Comms veteran rocks up as new boss of Mitel

Mary McDowell takes reins from long-standing CEO Rich McBee

Former Nokia exec Mary McDowell has been appointed the new CEO at Mitel, taking the reins from long-standing incumbent Rich McBee.

During his time at the unified comms (UC) specialist, McBee oversaw its transformation from a provider of premises-based PBX to a cloud communications vendor.

McDowell (pictured) has previously held the CEO role at US-based comms vendor Polycom, overseeing its sale to fellow US comms company Plantronics in 2018.

She was also executive VP at Nokia, where she had responsibility for its $15bn (£12.3bn) global phone business and its developer and app store organisation. In addition, she has held senior roles at HP, Compaq Computer and Autodesk.

"Mitel has a storied history of innovation, a trusted brand and a unique ability to meet customers wherever they are on their path to the cloud," stated McDowell.

"I'm excited about the opportunities that lie ahead and eager to work closely with Mitel's experienced team and network of partners to continue delivering solutions that make communications and collaboration more seamless for our customers."

Departing boss McBee is leaving to take up another executive role elsewhere and his near-decade with the vendor was praised by Andrew Frey, partner at Mitel's private equity owner Searchlight Capital Partners.

"We thank Rich for his leadership at Mitel. He has played a crucial role in transforming Mitel and we wish him the best in his future endeavours," said Frey.

"We are committed to Mitel's success and look forward to partnering with Mary to continue the company's strategy of providing a clear and seamless path for every business to move to the cloud.

"Mary's proven operating experience and success in guiding technology companies through market transitions make her an ideal choice to guide Mitel in this next chapter."

McBee added: "I'm extremely proud of what the Mitel team accomplished in our time together through a rare combination of passion, dedication and innovation.

"Mitel is well positioned to accelerate the market transition to cloud and Mary has the deep technology expertise needed to lead the company. The future is bright for Mitel and I look forward to watching its continued success."