Chad Richison is an American entrepreneur and philanthropist who has served as President and Chief Executive Officer of Paycom since its founding. A native Oklahoman, Richison began his career in sales with a national payroll provider before moving to Colorado to work for a smaller, regional payroll provider. In 1998, Richison returned his family to Oklahoma and founded Paycom.
Richison founded Paycom in 1998 and has remained on as its President and Chief Executive Officer. Paycom is believed to be one of the first companies to process payroll completely online and has been recognized by Fortune, Forbes and Inc. Magazine for its continued growth as one of the fastest-growing companies in the U.S. On April 21, 2014, Richison took Paycom public on the New York Stock Exchange with a successful initial public offering of 6,645,000 shares that generated net proceeds of $64.3 million. Following the IPO, Richison purchased an additional 52,600 shares of Paycom stock. In 2019, Richison said that the next important thing for the company is 100% employee engagement and usage with Paycom’s database. He sees employee self-service technology as a necessary change, allowing employees more freedom to manage and input their own HR data, and freeing businesses to do more strategic, and less administrative, work.
Personal life
Richison lives with his family in Edmond, Oklahoma, and is deeply involved in his community, holding memberships in the Greater Oklahoma CityChamber of Commerce and Oklahoma Business Roundtable. As of August 2019, Forbes estimated his net worth at U.S. $2.1 billion. Richison is one of only seven billionaires residing in Oklahoma and is the youngest Oklahoman on the list. In November 2015, Richison made, at the time, the single-largest donation ever to his alma mater's athletic program. His $10 million gift to UCO Athletics will fund its athletic complex. In October 2017, he gave an additional $4 million gift to its 'complete the dream' campaign. In 2015, Richison founded the Green Shoe Foundation, an organization devoted to helping functioning adults reconcile childhood traumas so they can live a life of peace and maturity. In October 2019, Richison was named to Forbes 400.
Awards and accolades
Richison was by Glassdoor and was the only Oklahoma executive on the large business list. Richison’s placement ranked him above notable technology leaders like Apple’s Tim Cook. In 2010, Richison received the Ernst & Young Entrepreneur of the Year Award for the Southwest Area North. Richison was bestowed the highest honor at the University of Central Oklahoma in 2012 after being named a Distinguished Alumnus. Richison earned The Oklahoman's 2013 Large Business Leadership Award, while his company ranked as one of the Top Workplaces in the state. Glassdoor ranked Richison among the highest rated CEOs for 2014. In 2015, Richison was named Oklahoma’s Most Admired CEO in the public company category and was profiled in Oklahoma’s Most Admired CEOs magazine. The Green Shoe Foundation, an organization founded by Richison, was the recipient of the 2017 'Dr. Murali Krishna Eliminating the Stigma Award'. In October 2019, Richison was named to Forbes 400.
