CEO
After graduating from Notre Dame Law, Shon Holyfield spent several years as a sales, use, and transaction tax consultant at Deloitte. Shon later became the Tax Director at Cox Communications, a Fortune 500 company at the time. In December 2006, Shon left Cox Communications and founded The Tax Research Company, (“TTR”).
Having worked as a tax professional at a Fortune 500 company, Holyfield knew the problems and frustrations associated with getting sales, use, and transaction tax right. His vision was to improve the lives of tax professionals everywhere. He designed a solution that would finally give tax professionals the information and tools to get sales and use tax right in the US. He didn’t stop there. For nearly two decades, Holyfield has designed solutions that give tax professionals accurate tax answers for sales, use, and transaction taxes – globally.
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Shon was CEO of TTR, which provides valuable, accurate, and up-to-date sales, use, and transaction tax solutions to businesses everywhere. The company was acquired by Avalara in 2020. From smaller companies to the largest companies in the world, TTR has become the “gold standard” for sales, use, and transaction tax research, tax answers, tax rates, exemption certificates, and tax automation solutions.
The company grew rapidly under Holyfield’s leadership. In 2013, TTR made the Inc. 500 list. In 2016, TTR was rapidly approaching nearly 100 professionals and had outgrown their offices. They purchased TTR’s headquarters building in 2017 to house their expanding organization. While TTR’s economic growth is impressive, possibly more impressive is the way in which TTR has grown. In 2016, Holyfield put a full court press on culture within the organization. Late that year, TTR achieved a #1 ranking in the Oregonian’s Best Places to Work surveys. Holyfield didn’t stop there. For six years running, TTR has made the list of the top 100 best places to work in Oregon – every year ranked in the top 3 on that list and in 2020 Shon was honored with their Leadership Award. Balancing financial growth with a strong corporate culture, TTR represents the best of both worlds – best in class sales and use tax solutions with a best in class workplace where TTR’s people are treated well and are happy.
“I have been working at TTR full-time for more than 5 years. I wanted to take a moment to recognize our CEO, Shon Holyfield. He’s done a remarkable job leading our company through the COVID crisis. His steadfast leadership and care for employees has been nothing short of remarkable. Before our state issued the stay-at-home order, he gave all employees the option of working from home. And when the order was issued, he worked tirelessly to ensure every employee had everything they needed to be successful at home. He even sent a supply of food and items that were in short supply (toilet paper) so employees could stay at home and be safe. Today, that level of care for the employees has not waned and has only increased! The result is I feel like our company is performing the best it ever has. We continue to provide our customers the highest level of customer service. When our customers need help, we are there. I’ve worked in tax for 25 years and I’ve never seen anything like this. I’m proud to be a part of his team.”
Shon is a passionate CEO, and aims to build a culture where his employees can thrive, succeed and feel safe.
