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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.