Atlatl names Scott new CEO

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Visual configuration software company Atlatl Software has named Chief Growth Officer Justin Scott as its new CEO, replacing Marc Murphy.

Murphy had served as CEO since July 2016.

“I am pleased to hand over the reins to Justin Scott,” Murphy said in a news release. “Justin did a terrific job as chief growth officer, and I cannot think of a person better suited to lead the company going forward.”

Scott said he’s spent the past 10 months analyzing the market and identifying how Charleston-based Atlatl could expand its reach. The answer, he said, is changing the way products are displaying online — going from a set of photos to an interactive, augmented virtual reality visualization that would allow customers to see how the product fits in their environment.

Such a visualization gives customers a better idea what they’re buying, gives sellers better data on their customers, and gives manufacturers a better sense of what products to prioritize.

“We think that by empowering companies and empowering buyers to connect better in these type of marketplaces, you’re actually helping and staving off the possible death of some of these corporations,” he said.

Prior to joining Atlatl, Scott was senior vice president of revenue for FiscalNote; before that, he was vice president of brand strategy at Tumblr.

Scott said throughout his career, he’s always looked to challenge himself, and joining Atlatl meant the “once in a lifetime” opportunity to define the visual platform as a new product category.

Virtual reality and augmented reality “was something I thought the timing was right to learn about and get some experience with,” Scott said. “And I also felt that it was the next step change in technology that could be as big as the phone.”

The phone, he said, put the power of information into the hands of the individual.

“Can you imagine if you take that information from your hand, you put it in your environment where you’re visually seeing this?” Scott said. “That can alter commerce and the way we interact. It also can alter the way we communicate.”

Scott said he was also attracted to Atlatl because of its people.

“There’s some really incredibly smart people at Atlatl that I said, ‘If you get the chance to work with people that are on a rocket ship, you do it,’” he said.