ROCK HILL, SOUTH CAROLINA – An award-winning entrepreneur who founded AvidXchange will speak April 11 at the Whitton Speaker Series at Winthrop University.
Michael Praeger is the co-founder, chairman, and chief executive officer of AvidXchange, the leading provider of accounts payable and payment automation solutions for the middle market. Since founding the company more than 20 years ago, Praeger has led his company in working with more than 8,000 customers and 825,000 suppliers nationwide.
He will speak on “Building a Multi-Billion Dollar Fintech Company in Charlotte” at the free 6:30 p.m. event in Whitton Auditorium located in Vivian Moore Carroll Hall on the Winthrop campus.
Considered a thought leader in developing creative solutions for mid-sized companies, the Charlotte, North Carolina, resident helps businesses grow, increase revenue and drive efficiencies. An expert on fintech, payments innovation, entrepreneurism and leadership, Praeger has been an active participant and speaker at various industry conferences, and a Forbes contributor with appearances in Authority Magazine, Business Insider, Inc., and The Wall Street Journal.
Named the 2018 Business Person of the Year by the Charlotte Business Journal, Praeger was selected as the 2022 Ernst & Young Entrepreneur of the Year Southeast Winner for the Southeast Region. He is the 2022 inductee for the Carolina Entrepreneur Hall of Fame.
Before establishing AvidXchange, Praeger co-founded two other companies: PlanetResume.com, a technology career enhancement and recruiting site that successfully completed its merger with CareerShop.com in November 1999; and InfoLink Partners, a software company specializing in automating the tax billing and collection functions for municipalities. Praeger also served as an associate with Summit Partners, a Boston-based Venture Capital and buyout partnership.
Praeger is currently active in the Young Presidents’ Organization and serves on the advisory board of the North Carolina Technology Association. He is also a board member of Charlotte City Center Partners, Kare Partners, Eliminating the Technology Divide, Charlotte Executive Leadership Committee, and is active in the AvidXchange Foundation and its “Tech Rising” initiatives.
Praeger received a Bachelor of Science in Business Administration degree in finance from Georgetown University and is a graduate of the “Birthing of Giants” executive entrepreneurship program at MIT.
The Whitton Speaker Series is sponsored by Elaine Whitton Davis ’73 and the College of Business Administration. The training seminars for business leaders offer support and free or low-cost access to current state-of-the-art knowledge relevant to business practice.
Register online for the 2023 Whitton Speaker Series, which is free and open to the public.
For more information, contact P.N. Saksena, dean of the College of Business Administration, at saksenapn@winthrop.edu.
