Lewis Black

Chief Executive Officer Q4 Inc.

Last Reviewed: September 28, 2026

Executive Summary

Lewis Black is Chief Executive Officer of Q4 Inc., the Toronto company whose investor relations software is used by more than 2,600 public companies, including more than half of the S&P 500. He took over in September 2025 from founder Darrell Heaps, who stayed on as Chairman and Chief Strategy Officer. Black is a finance executive who moved into general management: he was chief financial officer and then chief executive of the data management company Actian, and most recently chief financial officer of SolarWinds, including when it agreed in February 2025 to be taken private. That background, combining finance and investor relations with operating leadership, is what Q4 itself emphasises in his biography.

Career Highlights

• Chief Executive Officer of Q4 Inc. since September 2025, succeeding founder Darrell Heaps.
• Executive Vice President, Chief Financial Officer and Treasurer of SolarWinds from August 2024, signing its fiscal 2024 annual report in February 2025, two months before the company was taken private.
• Chief Executive Officer and board member of Actian from 2020 to 2023, having joined as Senior Vice President and Chief Financial Officer in 2018.
• Chief Financial Officer of Nexmo, then General Manager and Chief Operating Officer of the Nexmo division after its acquisition by Vonage.
• Earlier finance and operating roles at AT&T, Lucent Technologies, Avaya and Citrix Systems.

Professional Journey

Black graduated from the University of Strathclyde in Glasgow and was formerly a Fellow member of the UK chartered certified accountants’ body (FCCA). He built his early career in finance and operations at large communications and software companies, including AT&T, Lucent Technologies, Avaya and Citrix Systems.

He then became chief financial officer of Nexmo, a start-up in communications platform as a service, where he was responsible for finance, human resources and legal operations. When Vonage acquired Nexmo he moved into the operating side, as General Manager and Chief Operating Officer of the Nexmo division, leading its global scaling while integrating it into Vonage.

In 2018 he joined Actian, the hybrid data management, analytics and integration company, as Senior Vice President and Chief Financial Officer, responsible for financial and capital management strategy and operational planning. He became Chief Executive Officer and a member of the board in 2020, taking on all aspects of the company’s strategy and execution, and served until 2023. Actian is now the data and AI division of HCLSoftware.

SolarWinds announced his appointment as Executive Vice President, Chief Financial Officer and Treasurer in June 2024, and he took over the role in August, succeeding J. Barton Kalsu. “I am honored to join SolarWinds and help lead the company through its next phase of growth,” he said at the time. He signed the observability company’s fiscal 2024 annual report as principal financial and accounting officer in February 2025; in April 2025 SolarWinds completed a merger that took it private and delisted its shares.

In September 2025 Q4 named him Chief Executive Officer. “Q4 is uniquely positioned to lead investor relations into the future through its AI-powered IR Ops platform, unmatched client base and strong culture,” he said. “My focus will be on disciplined execution, enhancing operational capabilities, and ensuring we deliver consistently for customers and partners.” Q4 is headquartered in Toronto with offices in New York and London.

Education

University of Strathclyde

Graduate of the University of Strathclyde in Glasgow, as stated in SolarWinds’ June 2024 announcement; the degree and field are not given.