Navigating Change in US Tech: Andy Hovancik of Sovos
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What challenges did Andy face leading a US tech company during a year of social and political upheaval?
In our framework, we think about our core purpose as a company as to enable people to improve their way of life. We are on a mission to solve tax for good.
Welcome to Orbit, the HD Podcast series where we speak to leaders and innovators from across software and tech ecosystem to discuss the key trends that are changing how we all do business. Today I have the complete pleasure to be joined by Andy Havansik. President and CEO of SOVOS, a global tax software provider and an HG investment since 2016. Andy, it's fantastic to see you today. So thank you so much for joining. I wonder if you could start by telling our listeners, what has it been like to lead a US business over the last 12 months with just so much social and political change in a really condensed period of time?
Thanks, Dawn. It's a pleasure joining you. And yes, the last 12 months have been, uh, unlike any other 12 months that I can remember, a test really for us. We have learned very quickly how to adapt to these changing circumstances, both going on in the greater society, our own organizations, and individuals like you and me. and the many others that work for our companies. See, adaptability is one of the core values at Sovos. Some eight years ago, we sat down and said, okay, what are going to be the shared behaviors, the culture, the core values as we call them that we're going to lean into as an organization? Adaptability was towards the high end of the scale. So we knew it was important even back then.
Because we live in a world where the software changes every day to keep up with the avalanche of changes that come with this generationally dynamic tax environment. So it was always important. But boy, did we ever have to lean into it in this last 12 months. More important adaptability than we ever knew. Now the other thing we've done here is tried to maintain the focus on what's truly important. And for us. Every year we sit down and we talk about what's the most important thing right now. And before the pandemic. Our rally cry, if you will, our strategic theme was to keep our promise. So our purpose is to make sure that our customers are taken care of. That is, their obligations that we've accepted on their behalf are taken care of.
And so for our customers who are wholly dependent on us, it meant make sure that we take care of our customers and what they have given us in the way of obligation. Well, When the pandemic came and we sat down and started asking ourselves, what's the most important thing right now? We came right back to keep our promise. In fact, I think we added an exclamation point instead of saying, keep our promise, comma. Damn it. That's how important it was. And when you realize how much your customers depend on you, you immediately get focused.
Fantastic, Andy. And it's great to know that SOVOS maintains such a consistent and committed approach to its customers. It's so in it's enlightening actually the way that you describe it. So thank you for sharing that with the listeners. If I if I may, I'll turn to you. So as CEO and president of SOVOS. What has been the most challenging to navigate over the last 12 months? Maybe relevant for both SOVOS and perhaps other tech companies too.
Well, you know, at the same time we have the pandemic here in the US, we continue to see this social justice movement take form. And it seems to be at the same time that social injustices seem to be increasing around the world. Well, obviously it's related to having a much more transparent world. In our framework, we think about our core purpose as a company as to enable people to improve their way of life. Now, when we think about that, we think about our investors, our customers, and our employees. Not that one is above any other, but that as a leadership team, we must have that kind of tension. We must use and make the trade-offs necessary to provide the best or most optimal benefits to those three communities.
So our purpose is to enable people to improve their way of life, which is why we started on this diversity, equity, and inclusion.
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Chapters
4 chapters
1
What challenges did Andy face leading a US tech company during a year of social and political upheaval?
0:06–5:24
2
How does Sovos define its core purpose and why is ‘solving tax for good’ central to its mission?
5:24–9:10
3
Why is adaptability a core value at Sovos and how did it help the company navigate rapid change?
9:10–14:47
4
What steps has Sovos taken to advance diversity, equity, and inclusion after the George Floyd protests?
14:47–15:17
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