1. Standard contact terms and contract documents across NDAs, MSAs and others
  2. Quick and simple to create contracts each time e.g. company information directly from Companies House, meaning no more scrabbling around to find the correct address and company number. And default content available e.g. insurance values.
  3. Once created I could send and sign - thereby enabling CPS to reduce costs by replacing Adobe Sign 
  4. Contracts that I needed to review could be reviewed through CC365's large language model and gave me confidence to proceed - or to request support from a legal expert. In its first couple of uses it paid for itself by allowing me to have a conversation with the customer time is of the essence" and "liquidated damages" provisions.
  5. A single place for all contracts to be stored, with reminders for when they needed to be renewed, or they end.

The first three points alone made it worth investing in the product - while the contract review capability took it to the next level. 

I was able to confidently create, review and get contracts signed, typically in hours and days, not days and weeks. 

For companies, the value is not only about saving time and removal jeopardy from the business. Having correctly written contracts makes it easier to value the business, for example in terms of recurring revenue for master services agreements (MSAs) that typically underpin manager service contracts.

Since early 2024 I had been considering my goals and purpose and having spent time with the product and spent further time with CC365 employees I messaged them to discuss their growth plans and if there was an opportunity to work together. Which brings me to the point today, 21st October 2024, when I join the team as Commercial Director.

As Commercial Director, I will leverage my experience in the Microsoft Partner ecosystem, and time within Microsoft Corp., to drive growth by refining commercial strategies and expanding market opportunities. Building on the team's impressive start, my focus will be on scaling our success, strengthening client relationships, and positioning CC365 for sustainable long-term growth."

Kim Simmonds, CEO, said the following "I'm truly excited and honoured to have Christopher join the team here at Cloud Contracts 365. When Christopher approached us regarding opportunities I instantly saw the synergies in how our business goals and objectives lined up with Christopher's vast experience, knowledge and reputation in our industry After some deeper conversations and workshops, this was cemented and felt like a winning combination for all involved. As CEO, I'm looking forward to handing the main sales function to Christopher, knowing it will be in safe hands, and focusing on the next level of innovation, nurturing of big picture opportunities and thought leadership that is my true passion but my previous responsibilities simply didn't allow. This is a new and exciting phase for Cloud Contracts 365 as we save the world one contract at a time!"

Christopher started his career within 1st / 2nd / 3rd line IT support, followed by a move in to Project Management software and services consulting, before majoring in sales at two Partners - CPS & TPG. A three-year stint at Microsoft Corp as a Global Black Belt (their term!) then lead to a return to CPS as Commercial Director and CTO. During the time at CPS this included edison365 which was spun off into a successful separate company in 2021.

As you can imagine, we are beyond delighted that Christopher will be joining our ranks and excited for what the future holds. The story of client to employee will be one for the memory banks for sure.