Alan Masarek, President & CEO of Avaya, has announced that he will retire at the end of the calendar year.<\/p>\n
He will relinquish the CEO role even sooner, with Patrick Dennis set to take the mantle from September 1.<\/p>\n
Masarek \u2013 who also enjoyed a successful stint as Vonage CEO \u2013 joined Avaya in July 2022 and has presided over a significant restructuring of the company.<\/p>\n
Yet, after a tumultuous couple of years \u2013 which included a bankruptcy – Masarek believes the Avaya ship is pointing in the right direction. Now, it\u2019s full steam ahead for Dennis & co.<\/p>\n
That will likely involve driving further engagement from Avaya\u2019s existing enterprise base \u2013 which includes approximately 90 of the Fortune 100 – with its “innovation without disruption<\/a>” vision.<\/p>\n Indeed, that aligns with Dennis\u2019s experience in both on-premise contact centers and CCaaS as the former CEO of Aspect Software (now Alvaria).<\/p>\n Since then, he has held the CEO spot at Venafi and ExtraHop, which are prominent names in the cybersecurity space.<\/p>\n Given the rising threat from fraudsters, such experiences will allow him to bring some much-needed security nouse into the communication space.<\/p>\n Moreover, Dennis became Chairman of the Avaya Board in April 2023, shortly after the company emerged from bankruptcy. In that role, he has embraced Masarek\u2019s vision.<\/p>\n Now, he\u2019s confident that Avaya will achieve “long-term” 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,” he said.<\/p>\n 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\u2019s consistency in strategic direction and commitment to deliver for their long-term success.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n “I look forward to working with the team to accelerate Avaya\u2019s market momentum.”<\/p>\n Such momentum seemed almost unthinkable when Masarek stepped into the role.<\/p>\n Indeed, the outgoing CEO took over Avaya shortly after it announced a 20+ percent year-over-year (YoY) revenue slump and found itself spiraling into a second bankruptcy in five years.<\/p>\n Add to that an ugly lawsuit against former CEO Jim Chirico<\/a>, and the role seemed unenviable at best.<\/p>\n Unfortunately, Masarek couldn\u2019t prevent Avaya from entering a second bankruptcy in five years<\/a>, with its debts reaching $3.4BN.<\/p>\n While that miffed shareholders \u2013 many of whom were Avaya employees \u2013 the prepackaged bankruptcy gave him the means to take the company private, cut its debts by 75+ percent, install a new C-suite, and breathe new life into its innovation cycle.<\/p>\n Yet, perhaps most crucially, he created that “innovation without disruption” vision for the company.<\/p>\n The vision recognizes that many enterprise on-premise contact centers want a slower, more cautious migration to the cloud: an evolution, not revolution approach.<\/p>\n With this vision, he led Avaya as it streamlined its portfolio, established new partnerships, and shored up its enterprise retention rate, which now stands at 97 percent.<\/p>\n Maintaining that enterprise base is crucial. That\u2019s its lifeblood. And, given everything that has happened at Avaya, that percentage is somewhat remarkable.<\/p>\n In addition, Avaya recently announced that it had exceeded revenue forecasts<\/a> and even acquired Edify<\/a>, a rival enterprise communications player known for its journey orchestration prowess.<\/p>\n But Masarek didn\u2019t want to take all the plaudits. Instead, he praised the commitment of Avaya employees, partners, and customers in delivering on the vision.<\/p>\n “Two years ago, I came out of retirement to help lead Avaya forward, knowing that the company\u2019s 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,” he said.<\/p>\n Working closely with Avaya\u2019s executive leadership team, the Board, our employees, customers, and partners has been an immeasurably rewarding experience. I\u2019m proud of what we have all accomplished together to put Avaya on a strong and steady course for further success.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n “And, while there is certainly more to do, Avaya\u2019s new position of strength combined with Patrick\u2019s unique ability to lead the company creates an opportunity for me to return to retirement, fully confident in Patrick\u2019s ability to lead Avaya.”<\/p>\n Notably, this isn\u2019t the first time Masarek has left a company in a “position of strength” after arriving at a difficult time.<\/p>\n Indeed, at Vonage, he took over another company when it was enduring a stock price slump and was best known for a series of \u2013 with hindsight \u2013 crazy TV ads. (Any excuse to share this prime example).<\/p>\nJob Done! How Masarek Rejuvenated Avaya<\/h2>\n