- Push-out Score determined
- After about two years in the position
- Thanks and good wishes for Dhawan
- Stefan Ortmanns taking over
- Dhawan kept it short and said 37 words
(exechange) — Burlington, Massachusetts, December 15, 2021 — Sanjay Dhawan, chief executive of Cerence, leaves. As announced by Cerence Inc. in a news release and in a regulatory filing published on Wednesday, December 15, 2021, Sanjay Dhawan leaves his post as chief executive officer at the smart automotive and conversational AI specialist, after about two years in the role, effective immediately.
Sanjay Dhawan’s duties as CEO will be taken over by Stefan Ortmanns, most recently executive vice president and leader of the Core Products business at Cerence Inc.
“Prioritize enhancing Cerence operations to foster a collaborative and energized workforce”
Cerence did not give an explicit reason for Sanjay Dhawan’s departure from the CEO post. Cerence said: “Ortmanns has a proven track record of successfully leading strategy, technology roadmaps, customer commitments, and global teams at Cerence. As CEO, Ortmanns will prioritize enhancing Cerence operations to foster a collaborative and energized workforce that is dedicated to product innovation, speed of execution, customer success, and sustainable growth.”
Precise information regarding Sanjay Dhawan’s future plans was not immediately available.
“Resigned”
Cerence said: “Ortmanns, an accomplished voice and automotive technology executive, succeeds Sanjay Dhawan, who has resigned from the company, effective immediately.”
Cerence further said: “Dr. Ortmanns succeeds Sanjay Dhawan, who resigned as President and Chief Executive Officer and director of the Company on December 14, 2021, effective December 15, 2021.”
Share price decline since January 2021
The announcement follows a decline in Cerence Inc.’s share price of 23% since January 2021.
In the position of CEO since 2019
Sanjay Dhawan became CEO of the Company in 2019.
Dhawan was appointed the Company’s Chief Executive Officer on October 1, 2019.
From August 2019 until such appointment, Dhawan served in the position of Advisor to the Automotive Division of Nuance Communications, Inc. (“Nuance”).
From 2015 to 2019, Dhawan served as President of the Connected Services Division and Chief Technology Officer of Harman Industries International.
Prior to joining Harman, he served as President and Chief Executive Officer of Symphony Teleca Corporation since 2010.
Dhawan holds a Master’s degree in Electrical Engineering from Brunel University, England, and a Bachelor of Science degree in Electronics and Communications from REC Kurukshetra, India.
Push-out Score determined
The Push-out Score™ determined by exechange gauges the pressure surrounding Sanjay Dhawan’s move on a scale of 0 to 10.
exechange reached out to Cerence and offered the company the opportunity to comment on the score.
Read the full story in the exechange report 51.2021 ($).