Barry Pennett has been named to the new role of vice president and general manager of Intuit’s ProConnect Group, just in time for tax season. ProConnect is the company’s professional tax preparer software, built on the Lacerte engine.

Pennett has been with Intuit for 13 years, heading up its accountant sales. Before joining Intuit, he held a variety of senior leadership roles for CCH (a Wolters Kluwer business), Thomson Reuters and CLR Fast-Tax. Pennett received his BBA from the University of Texas at Arlington.

A spokesperson from Intuit said Pennett’s appointment is “part of a journey Intuit has been on to continue meeting the growing needs of accounting and tax professionals and their clients. … With the industry moving away from traditional compliance work and into advisory and expertise-based business models, Barry’s leadership will be critical in guiding the business into this important chapter.”

Pennet told Accounting Today that he will continue to oversee increased automation and artificial intelligence in the ProConnect platform, as Intuit has been adding to its products across the board.