Dive Brief:
- Qualtrics named Jason Maynard CEO, effective immediately, the experience management company announced Tuesday. He was formerly EVP of revenue operations at Oracle.
- Maynard takes over for interim co-CEOs Jim Whitehurst and Mark Gillett. Zig Serafin stepped down as CEO in October after five years in the role and now serves as vice chairman and special adviser.
- “Qualtrics invented experience management, and with AI at the core of modern business the ability to understand human experience and act on what matters in context is more important than ever,” Maynard said in a prepared statement. “This is a rare opportunity to lead the company that created its category and build on that foundation with innovation, execution, and a relentless focus on delivering real impact for our customers.”
Dive Insight:
With 30 years of experience scaling tech software, Maynard will steer Qualtrics as AI becomes an ever bigger part of both customer and employee experience management.
Maynard began as an analyst for the likes of Merrill Lynch and Wells Fargo, before joining NetSuite, which was subsequently acquired by Oracle.
Nearly half of Qualtrics’ customers have upgraded to AI capabilities, according to the company. It will be looking to scale adoption with Maynard at the helm to improve businesses’ customer loyalty, reduce employee and customer churn, and grow engagement.
“Jason has scaled one of the most successful cloud businesses, built products customers depend on, and has a sharp perspective on where AI is taking our industry,” Whitehurst, who will remain in his role as executive chairman of the board at Qualtrics, said in a prepared statement. “That's a powerful combination that will take Qualtrics, our category, and the value we deliver to customers to the next level.”
As he takes the helm, Maynard said in a letter to employees that he is applying advice from his first position at NetSuite and will “start by listening.”
“I'll be spending my first weeks listening to customers, partners, and employees to understand their experience, what’s working, and what we can do to deliver even more value,” he said.
