Avaya Holdings Corp. announced that Alan Masarek has been appointed as its President and CEO and as a member of Avaya’s Board of Directors. Masarek will succeed Jim Chirico, who will also resign as a member of Avaya’s Board.
Chirico will remain employed with Avaya through mid-August and will work with Masarek to ensure a smooth transition for all stakeholders. Alan Masarek has over 30 years of experience leading communications, information technology and business services companies.
Most recently, he was CEO of Vonage Holdings Corp. and a member of its Board of Directors from November 2014 to June 2020. As CEO, Masarek ushered in an era of transformation for Vonage, transforming the company from a VoIP-based residential phone provider into a global enterprise cloud communications company. Masarek led a revitalization of Vonage’s culture, creating a talent-driven organization with a culture of agility, technology innovation and customer centricity.
Prior to Vonage. Mr. Masarek served as Director, Chrome & Apps Google, Inc. from June 2012 until October 2014. Masarek was Co-founder and CEO of Quickoffice, Inc. Under his leadership, Quickoffice became one of the world’s most embedded mobile productivity software solutions, engaging more than 26 million registered users at the time of Google’s purchase.
Masarek said, “I look forward to leveraging my background and years of cloud communications experience to propel Avaya to renewed growth and profitability as we build on the company’s strong fundamentals. At the same time, I intend to undertake a comprehensive strategic and operating review of all facets of the business with the goal of delivering industry-leading solutions to our global customers and enhancing value for all stakeholders.”
Bill Watkins, Chairman of Avaya’s Board, said, “We are thrilled to welcome Alan as President and CEO. Alan is a proven transformational leader, and after a rigorous search process, the Board is confident that Alan is the ideal choice to lead the company into the future. We look forward to benefiting from his decades of industry expertise as we take the next steps to position the company for long-term success.”
