Top 40 distributor InnerWorkings (asi/168860) has hired a new chief financial officer after about a one-year search. Donald W. Pearson officially takes over as financial chief and becomes an EVP at the Chicago-based firm on Thursday.

“Don brings the financial rigor and operational leadership we need on our path to more profitable growth,” said CEO Rich Stoddart. “I look forward to partnering with him to significantly improve our financial performance and drive shareholder value, while maintaining our position as the premier provider of marketing execution solutions for large global corporations.”

Rich Stoddart, CEO, InnerWorkings

Chip Hodgkins had been serving as interim CFO. He’ll be leaving InnerWorkings effective January 15^th to launch a commercial litigation investment firm called Statera Capital, LLC. “I want to thank Chip for an outstanding job leading the finance organization for the past year and for his many significant contributions to InnerWorkings over the prior decade,” said Stoddart. “We wish him all the best in his new venture.”

According to InnerWorkings, Pearson was most recently CFO of private equity-owned global packaging company BWAY Corporation before its sale to Stone Canyon Industries. Prior to BWAY, Pearson was CFO of AMCOL International Corporation (NYSE: ACO) and later CFO of Sparton Corporation (NYSE: SPA), “where he led numerous successful operational and financial transformation initiatives at these growing companies,” InnerWorkings said in a statement.

Pearson joins InnerWorkings at a time in which the firm is working to pivot toward stronger sales and profits. In November, InnerWorkings reported that its third-quarter 2018 sales dropped 6% to $270.9 million, continuing a trend in which total revenue through the first nine months of last year was down about $5.6 million to $827.35 million. For the first nine months of 2018, InnerWorkings posted a total net loss of approximately $47 million, or a loss of $0.90 per share, the company reported. 

Earlier in the year, InnerWorkings delayed the release of its first-quarter results after discovering that financial statements issued during the previous three years contained errors. Previous CFO Jeffrey P. Pritchett, who began with InnerWorkings in summer 2015, resigned in late 2017 in connection with what the firm described as a violation of personal conduct policy.

With such things in the past, InnerWorkings is focused on better days ahead with Pearson at the financial reins. “The Board and I are pleased to welcome Don to InnerWorkings as we execute our plans to lower our costs and improve the efficiency of our operations,” said Stoddart.

With estimated 2017 North American promotional products revenue of $147 million, InnerWorkings ranked 15^th on Counselor’s latest list of the largest distributors in the industry.