- Push-out Score determined
- After around seven years in the position
- Accolades, praise and thanks for Verma
- Dave Sipes taking over
(exechange) — Campbell, California, December 10, 2020 — Vik Verma, chief executive of 8×8, leaves. As announced by 8×8 Inc. in a news release and in a regulatory filing published on Thursday, December 10, 2020, Vikram (Vik) Verma leaves his post as chief executive officer of the cloud communications platform provider after around seven years in the role, effective immediately.
Vik Verma’s duties as CEO will be taken over by David (Dave) Sipes, most recently Chief Operating Officer of RingCentral, Inc.
The fact that Vik Verma’s successor is brought in from outside suggests that the board may seek to stimulate change with fresh ideas and new initiatives.
In general, an outsider does not have the constraints of an insider when it comes to leading painful changes or making unpopular decisions.
“The right leader at the right time to fully realize our potential”
8×8 did not give an explicit reason for Vik Verma’s departure from the CEO post, leaving room for speculation. Jaswinder Pal Singh, 8×8 Chairman of the Board, said: “We believe Dave, with his operational expertise, strong industry background, and world-class go-to-market leadership, is the right leader at the right time to fully realize our potential.”
Precise information regarding Vik Verma’s future plans was not immediately available.
“Leave”
8×8 said: “Effective December 10, 2020, Vik Verma, the current CEO and a member of the Board, will leave his position as CEO of the Company and resign from the Company’s Board.”
Share price decline since July 2019
The announcement follows a decline in 8×8 Inc.’s share price of 13% since July 2019.
In the position of CEO since 2013
Vik Verma became CEO of the Company in 2013.
Verma will remain as a non-executive employee through April 15, 2021, to assist with the transition of his duties, unless his employment is terminated earlier by either party.
Verma has served as the Company’s Chief Executive Officer since September 2013, and as a member of the Company’s Board since 2012.
He has served on the board of directors of Cambium Networks, Inc., a leading global provider of wireless networking solutions, since January 2019.
From October 2008 to August 2013, he served as President of Strategic Venture Development at Lockheed Martin, where he was responsible for monetizing the company’s existing technologies in new global commercial markets through technology incubators, intellectual property licensing and international strategic partnerships.
From 2006 to 2008, he served as President of IS&GS Savi Group, a Lockheed Martin technology and information services division providing real-time supply chain management and security solutions for government and commercial markets worldwide.
Prior to that, he served as Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Savi Technology, Inc. (acquired by Lockheed Martin in 2006).
Verma was named a “Technology Pioneer” by the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, and was selected as a Tau Beta Pi—Williams Fellow. He is the named inventor in eight issued patents.
Verma received a B.S.E.E. degree from the Florida Institute of Technology, a M.S.E degree from University of Michigan and the graduate degree of Engineer in electrical engineering from Stanford University.
He attended executive management programs at the Harvard Business School, Stanford Graduate School of Business and the University of California at Berkeley Haas School of Business.
Push-out Score determined
The Push-out Score™ determined by exechange gauges the pressure surrounding the management change on a scale of 0 to 10.
exechange reached out to 8×8 and offered the company the opportunity to comment on the score.
Read the full story in the exechange report 50.2020 ($).