Canopy names Davis Bell to lead company

Canopy, a Lehi-based developer and marketer of practice management software for tax professionals, has named Davis Bell as its new CEO, succeeding founder Kurt Avarell, who served in the role since 2014.

Bell has held leadership roles in operations, product, sales, strategy and finance at several fast-growth companies, including Instructure, Sales Rabbit and Imagine Learning. Most recently, he served as head of the Utah office for Peek.com, where he led the customer onboarding, customer success, product support, HR and company culture functions.{mprestriction ids="1,3"}

Canopy also announced a $13 million investment in the company led by NewView Capital, Pelion Venture Partners and Tenaya Capital. The round, comprised of $8 million in funding and $5 million in debt financing, brings Canopy’s total funding raised to date to $85 million.

“I am thrilled to join Canopy, instantly attracted to its mission, its team and its solution set. I have focused my career on successfully scaling great companies and have already dug in with the team,” said Bell. “We are energized by our expanded leadership bench and refined product vision and are thrilled that our investors continue to support us as we transform the work of accountants across the country every day with digital solutions that empower them to work smarter.”

Bell’s arrival comes in tandem with a shift in the company’s product vision, according to a release from the company. The new effort will be led by Larry Furr, who joined Canopy as vice president of product earlier this year. Canopy will now focus on its practice management and tax resolution products, which will entail moving its tax preparation solution to private beta for public release in the near future, the company said.{/mprestriction}