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Meet the Journey Leadership Team

Journey Payroll & HR was built to put people first — creating better relationships for clients and real opportunities for the people who help Journey grow.

Portrait of Kevin Welch

Kevin Welch

CEO & Founder

Kevin founded Journey Payroll & HR in 2010 out of frustration with an industry that had stopped putting people first. Based in Fort Collins, Colorado, he built Journey on a simple idea: a payroll company should feel like a relationship, not a login. Today he leads Journey's growth across all 50 states.

Portrait of Matt DeSantis

Matt DeSantis

President of Franchise Success

Matt owns the franchisee experience at Journey from the first conversation through years of ongoing growth. He is also a franchise owner himself, giving him firsthand insight into the journey of building a business with Journey. His focus is making sure every franchisee has what they need to sell with confidence and grow a business worth owning.

Portrait of Ashlee Faulkner

Ashlee Faulkner

CHO

Ashlee leads culture and people at Journey, helping ensure that a company built on human-first values treats its own team the same way it treats its clients. She is often one of the first people a new partner or franchisee experiences the Journey difference through.

Portrait of Lina Freed

Lina Freed

COO

Lina runs Journey's day-to-day operations and the engine behind the client experience franchisees and partners depend on. She helps ensure that when a franchisee or partner sells a client, that client is implemented and supported the right way, every time.

Portrait of Michael Pierce

Michael Pierce

CRO

Michael leads revenue strategy across Journey's sales channels and partnerships. He works closely with the team to ensure new franchisees and partners have a clear and honest understanding of what selling Journey looks like.

Portrait of Kirsten Madland

Kirsten Madland

President of Payroll Tax

Kirsten leads payroll tax compliance across all 50 states, bringing the technical expertise that allows franchisees and partners to sell with confidence knowing Journey's payroll tax responsibilities are being managed correctly.