CAMPBELL, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--8x8, Inc. (NYSE: EGHT), a leading integrated cloud communications platform, today announced the appointment of Steve Seger to the position of Chief Revenue Officer, and the expansion of its global business development organization. Reporting to CEO Vik Verma, Seger will oversee overall revenue operations, direct sales and channel sales, including Master Agents, Sub Agents and Value-Added Resellers (VARs) participating in the 8x8 Open Channel Partner Program. 8x8 also announced that John DeLozier, the company’s Global Channel Chief, was recognized at last week’s Channel Partners/Channel Futures conference as the 2020 Channel Influencer of the Year.
“Steve is a world-class executive with an entrepreneurial mindset who leads and inspires teams to deliver tangible ROI for customers,” said Vik Verma, Chief Executive Officer at 8x8, Inc. “This move signals 8x8’s investment in accelerating the success of our more than 1 million business users, and aggressively winning the hearts, minds and wallets of new Cloud Communications customers worldwide. Steve and his leadership team will continue to grow our widely-recognized Open Channel Partner Program, while extending the global sales and business development reach of our platform and services.”
An accomplished enterprise software and technology executive, Seger has a proven track record of leading and motivating high-performing sales teams. Most recently as Senior Vice President of Americas Sales at Tibco Software, he established new best-in-class revenue-generating strategies that helped propel Tibco to record successful years in 2018 and 2019. Previously, Seger served in senior sales leadership positions at SAS, Oracle and Xerox. He holds an MBA from the University of Cincinnati with a concentration in Quantitative Analysis and a BA in Liberal Arts from Mount St. Joseph University. Seger is also an Adjunct Professor at the University of Cincinnati where he teaches Master’s level Big Data Integration to graduate candidates in the MIS and MBA programs.
“Customer success is front and center in every high-growth, successful SaaS company. The 8x8 team is dedicated to growing the industry’s best talent and forging ever stronger channel partnerships that will allow us to grow revenue and expand our relationships with clients,” Seger said. “We have a unique market opportunity — unlike any other brand in the Cloud Communications marketplace — our unified platform has all of the essential applications and elements to power organizations around the world to naturally communicate and seamlessly operate from anywhere.”
Ken Berryman, a strategic advisor of the company, who has served as the company’s acting Chief Revenue Officer, will now be responsible for strategic expansion efforts worldwide. Berryman has served in multiple senior roles at 8x8 since 2018. A seasoned corporate strategist, he has had previous senior leadership positions at Intel, BMC Software, and Symantec and is a former McKinsey & Company partner. The newly-formed position will report directly to Verma.
In addition to these new appointments, the company is reaffirming its guidance for the second quarter of fiscal 2021 ending September 30, 2020 that was previously provided on July 30, 2020.
Q2 Fiscal 2021 Guidance:
- Total Revenue guidance in the range of $125.5 million to $126.5 million, representing approximately 15% to 16% year-over-year growth.
- Service Revenue guidance in the range of $117.3 million to $118.3 million, representing approximately 16% to 17% year-over-year growth.
- Non-GAAP Pre-Tax Loss guidance of approximately $7.5 million.
Industry-Recognized Channel Chief and Partner Program
At the 2020 Channel Partners Virtual event last week, John DeLozier gave a keynote on The Golden Era of Communications and also led a discussion with the industry’s top communications channel executives. This year DeLozier received the channel’s highest recognition as 2020’s Channel Influencer of the Year. DeLozier continues in his Global Channel Chief role and will report directly to Seger.
About 8x8, Inc.
8x8, Inc. (NYSE: EGHT) is transforming the future of business communications as a leading Software-as-a-Service provider of voice, video, chat, contact center, and enterprise-class API solutions powered by one global cloud communications platform. 8x8 empowers workforces worldwide to connect individuals and teams so they can collaborate faster and work smarter. Real-time business analytics and intelligence provide businesses unique insights across all interactions and channels so they can delight end-customers and accelerate their business. For additional information, visit www.8x8.com, or follow 8x8 on LinkedIn, Twitter and Facebook.
8x8® and 8x8 X Series™ are trademarks of 8x8, Inc.
Forward-Looking Statements
This press release contains "forward-looking statements" within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995 and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934. These statements include, without limitation, information about the appointment of Steve Seger as Chief Revenue Officer of 8x8, 8x8’s sales operations and finances, including second quarter guidance. Such statements are predictions only, and actual events or results could differ materially from those made in any forward-looking statements due to a number of risks and uncertainties including, but not limited to: market acceptance of and customer demand for new or existing services and features; competition in the markets we compete; the impact of economic downturns on us and our customers, including the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic. See our "Risk Factors" in the Company's reports on Forms 10-K and 10-Q, as well as other reports that 8x8, Inc. files from time to time with the Securities and Exchange Commission for a full discussion of such risks and uncertainties. All forward-looking statements are qualified in their entirety by this cautionary statement, and 8x8, Inc. undertakes no obligation to update publicly any forward-looking statement for any reason, except as required by law, even as new information becomes available or other events occur in the future.