RALEIGH-DURHAM, N.C.– July 28, 2022 – Avaya Holdings Corp. (NYSE: AVYA) today announced that Alan Masarek has been appointed as its President and CEO and as a member of Avaya’s Board of Directors, effective August 1, 2022. Mr. Masarek will succeed Jim Chirico, who will be removed from his positions as President and CEO of Avaya, effective August 1, 2022, and is resigning as a member of Avaya’s Board. Mr. Chirico will remain employed with Avaya through August 16, 2022 and will work with Mr. Masarek to ensure a smooth transition for all stakeholders.
Mr. Masarek is an industry innovator with deep domain expertise in Enterprise Communications and transformational operational experience bringing together UCaaS, CCaaS and CPaaS capabilities, which are key elements of the Avaya OneCloud™ Experience platform. He most recently served as CEO of Vonage Holdings Corp., where he led the company through an era of transformation from a VoIP-based residential phone provider into a global enterprise cloud communications company. Prior to his time at Vonage, Mr. Masarek was Director, Chrome & Apps at Google, Inc., following Google’s acquisition of his prior company, Quickoffice, Inc., where he served as Co-founder and CEO.
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.”
Mr. Masarek commented, “Avaya benefits from an industry-leading brand, world-class customer base and global reach, a rich history of innovation and strong partner ecosystem. 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.”
Mr. Watkins continued, “The Board and I thank Jim for his nearly 15 years of service to Avaya and wish him all the best in his future endeavors.”
About Alan Masarek
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, Mr. 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. During his tenure, Vonage completed eight acquisitions, and market capitalization increased severalfold. As importantly, Mr. 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, following the acquisition of his prior company, Quickoffice, Inc. Mr. 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.
Mr. Masarek earned his M.B.A., with Distinction, from Harvard Business School and his B.B.A., magna cum laude, from the University of Georgia.
