RingCentral founder returns as CEO, replacing Robbiati

Cloud comms firm RingCentral parts ways with CEO Tarek Robbiati as founder Vlad Shmunis steps back into the top role

Cloud communications vendor RingCentral and current CEO Tarek Robbiati have mutually agreed to part ways - founder and former RingCentral CEO Vlad Shmunis is now returning to the company to take his place.

RingCentral said that Robbiati's resignation was not a result of any disagreement with the company or the board, or any matter relating to the company's operations, policies, or practices.

Rob Theis, RingCentral's lead independent director, said: "RingCentral's strategic product vision and operations are closely linked, and we determined it is best to have one leader overseeing all aspects of the organisation.

"As RingCentral's founder and long-term CEO, Shmunis has overseen the company's growth from inception to a leading SaaS provider with over $2.2bn in revenue.

"We are confident that he will be effective upon his return as CEO and will continue delivering value for all our stakeholders.

"We appreciate Robbiati's contributions and wish him well."

Shmunis added: "We are at a tremendous inflection point in our industry, and it is critical that our product and innovation strategy drives all that we do and is closely aligned with our go-to-market approach.

"We have a world-class team, battle-proven technology, and a clear roadmap with a large, untapped market opportunity ahead of us.

"I am fully committed to RingCentral and am confident in our ability to drive sustainable, profitable growth moving forward, rooted in our core values of trust, innovation, and partnerships."

Robbiati commented: "I have the utmost respect for the RingCentral team.

"I wish the company and its people the very best. RingCentral has tremendous products, and I believe the company will continue to deliver for its customers and shareholders."

RingCentral had announced that Tarek Robbiati as its new chief executive officer in August 2023.

Robbiati had also been a member of the cloud-based communications provider's board of directors since December 2022.