RingCentral Founder Vlad Shmunis has returned as its CEO four months after resigning from the post.
Tarek Robbiati left the role he only formally started on August 28 by mutual agreement, as of last Friday, December 3. RingCentral stated that Robbiati’s resignation is because of any "disagreement with the Company or the Board or any matter relating to the Company’s operations, policies, or practices".
"We are at a tremendous inflexion point in our industry, and it is critical that our product and innovation strategy drives all that we do and is closely aligned with how we go to market," said Shmunis.
We have a world-class team, battle-proven technology, and a clear roadmap with a large and 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 that is rooted in our core values of trust, innovation, and partnerships."
Shmunis had been RingCentral CEO since founding the company 25 years ago, and after leaving the post in the summer, had transitioned to the role of Executive Chairman with a remit of driving RingCentral’s strategic product vision and innovation. Shmunis's decision to depart RingCentral saw its stock plummet 18.6 percent on the day of its announcement.
Shmunis will remain Executive Chairman of the Board. The shock news of Robbiati's resignation so soon after his joining saw RingCentral's stock fall 6.5 percent on the news, despite Shmunis's return.
"RingCentral’s strategic product vision and operations are closely linked, and we determined it is best to have one leader with oversight for all aspects of the organization," added Rob Theis, Lead Independent Director of RingCentral.
"As RingCentral’s founder and long-term CEO, Vlad has overseen the Company’s growth from inception to a leading SaaS provider with over $2.2 billion in revenue. We are confident that he will be effective in his return as CEO and will continue delivering for all our stakeholders. We appreciate Tarek’s contributions and wish him well."
Robbiati's appointment was confirmed in late August at the same time as RingCentral posted its Q2 2023 earnings. Robbiati had been a member of the RingCentral Board of Directors since December 2023 and was previously Chief Financial Officer and EVP of Finance and Strategy at Hewlett Packard Enterprise. Robbiati’s CV illustrated nearly three decades as a respected strategic and financial operator, with renown for his leadership roles within the telecom, media, technology and financial services industries.
"I have the utmost respect for the RingCentral team," Robbiati said. "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.”
In its announcement of Shmunis's return as CEO, RingCentral's repeated its guidance for Q4 and the financial year, with projected revenue of $566.5 million to $573.5 million, up between 8 percent and 9 percent, for the quarter. For the financial year, RingCentral estimates sales of $2.095 billion to $2.101 billion, up 11 percent.
