Five9 has announced that Chief Executive Officer Rowan Trollope has resigned as CEO and from the Board of Directors and accepted another role as CEO of a privately held pre-IPO company outside of the CCaaS space. Mike Burkland, long-time Chairman and former CEO of Five9, has been appointed to the CEO position. This transition will be effective on November 28, 2022.
“I’m thrilled to resume the role of CEO and once again lead the amazing team at Five9 on our exciting journey ahead,” stated Mike Burkland, Chairman of Five9. “When I was diagnosed with cancer in 2017, I resigned from the CEO post to focus on my health, while remaining very close to the business as Chairman. Now, following successful treatments, I am pleased to report that my doctors have given me a favorable long-term prognosis. I’m so excited to get ‘back on the field’ with the Five9 team, which is a special, tight-knit group working passionately on the important mission of enabling our clients to reimagine their customer experience. We are still in the early innings of the shift to the cloud, driven by key trends such as digital transformation and the strategic importance of customer experience. I believe Five9 is very well positioned in this massive market as we continue to execute on product innovation, our march up market and international expansion. I would like to thank Rowan for his outstanding leadership over these last four and a half years.”
Mike Burkland joined Five9 as CEO in 2008. As CEO for nearly 10 years, Mike established the vision and strategy for Five9 to become one of the leading providers of cloud contact center software for the enterprise market, built an organization known for its exceptional culture and operational excellence, led the company through its IPO in 2014 and scaled Five9 into one of the fastest growing public companies in the CCaaS space.
“I’d like to thank Mike and the Board for the opportunity. I’m honored to have had the chance to serve Five9 customers, shareholders and employees. I’d like to say a special thank you to the tremendous team here at Five9 – pioneers who have worked incredibly hard to lead the industry and set the pace for innovation and growth in the cloud,” stated Rowan Trollope, CEO of Five9. “I’ve made a personal career decision to join a unique venture backed pre-IPO company that I couldn’t say no to and I’m confident Five9 is in great hands.”
“When Mike stepped down as CEO, we were fortunate to find Rowan,” stated Dave Welsh, Lead Independent Director of Five9’s Board. “Rowan has been instrumental in positioning the company for continued product innovation and expansion both in addressable market and into large enterprise. We are delighted to have Mike return to the helm to lead Five9 forward. Mike’s track record of success for nearly 15 years as both CEO and Chairman, knowledge of the business and relationships with so many key stakeholders make him uniquely qualified to lead Five9 into the future.”