Avaya Announces CEO Leadership Transition
July 10 2024 - 3:00PM
Business Wire
– CEO Alan Masarek to Retire at Year End;
Current Board Chair Patrick Dennis Named CEO –
– Company Emphasizes Consistency in Strategic
Direction and Commitment to Customers –
Avaya, a leader in enterprise CX, announced today that Alan
Masarek, President and Chief Executive Officer, will retire at the
end of the calendar year. Avaya’s current Chair of the Board of
Directors, Patrick Dennis, will assume the role of CEO, effective
September 1, 2024.
Mr. Dennis brings 30 years of experience and a proven track
record of transformational leadership of companies in Enterprise
Software, SaaS, Cybersecurity and Communications. He currently
serves as CEO of Venafi, a cybersecurity company that is in the
process of being acquired by CyberArk, where he drove innovation,
growth and customer success.
“I am honored and thrilled to lead Avaya on the next phase of
its journey building on the solid foundation laid by Alan and the
leadership team,” said Mr. Dennis. “Avaya is now operating from a
position of financial strength and industry leadership, and our
strategy is resonating with customers around the world who can be
confident in Avaya’s consistency in strategic direction and
commitment to deliver for their long-term success. I look forward
to working with the team to accelerate Avaya’s market
momentum.”
Prior to his appointment at Venafi, Mr. Dennis was the CEO of
ExtraHop, which nearly doubled in size during his tenure and
received industry accolades for the company’s thought leadership in
Artificial Intelligence. Mr. Dennis also served as CEO of Aspect
Communications (a multinational software company that sells
customer experience software to large enterprises, now known as
Alvaria) and Guidance Software, and held multiple leadership roles
at both EMC and Oracle Corporation.
Mr. Masarek’s retirement comes at the conclusion of a
successful, eight-quarter transformation of the business, setting
Avaya’s ongoing strategic plan for innovation and growth, and
firmly positioning the company as a leader in Enterprise CX. Mr.
Dennis became Chair of the Avaya Board as the company emerged from
its recapitalization in May 2023, and has been a close partner with
Mr. Masarek and the leadership team in developing Avaya’s strategy
and growth plans. As such, the succession is built upon a shared
vision for Avaya’s go-forward strategic direction, innovation, and
long-term growth.
“Two years ago, I came out of retirement to help lead Avaya
forward knowing that the company’s opportunity was extremely
profound: terrific technology underpinning an enormous customer
base, a massive ecosystem of partners, a large revenue base, and an
iconic technology brand,” said Mr. Masarek. “Working closely with
Avaya’s executive leadership team, the Board, our employees,
customers and partners has been an immeasurably rewarding
experience, and I’m proud of what we have all accomplished together
to put Avaya on a strong and steady course for further success.
And, while there is certainly more to do, Avaya’s new position of
strength combined with Patrick’s unique ability to lead the company
creates an opportunity for me to return to retirement, fully
confident in Patrick’s ability to lead Avaya to future long-term
growth and innovation.”
Ongoing Momentum
Over the past two years, Avaya successfully completed a
recapitalization and a strategic reset of its customer value
proposition and brand promise. More recently, the company embarked
on an extensive operational transformation within each functional
area and has been focused on the revitalization of its culture,
bolstered by a new executive leadership team, and upgrades in
talent throughout the company.
Avaya has continued innovating its cloud communications and
services portfolio, including Avaya Experience Platform, has
delivered on its product roadmaps, and set a path forward for Avaya
as a leader in Enterprise CX.
About Avaya
Businesses are built by the experiences they provide, and every
day, millions of those experiences are delivered by Avaya. Avaya is
shaping the future of customer experiences, with innovation and
partnerships that deliver game-changing business benefits. Our
communications solutions power immersive, personalized, and
memorable customer experiences to help organizations achieve their
strategic ambitions and desired outcomes. Together, we are
committed to helping grow your business by delivering Experiences
That Matter. Learn more at http://www.avaya.com.
Cautionary Note Regarding Forward-Looking Statements
Certain statements discussed in this release as well as in other
reports, materials and oral statements that the Company releases
from time to time to the public constitute “forward-looking
statements” within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation
Reform Act of 1995 (the “PSLRA”). Generally, words such as
“anticipate,” “estimate,” “expect,” “could,” “intend,” “believe,”
“plan,” “target,” “forecast” and similar expressions or the
negative thereof are intended to identify forward-looking
statements. Such forward-looking statements reflect management’s
current expectations, strategic objectives, business prospects,
anticipated economic performance and financial condition and other
similar matters. Forward-looking statements are inherently
uncertain and subject to a variety of assumptions, risks and
uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially
from those anticipated or expected by the management of the
Company. These statements are not guarantees of future performance
and actual events or results may differ significantly from these
statements. Actual events or results are subject to significant
known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors, many of
which are beyond the Company’s control. It should be understood
that it is not possible to predict or identify all such factors.
Given these risks, investors and analysts should not place undue
reliance on forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements
speak only as of the date of the document in which they are made.
The Company disclaims any obligation or undertaking to provide any
updates or revisions to any forward-looking statement as a result
of new information, future events or otherwise, except as required
by law. These statements constitute the Company’s cautionary
statements under the PSLRA.
Source: Avaya Newsroom
View source
version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20240710554642/en/
Media Contact Avaya Corporate PR:
corpcommsteam@avaya.com