Authoria, which was bought in September by private equity firm Bedford Funding, said Friday, November 21, that Jim McDevitt has taken the CEO title from company founder Tod Loofbourrow.

Loofbourrow, who started Waltham, Massachusetts-based Authoria in 1997, will serve as chairman of the firm. McDevitt previously was COO of business applications firm CDC Software.

Lisa Rowan, an analyst at research firm IDC, says it appears Authoria is following the tradition whereby a company founder eventually gives way to a more operations-oriented executive. She also said it is not surprising that a change in leadership would come after Authoria’s sale.

“Naturally, the owners are going to take over the helm,” she said.

Authoria is among the best-regarded players in the fast-growing field of talent management software, which refers to tools for key HR tasks such as recruiting and performance management. A Forrester Research study last year of 10 integrated performance and compensation management products named four leaders: SuccessFactors, Softscape, Authoria and Plateau Systems.

Authoria also has won three vendor shootout events at the annual HR Technology Conference in Chicago, including this year’s show. Part of its success at the conference has been Loofbourrow’s showmanship.

Still, Authoria has been less visible in the market than others. Rival SuccessFactors has stood out, spending tens of millions of dollars on sales and marketing in recent years.

Bedford Funding has committed to making additional investments in Authoria, partly to enhance marketing and sales initiatives.

Authoria also has come under scrutiny for being tight-lipped about its financials. Last year, the firm declined to disclose whether it was profitable or to discuss revenue or profitability information from years past.

The $63.1 million price Bedford Funding paid did not reach the $81 million in equity capital that Authoria raised since its founding.

McDevitt has a background as an operations and money man. He served as CFO of Clarus, an Internet-based procurement products provider.

Before his appointment as COO of CDC Software, McDevitt was senior vice president of software firm Geac and general manager of the company’s performance management business.

“I have known Jim for nearly a decade and admire his intellect, tenacity and drive as much as I do his professionalism, dynamic nature and character,” Charles S. Jones, managing partner of Bedford Funding and previous CEO of Geac, said in a statement. “Jim is the right person to lead Authoria at the right time as the company sits squarely in a dynamic yet fragmented marketplace that presents significant opportunities for growth, consolidation and partnership.”

Loofbourrow said he intends to continue making a strong contribution to Authoria in his role as chairman.

“I am deeply proud of the company that I and my strong team have created over the past 11 years, and I am equally excited to think of the many ways in which we will build upon our strengths with Jim at the helm,” Loofbourrow said in a statement.