Intuit Inc. said late Wednesday that Brad Smith, the general manager of its small-business division, will become its chief executive next year, succeeding Steve Bennett.
The Mountain View, Calif., financial software company made the announcement in conjunction with the release of its fiscal 2007 fourth-quarter earnings. Its net loss in the quarter, which ended July 31, narrowed 28%, to $13.6 million, from a year earlier.
Revenue rose 31%, to $432.7 million. Intuit credited this growth in part to its February purchase of the online banking vendor Digital Insight Corp.
For the 12 months that ended July 21, Intuit's net income rose 6%, to $440 million. Revenue rose 17%, to $2.67 billion.
Mr. Bennett will remain Intuit's CEO until the end of this year, the company said. He will stay on as a consultant until July 31, 2008, earning $91,700 a month, the same salary he currently earns as CEO.
Mr. Bennett will be eligible for a bonus of up to $1.76 million and will keep his board seat, for which he will receive compensation only in the form of stock, according to the transition agreement Intuit filed with regulators Wednesday.
Mr. Bennett's departure is considered an involuntary termination under the terms of his employment agreement, entitling him to a severance payment of $550,000, among other benefits, the filing said.
In a press release, Mr. Bennett said of Mr. Smith: "Having led each of our biggest businesses, Brad has a proven track record inside and outside of Intuit. He has been instrumental in shaping the strategy … and he's ready to lead Intuit into the future."
Mr. Smith has worked for Intuit since February 2003. In May 2005 he began managing the small-business division, which includes the QuickBooks desktop financial management program.
Paul Rosenfeld, the vice president of small-business solutions in Intuit's Digital Insight unit, credited Mr. Smith with initiating the chain of events that led to the $1.33 billion acquisition of Digital Insight.
