Trimble is entering 2026 with a fresh leadership slate. The company announced that Chief Accounting Officer Julie Shepard will retire after more than 18 years with the firm, handing the reins to Kenny Bement in September 2025. At the same time, Trimble is adding a new role to its C-suite: Chief Information Officer, appointing Jim Palermo to steer its IT infrastructure and digital transformation strategy.

A Seamless Transition in Finance

Shepard will remain at Trimble through early 2026, helping with the company’s auditor transition and ensuring continuity during the handoff. Over nearly two decades, she played a pivotal role in shaping Trimble’s financial backbone—including guiding its move from perpetual licensing to a subscription model, a transition that aligned the company with the broader SaaS-driven economy.

Her successor, Kenny Bement, arrives with a résumé tailor-made for modern finance. Beyond his CAO stints at Conservice, Vista Outdoor, Ancestry, and Gopuff, he also worked at Alphabet and Raytheon. Perhaps most notably, during his time at the Financial Accounting Standards Board (FASB), he was the primary author of ASC 606, the revenue recognition standard that redefined how SaaS and tech companies report earnings. That experience is particularly relevant as Trimble continues its SaaS evolution.

A CIO Role Built for Scale

The addition of Jim Palermo as CIO reflects Trimble’s broader “Connect and Scale” digital transformation strategy. Palermo previously served as CIO at Red Hat, where he managed global IT teams and guided the company through a major SaaS business model transition. His background also includes leadership roles at Cisco and Nortel.

By carving out a standalone CIO role, Trimble signals its intent to modernize IT infrastructure in lockstep with its product and business model transformation—an increasingly common move for industrial tech companies doubling down on digital services.

CFO’s Take

“I want to thank Julie for her significant contributions to Trimble over the past 18 years,” said CFO Phil Sawarynski. “Her leadership and dedication have left an imprint on the company, including the role she played in implementing our migration from perpetual to subscription licensing models. I am excited for Jim and Kenny to join the team and continue our efforts to simplify and focus the company to deliver on our Connect and Scale strategy.”

Context: Tech Companies Bet on SaaS Experience

Trimble’s dual appointments highlight a broader industry trend: finance and IT leaders with SaaS and subscription-first expertise are increasingly in demand. As industrial technology firms like Trimble shift from hardware-plus-licenses toward service-based revenue streams, aligning finance reporting with IT infrastructure becomes less optional and more mission-critical.

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