Blackbaud Inc. has picked a Microsoft Corp. executive to run the Daniel Island company.

Marc Chardon will become president and chief executive on Nov. 28, Blackbaud announced Monday. He succeeds Robert J. Sywolski, who is retiring after leading the nonprofit software maker since March 2000. Sywolski will also leave the board that day, and Chardon will join it, according to a filing Blackbaud made with federal securities regulators.

The choice comes a week after Blackbaud said it had begun searching for a new chief executive. The board had hoped to name a successor well before Sywolski’s contract ran out in March 2006, the company said Oct. 31.

Who he is

Chardon, 50, has been chief financial officer of Microsoft’s Information Worker business since 2003. That unit, which Blackbaud described as an $11 billion business, includes Microsoft Office, Microsoft Project and LiveMeeting. Chardon was responsible for developing a growth strategy and plan for the business, according to Blackbaud’s announcement.

He joined Microsoft in 1998 as general manager of Microsoft France, then a 650-person subsidiary. From June 2001 to January 2003 he was general manager of business development in Microsoft’s Productivity and Business Services Group, the filing says.

Before Microsoft, Chardon spent 14 years at Digital Equipment, where his roles included head of corporate strategy and general manager of Digital France.

He holds an economics degree from Harvard. Blackbaud described him as a French-American who was born in the United States and has spent seven years working in Europe.

“Blackbaud is an incredibly strong organization that enjoys an undisputed leadership position within the nonprofit software market,” Chardon said in the company’s announcement. He said he looked forward “to leading this talented team and helping to execute the current strategy at the highest level, while also developing new opportunities to continue to grow the business by better serving the nonprofit community.”

What the board wanted

Mick Hellman, Blackbaud’s chairman, pointed to Chardon’s record at Microsoft and Digital Equipment.

“Blackbaud should benefit tremendously from Marc’s rare combination of operational excellence, strong strategic management, and broad software experience,” Hellman said in the announcement.

He also credited the departing CEO. “Bob and his team have accomplished a tremendous amount, and we are deeply indebted to him for building such a strong foundation at Blackbaud, which includes new offerings, a robust services business, and an operational backbone to support further growth,” Hellman said.

When Blackbaud announced the search last month, Sywolski said the timing was right for a handoff.

“Proper CEO succession is a necessary responsibility and critical component to the long-term strategy of any growing, successful company,” he said then.

The pay package

Chardon signed a five-year employment and noncompetition agreement, according to the filing. It sets his base salary at $525,000 a year, with an annual cash bonus targeted at no less than $450,000 if he meets criteria in the agreement.

He will receive restricted stock valued at $562,500 each year. On his first day, he will also get an option to buy 800,000 shares of Blackbaud common stock and a restricted stock grant valued at $562,500. The grants are subject to vesting.

The company he inherits

Blackbaud went public in July 2004 and trades on Nasdaq under the symbol BLKB. About 13,000 organizations use its products, including the American Red Cross, Bowdoin College and the New York Philharmonic, according to the company. Its software includes The Raiser’s Edge for fundraising and The Financial Edge for accounting.

Revenue for the third quarter rose 18% from a year earlier to $43.1 million, the company reported Oct. 31. Net income was $7.7 million. Sywolski said then that sales growth for the company’s newer products came in at more than 40%.

Blackbaud also declared a fourth-quarter dividend of 5 cents a share, payable Nov. 30. In July it spent $43.3 million to buy back its own shares through a tender offer.

For all of 2004, revenue rose 17.4% to $138.7 million, according to the company’s annual report. Blackbaud had about 880 employees at the end of last year. Besides its Daniel Island headquarters, it has operations in Toronto; Glasgow, Scotland; and Sydney, Australia.

Blackbaud scheduled a conference call with investors for 9 a.m. Monday to discuss the appointment.