Jeff Clarke takes the helm of Avaya

He becomes the organisation’s fourth CEO in five years

US-based enterprise communications vendor Avaya has hired Jeff Clarke as CEO, replacing Patrick Dennis after a two-year tenure.

The new head of the company joins from Insurity, a cloud software provider for the insurance industry, where he served as CEO for a year and a half.

Prior to that, he was CEO of Doxim, Travelport and Kodak, as well as interim CEO of FTD.

Clarke entered the C-suite in 2001 as CFO of Compaq before going on to hold leadership roles including COO of CA Technologies and EVP of global operations at Hewlett-Packard.

He has also served on the boards of Autodesk, Red Hat, Orbitz and Compuware, among others.

Former CEO Dennis will become executive chair.

“Avaya is a trusted partner for leading global organisations looking to translate customer interactions into connections that drive real value and I’m excited to join the company as CEO,” said Clarke.

“I’ve seen firsthand how the strongest, most enduring companies are those that invest in innovation to meet their customers where they want to be, not just where they are.

“Avaya has done this for years, bringing leading-edge solutions to help companies in the most complex enterprise environments develop lasting customer relationships.”

Patrick Bartels, chair of the Avaya board of directors, added: “[Clarke] brings deep operational expertise, a customer-centric mindset and extensive experience driving innovation and transformation at scale.

“As Avaya builds on its momentum, the board is confident Jeff’s leadership will help advance the company’s long-term growth and strengthen its position in enterprise communications.”

Clarke becomes Avaya’s fourth CEO in five years.

Former head of the company Dennis succeeded Alan Masarek in late 2024 following the latter’s retirement announcement.

Masarek replaced Jim Chirico in 2022 following his five-year tenure.

Masarek led Avaya through its 2023 financial restructuring after the company filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection for the second time, having previously entered the process in 2017.

The restructuring eliminated around 75 per cent of the company’s debt and secured approximately $650m (£483.7m) in liquidity.