- After almost 25 years in the position
- Accolades and praise for Shmunis
- Tarek Robbiati taking over
- Shmunis will remain as Executive Chairman at RingCentral
- Shmunis spoke at length and said 142 words
(exechange) — Belmont, California, August 7, 2023 — Vlad Shmunis, chief executive of RingCentral, leaves his position. As announced by RingCentral Inc. in a news release on Monday, August 7, 2023, Vladimir (Vlad) Shmunis leaves his post as chief executive officer at the cloud-based telecommunications provider, after almost 25 years in the role, effective August 28, 2023.
It is the end of an era.
Generally speaking, it raises questions when a CEO leaves his post at short notice.
Vlad Shmunis’s duties as CEO will be taken over by Tarek Robbiati, most recently Chief Financial Officer and EVP of Finance and Strategy at Hewlett Packard Enterprise.
Already a director
Robbiati has already been a member of the board of directors of RingCentral. Generally speaking, most director-turned-CEO appointments occur following a sudden resignation of the outgoing CEO and signal a lack of preparedness on the company’s part to groom internal talent. Directors-turned-executives represent a blend of outsider and insider.
They don’t have the constraints of a pure insider when it comes to leading painful changes or making unpopular decisions, and they have more company knowledge than a pure outsider.
Having been a director, Robbiati understands the expectations and dynamics of the board and has knowledge of RingCentral’s organization, risk-management practices and strategy.
Vlad Shmunis’s move coincides with a management shake-up also involving the position of President and Chief Operating Officer. The Company also announced that Mo Katibeh, President and Chief Operating Officer, will be stepping down.
“Driving growth and profitability”
RingCentral did not give an explicit reason for Vlad Shmunis’s departure from the CEO post. Rob Theis, lead independent director of RingCentral, stated: “Tarek has an outstanding track record, having successfully scaled businesses, while driving growth and profitability.”
Shmunis will remain as Executive Chairman at RingCentral
RingCentral stated: “Vlad Shmunis, the Company’s current Chief Executive Officer, will transition to the role of Executive Chairman with focus on driving the Company’s strategic product vision and innovation.”
Share price decline since August 2021
The announcement follows a decline in RingCentral Inc.’s share price of 86% since August 2021.
In the position of CEO since 1999
Vlad Shmunis became CEO of the Company in 1999.
Vladimir Shmunis is one of the Company’s co-founders and has served as the Company’s Chief Executive Officer, or CEO, and Chairman since the Company’s inception in 1999.
Prior to RingCentral, from 1992 to 1998, Shmunis served as President and Chief Executive Officer of Ring Zero Systems, Inc., a desktop communications software provider founded by Shmunis and acquired by Motorola, Inc.
From 1982 to 1992, Shmunis held various software development and management roles with a number of Silicon Valley companies, including Convergent Technologies, Inc. and Ampex Corporation.
Shmunis holds a B.S. in Computer Science and an M.S. in Computer Science from San Francisco State University.
142 words by Vlad Shmunis
In the news release announcing his departure as CEO of RingCentral Inc., Vlad Shmunis received accolades and praise.
In announcing his departure, Vlad Shmunis spoke at length and said 142 words.
“Tiny, unfunded startup”
Vlad Shmunis stated: “When I founded RingCentral two decades ago, we were a tiny, unfunded startup with an ambitious mission to improve how businesses around the world communicate internally and with their customers. From those humble beginnings, we have become a recognized leader in our space and one of the largest pure-play SaaS companies in the world. My plan is to stay engaged in the Company, while dedicating most of my time to innovation, product development and long-term strategy. I am excited for the road ahead… Mo has played a pivotal role building out our team, evolving our product roadmap, expanding our partner ecosystem, shaping our winning culture, and driving meaningful efficiencies in the business. I want to personally thank him for his outstanding work ethic and the many contributions he has made to our company, and wish him the best of luck moving forward.”
Push-out Score for Vlad Shmunis’s move determined
The Push-out Score indicates on a scale of 0 to 10 how likely it is that Vlad Shmunis was pushed out or felt pressure to leave his position.
exechange reached out to RingCentral and offered the company the opportunity to comment on the score.
Read the full story in the exechange report 33.2023 ($).