- After less than four months in the position
- Praise and good wishes for Robbiati
- Vlad Shmunis taking over
- Robbiati kept it short and said 37 words
(exechange) — Belmont, California, December 11, 2023 — Tarek Robbiati, chief executive of RingCentral, leaves his position — as “mutually agreed.” As announced by RingCentral Inc. in a news release and in a regulatory filing published on Monday, December 11, 2023, Tarek Robbiati has left his post as chief executive officer at the provider of cloud-based communication and collaboration products, after less than four months in the role, effective December 8, 2023.
Generally speaking, it raises questions when a CEO leaves his post abruptly and after a short tenure.
Tarek Robbiati’s duties as CEO will be taken over by Vladimir (Vlad) Shmunis, a former Chief Executive Officer at RingCentral Inc.
“One leader with oversight for all aspects of the organization”
RingCentral did not give an explicit reason for Tarek Robbiati’s departure from the CEO post. Rob Theis, Lead Independent Director of RingCentral, stated: “RingCentral’s strategic product vision and operations are closely linked, and we determined it is best to have one leader with oversight for all aspects of the organization. As RingCentral’s founder and long-term CEO, Vlad has overseen the Company’s growth from inception to a leading SaaS provider with over $2.2 billion in revenue. We are confident that he will be effective in his return as CEO and will continue delivering for all our stakeholders.”
Precise information regarding Tarek Robbiati’s future plans was not immediately available.
“Separate”
RingCentral said: “Tarek Robbiati and RingCentral mutually agreed that Robbiati would separate from the company and resign from the Board of Directors, effective December 8, 2023.”
“Not a result of any disagreement”
RingCentral stated, regarding the change: “Robbiati’s resignation is not a result of any disagreement with the Company or the Board, or any matter relating to the Company’s operations, policies, or practices.”
Share price increase since September 2023
The announcement follows an increase in RingCentral Inc.’s share price of 7% since September 2023.
In the position of CEO since 2023
Tarek Robbiati became CEO of the Company in 2023.
On August 7, 2023, RingCentral had announced that the Company had appointed Tarek Robbiati to succeed Vladimir Shmunis as the Company’s Chief Executive Officer effective August 28, 2023.
Tarek Robbiati served on the Board of RingCentral since December 2022.
Robbiati served as Executive Vice President, Chief Financial Officer of Hewlett Packard Enterprise Co. (“HPE”) since September 2018.
Before joining HPE, Robbiati served as Chief Financial Officer of Sprint Corporation from August 2015 to February 2018.
Prior to that, Robbiati served as Chief Executive Officer and Managing Director of FlexiGroup Limited in Australia from January 2013 to August 2015.
He previously served as Group Managing Director and President of Telstra International Group in Hong Kong and Executive Chairman of Hong Kong CSL Limited from December 2009 to December 2012, and as Chief Executive Officer of Hong Kong CSL Limited from July 2007 to May 2010.
He holds a Baccaleaureat C, Terminale C from Lycée Chateaubriand Rome, a Master of Science Nuclear Physics and Electronics from École nationale superieure d’ingenieurs de Caen (ENSICAEN), a Master of Science Business Administration from IAE Caen and a Master of Business Administration from the London Business School.
At the time of Tarek Robbiati’s appointment as Chief Executive Officer at RingCentral, Rob Theis, lead independent director of RingCentral, had stated: “Tarek is a proven senior business leader who knows our company well and shares our vision and values. His insights have been invaluable in our boardroom. Tarek has an outstanding track record, having successfully scaled businesses, while driving growth and profitability. As we planned for Vlad’s transition to the Executive Chairman role, it was critical that we find a CEO who could lead the next phase of our growth. We strongly believe Tarek is the right executive for this role.”
At the time of Tarek Robbiati’s appointment as Chief Executive Officer at RingCentral, Robbiati had stated: “The world and how we communicate is rapidly changing and this is an exciting time for RingCentral. We are at the forefront of our industry, developing differentiated, cutting-edge solutions to meet the emerging needs of our customers. My focus will be on our customers and delivering operational excellence and sustainable, profitable growth. I am honored to take on the CEO role and deliver value to all our stakeholders.”
37 words by Tarek Robbiati
In the release announcing his departure as CEO of RingCentral Inc., Tarek Robbiati received praise and good wishes.
In announcing his departure, Tarek Robbiati kept it short and said 37 words.
“I wish the company and its people the very best”
Tarek Robbiati stated: “I have the utmost respect for the RingCentral team. I wish the company and its people the very best. RingCentral has tremendous products and I believe the Company will continue to deliver for its customers and shareholders.”
Push-out Score for Tarek Robbiati’s move determined
The Push-out Score indicates on a scale of 0 to 10 how likely it is that Tarek Robbiati 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 51.2023 ($).