iplicit, the award-winning cloud accounting provider for the UK and Ireland’s midmarket, has today announced two key senior hires as the firm reaches new milestones in its partner expansion.
Ben Crow, an experienced channel leader with 27 years of experience including senior leadership roles at SAP and Asana, joins as iplicit’s new VP of Partnerships.
Lizzy Hillary also joins the business as Senior Product Manager, having held previous positions at the Access Group and Klipboard (formerly known as Kerridge).
Following a £25M investment from leading growth fund One Peak in January 2025, the firm has doubled down on its partner acquisition strategy, which it sees as critical to its hyper-growth and displacement of legacy incumbents in the drive to become the mid-market’s leading cloud accounting provider.
The firm has now reached 50 UK partners in total, a new milestone which includes several of the UK’s top accounting firms such as AAB and 4 Point Zero; trusted channel partners such as Candura, Tick9 and Xplor Solutions; and leading tech integration partners such as bank payments fintech GoCardless and inventory management software provider Cin7.
As VP of Partnerships, Ben will head up the company’s partner strategy with an immediate focus on enabling existing partners through enhanced training and support, ensuring they can deliver outstanding customer experiences and scale with confidence.
Crow, a seasoned tech/ SaaS leader, has built and scaled partner programmes for some of the world’s best-known software companies. He began his career at Exchequer Software, working closely with the company’s co-founder and iplicit’s now-CFO Rob Steele for over a decade in ERP sales, finance team operations and channel strategy.
He later went on to hold senior roles at SAP, where he designed and executed channel programmes and worked closely with add on providers across the SAP ecosystem, as well as Asana, where he established and grew its partner ecosystem.
Most recently, he served as Global Head of Channel Partnerships and Alliances at spend management specialist Yokoy, driving partnerships and international growth through to its successful acquisition.
Ben Crow adds: “Joining iplicit feels like coming full circle. I first worked with (iplicit’s CFO) Rob Steele over 25 years ago at Exchequer, and I’ve followed iplicit’s trajectory with real admiration. The company has already built extraordinary momentum - winning industry recognition, delighting customers and attracting a strong partner base. It’s at that rare point where everything is in place to accelerate rapidly and partnerships will be central to that next stage of growth.”
“As VP of Partnerships, my focus will be supporting customers to upgrade their outdated finance systems by building out our solutions partner network in our existing core markets. While also preparing iplicit for future international expansion, starting with markets such as Australia and New Zealand.
Lyndon Stickley, CEO of iplicit adds: “2025 is shaping up to be another landmark year of growth for iplicit. According to our intel, in 2024 we outsold our closest competitor two to one; this year we’re on track for three to one, and next year it will be at least four to one. Partners are absolutely central to this acceleration, alongside our direct sales team. Ben’s channel experience across enterprise software, ERP and high-growth SaaS makes him the ideal leader to turn our partner division into a true engine of expansion. This year is about activating existing partners; next year, with Ben, we’ll expand the network even further. By 2026 we expect to exceed 1,000 sites, 5,000 organisations, and 100,000 daily users - solidifying our position as the UK mid-market’s favourite cloud accounting provider.”
Ben’s appointment is accompanied by the arrival of Lizzy Hillary, who joins iplicit as Senior Product Manager bringing a strong mix of strategic vision and hands-on product delivery experience. Her focus will be on strengthening iplicit’s product experience, sharpening the roadmap, and improving onboarding and usability to accelerate adoption, while also exploring new AI-driven capabilities and delivering upcoming UI/UX enhancements.
Lizzy Hillary adds: “What drew me to iplicit was the people and the energy from the very start. I was looking for a disruptive, agile business where we can move quickly, listen to customers, and adapt to their needs, and iplicit really embodies that. I’m excited about the opportunity to explore how AI and other innovations can make our products smarter, and our users’ lives easier. For me, it’s about building software that genuinely improves our customers’ day-to-day experience, and I can’t wait to get stuck in and start making an impact.”
Lyndon Stickley adds: “Only four in a thousand start-ups ever make it from zero to over £10m ARR and iplicit has already crossed that chasm, thanks to our disruptive product, our relentless focus on customer satisfaction, and our exceptional team. With Lizzy’s appointment and the continued strengthening of our product function, we’re about to deliver exciting innovations across UI, UX and AI.”
“At the same time, we’re scaling fast, expanding to a 200-strong, UK-based team by Christmas, with new roles across partner success, customer success, and AI innovation. No competitor comes close to building this level of resource and expertise here in the UK; all focused on the UK & Ireland. The rate at which our product is evolving, specifically for UK organisations, is far beyond that of any alternative that is engineered by American development teams with American priorities. We’re firmly on track for unicorn status ($100m ARR) by 2030 and over £100m ARR by 2031.”
Learn more about iplicit’s trusted network of partners here.