John Geffel

Curtis Peltz, longtime head of Timberline Software, Beaverton, Ore., has quietly resigned two and a half years after U.K.-based Sage Group plc acquired the 300-plus-employee firm. Another longtime Timberline executive, John Geffel, senior vice president of product management for Sage Software’s Mid-Market Division, has been named to succeed him as general manager of the construction and real estate unit, of which Timberline is a part. Sage Software is the North American arm of Sage Group.

The financial and operations software company says Peltz resigned “for personal reasons” on March 17. Peltz, who lives in Portland, Ore., has no official comment. He joined Timberline in 1978.

Geffel, who joined Timberline 23 years ago, says the entrepreneurial Peltz leaves when the business is in the best shape it has been in. “The good news is that the business under Curtis’ leadership is healthy; on par, we’re way ahead of the game from where we used to be” before Sage acquired Timberline, he says. “He did a lot of good work helping the business morph and change. It’s really a model in many ways for other business units within the Sage organization.”

Sage is publicly traded on the London Stock Exchange. Of Sage’s 4.7 million customers worldwide, 2.5 million are in North America, says Geffel. Revenue for 2005 was $584.7 million.

(Photo courtesy of Sage Software)