Dell And Virtustream Leader Rory Read Is Vonage’s New CEO
Vonage has nabbed longtime IT leader Rory Read as its new CEO, whose previous roles included CEO of AMD and president of Dell Technologies’ Virtustream.
Rory Read, president of Dell Technologies’ Virtustream business as well as the former CEO of AMD, is leaving Dell to become CEO of cloud communications firm Vonage.
Read, chief operating executive at Dell Technologies, played a major role in the blockbuster $67 billion merger of Dell and EMC in 2016 as chief executive vice president and chief integration officer. The executive’s illustrious career also includes more than two decades at IBM, three years as CEO and president of AMD, as well as a five-year stint at Lenovo as president and chief operating officer.
The longtime executive will head Vonage, effective July 1, 2020, after two years of leading Dell Technologies’ cloud services and software business Virtustream as president. Read said it’s an “exciting time” to be leading the 2,400-employee strong Vonage as digital transformation through communications is expanding at an “unprecedented pace.”
“I am honored to have the opportunity to lead Vonage and am committed to completing the ongoing strategic review of the company's consumer segment as we execute on our strategic vision of becoming a world-class business SaaS company,” said Read in a statement.
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Todd Pavone will be replacing Read as Virtustream’s new president, according to a Dell Technologies spokesman. Pavone was most recently president of Dell EMC’s Global Consulting business.
Read will officially replace current Vonage CEO Alan Masarek -- who recently spoke to CRN about COVID-19 and the opportunities around remote working -- on July 1.
Masarek has been leading Vonage since November 2014 and was key to reinventing the company for the digital age. He said Read is “the right leader to take us forward” and will help during his transition over the next few weeks.
"It has been my absolute privilege to lead Vonage over the past several years, and I am incredibly proud of everything our team has accomplished together," he said in a statement. “Transformations of this magnitude are enormously challenging, and we achieved our objective of reinventing the company and becoming a global leader in business communications while building a truly talent-driven culture. I am honored to have worked with so many talented colleagues. … I am confident the Company is well positioned for continued growth and innovation under Rory's leadership."
Cloud-based communications specialist Vonage, who received a five-star rating in CRN’s 2020 Partner Program Guide, recently reported first quarter 2020 revenues of $297 million, up from $280 million year over year, with a net loss of $4 million. The Holmdel, N.J.-based company expects to generate upwards of $1.2 billion this year.
Read said Vonage's Communications Services Platform brings value through the integration of multiple communications channels including video, voice, messaging, chat and verification, to customers applications, products and workflows.
“This delivers both the power and the flexibility for our customers to create new emerging paradigms in their industries, and enables the type of business continuity, remote work, and remote delivery of services that is so critical in today's environment,” said Read. “This is why customers across the planet increasingly choose Vonage."