International Executive Brings Strong Business Development Experience
in Europe, Japan and Southeast Asia to 8x8
SAN JOSE, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--
8x8, Inc. (NASDAQ:EGHT), provider of innovative cloud communications and
computing solutions, today announced the appointment of Ian Potter, an
accomplished international business executive, to its Board of
Directors, effective September 17, 2013. With his addition to the Board,
Mr. Potter will become a member of the Compensation Committee.
Mr. Potter resides in Singapore and France and brings more than 25 years
of international business development, management and operational
experience to 8x8. He was most recently a Managing Director of Morgan
Stanley & Co. in Singapore, having moved there in 1994 to establish the
firm's commodities trading and risk management business across Asia.
"Ian's international business acumen, expertise in launching and growing
multinational enterprises and deep knowledge of European and Asian
business practices and regulatory matters will be of immense value to
8x8 as we expand upon our current success in the U.S. to meet the
growing worldwide demand for our cloud-based services," said Vik Verma,
Chief Executive Officer of 8x8, Inc. "We are honored that Ian has
accepted our invitation to join 8x8's Board of Directors and look
forward to his energy, wisdom and counsel through our next phase of
growth."
"I'm delighted to join the 8x8 Board of Directors at this exciting time
in the Company's evolution," said Mr. Potter. "The cloud-based, unified
communications industry is poised for significant international growth,
and 8x8 is uniquely positioned to capitalize on this opportunity with
its superior technology platform, established track record of domestic
success, and world class management team. The recent changes at the
executive level highlight the Company's commitment to continuing
leadership and growth in the sector and I look forward to the
opportunities ahead for 8x8."
Mr. Potter is currently a Distinguished Fellow with INSEAD's Global
Private Equity Initiative, a Senior Advisor at Morgan Stanley and the
Managing Partner of Lion City Capital Partners. From 1994 until his
retirement from Morgan Stanley in 2013, he supervised all aspects of the
firm's commodity business in Asia while serving on a number of internal
and external private company boards. During this time, he opened the
group's New Delhi, Shanghai, and Tokyo offices and was responsible for
developing the group's capacity across the region and expanding its
product offerings. Morgan Stanley's Japanese and Chinese offices were
the first of their type to be established and required significant
interaction and support from local enterprises, regulators and
authorities. Mr. Potter began his career in London and New York working
for Chase Manhattan Bank N.A. where he contributed to the development of
the bank's interest rate and currency derivatives business. He holds an
MBA from INSEAD in France and a BA from Queen's University in Canada.
8x8 also reported, in accordance with NASDAQ Listing Rule 5635(c)(4),
that employment inducement awards were granted to four new employees in
connection with their recent hiring. The employees were granted stock
options to purchase an aggregate of 50,000 shares of the Company's
Common Stock, with an exercise price of $9.74 per share, which was the
closing price of the Company's Common Stock on September 17, 2013. The
options have a ten year term and vest over a period of four years, with
25% vesting after one year of the grant date and the remaining 75%
vesting in approximately equal monthly increments over the succeeding
thirty-six months, subject to their continued employment. In addition,
these employees received restrictive stock units for 7,500 shares of
common stock, also subject to continued employment. and other conditions.
About 8x8, Inc.
8x8, Inc. (NASDAQ:EGHT) empowers business conversations for more than
33,000 businesses with cloud communications services that include hosted
PBX telephony, unified communications, call
center software and video conferencing solutions. The company has
been delivering business communications services since 2004 and has
garnered a reputation for technical excellence and outstanding
reliability. In 2012, 8x8 was named a market "leader" in Gartner's
Magic Quadrant for Unified Communications as a Service (UCaaS) in
North America and was recognized as the No. 1 Provider of Hosted IP
Telephony by Frost
& Sullivan and Synergy
Research Group. For additional information, visit www.8x8.com,
or connect with 8x8 on Google+,
Facebook,
LinkedIn
and Twitter.
Forward Looking Statements
This news release contains "forward-looking statements" within the
meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995 and
Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934. These statements
include, without limitation, information about future events based on
current expectations, potential product development efforts, near and
long-term objectives, potential new business, strategies, organization
changes, changing markets, future business performance and outlook. Such
statements are predictions only, and actual events or results could
differ materially from those made in any forward-looking statements due
to a number of risks and uncertainties. Actual results and trends may
differ materially from historical results or those projected in any such
forward-looking statements depending on a variety of factors. These
factors include, but are not limited to, customer acceptance and demand
for our products and services, the reliability of our services, the
prices for our services, customer renewal rates, customer acquisition
costs, our ability to compete effectively in the hosted telecom services
business, actions by our competitors, including price reductions for
their telephone services, potential federal and state regulatory
actions, compliance costs, potential warranty claims and product
defects, our needs for and the availability of adequate working capital,
our ability to innovate technologically, the timely supply of products
by our contract manufacturers, and potential future intellectual
property infringement claims and other litigation that could adversely
affect our business and operating results. For a discussion of such
risks and uncertainties, which could cause actual results to differ from
those contained in the forward-looking statements, see "Risk Factors" in
the Company's reports on Forms 10-K and 10-Q, as well as other reports
that 8x8, Inc. files from time to time with the Securities and Exchange
Commission. All forward-looking statements are qualified in their
entirety by this cautionary statement, and 8x8, Inc. undertakes no
obligation to update publicly any forward-looking statement for any
reason, except as required by law, even as new information becomes
available or other events occur in the future.
8x8, Inc.
Joan Citelli, 408-654-0970
Joan.citelli@8x8.com
Source: 8x8
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