SAN JOSE, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--
8x8, Inc. (NASDAQ:EGHT), a provider of cloud-based unified
communications, contact center and collaboration services, today
announced the appointment of Mary Ellen Genovese as Chief Financial
Officer. Ms. Genovese replaces Dan Weirich who announced he will be
stepping down after ten years of service to accept a position at a
privately held company with a cloud service in the big data space. Mr.
Weirich will remain in his role through Friday, October 31, 2014,
subsequent to the Company's scheduled earnings release on October 22,
2014 and the filing of its quarterly report for the second quarter of
fiscal 2015. Thereafter, he will continue as an employee with the
Company in an advisory capacity through December 31, 2014 to facilitate
a smooth transition.
Ms. Genovese brings over 25 years of executive experience, including
serving as CFO of publicly-traded Trimble Navigation Limited, the
leading provider of advanced location-based solutions, building and
overseeing strong financial infrastructures and systems, managing
acquisitions, driving greater operational efficiencies for growing
public companies and establishing strong relationships with the
investment community. She most recently served as 8x8's Senior Vice
President of Human Resources and, prior to that, was a consultant to the
Company and an advisor to the Company's Board of Directors Compensation
Committee.
"Mary Ellen and I have worked together for many years, including her
time at Savi Technology where she served as my CFO, and I am confident
that she is well-prepared to help us pursue our strategic growth
initiatives," said 8x8 CEO Vik Verma. "She and Dan will work closely
over the coming weeks leading up to our second quarter of fiscal 2015
earnings and through the remainder of the year to ensure a smooth
transition."
Mr. Verma continued, "We are reiterating our previous guidance that we
expect revenue to grow by at least 25% for the current fiscal year with
non-GAAP net income as a percentage of revenue in the high-single digit
range."
Prior to joining 8x8, from 2008 to 2011, Ms. Genovese served as a
consultant to a Fortune 50 global security company where she
evaluated potential technologies to license or spinout with the intent
of unlocking value to under-utilized assets. From 2004 through 2006, she
was the CFO of Savi Technology, a leading provider of RFID systems and
solutions to track cargo containers and their content globally via both
public and private clouds. While at Savi, Ms. Genovese led the
negotiating team in closing a strategic joint venture with Hutchison
Port Holdings, a subsidiary of Hutchison Whampoa, and she prepared the
company for a possible IPO event that culminated with the acquisition of
Savi by Lockheed Martin.
Prior to Savi, from 2000 to 2004, Ms. Genovese was Chief Financial
Officer at Trimble Navigation. While she was Trimble's CFO, the company
grew revenues from $271 million to $669 million and maintained strong
GAAP operating earnings and positive cash flow growth. Ms. Genovese was
also instrumental as CFO in completing numerous acquisitions, securing
financing, driving the company's cost reduction programs, and
standardizing global policies and system-wide financial reporting
capabilities. She played a key role in negotiating the strategic
acquisition of Spectra Precision Group, a laser and optical company, for
$294 million in 2000. Between 1992 and 2000, Ms. Genovese worked at
Trimble in a succession of other increasingly responsible executive
positions, including vice president of finance, corporate controller,
business unit controller and controller of manufacturing operations. She
holds a B.S. Degree in Accounting from Fairfield University and received
her CPA license from the State of Connecticut.
"I am very excited to step into 8x8's CFO position," said Ms. Genovese.
"Dan has built a world-class finance organization and I'm ready to take
it to the next level as we continue to capture increasing market share
with our differentiated cloud based offerings. I am looking forward to
working with Vik and the rest of the management team to continue our
domestic and international growth."
"We thank Dan for his contribution to the growth of 8x8 over the past
decade," Mr. Verma continued. "He has played a leading role in our
efforts to capture the opportunity for our cloud communications services
that exists in the mid-market and distributed enterprise segments."
"8x8 remains well on its path for continued growth and profitability in
the U.S. and abroad," said Mr. Weirich. "I have very much enjoyed my
tenure at 8x8 and wish the company well during its next phase of
growth," said Mr. Weirich.
8x8, Inc. will report its second quarter fiscal 2015 results for the
period ended September 30, 2014 after market close on Wednesday, October
22, 2014.
About 8x8, Inc.
8x8, Inc. (NASDAQ:EGHT) is the trusted provider of secure and reliable
cloud-based unified communications and virtual contact center solutions
to more than 40,000 small, midsize and distributed enterprise
organizations operating in over 40 countries across six continents.
8x8's out-of-the-box cloud solutions replace traditional on-premise PBX
hardware and software-based systems with a flexible and scalable
Software as a Service (SaaS) alternative, encompassing cloud business
phone service, contact center solutions, and web conferencing. For
additional information, visit www.8x8.com,
or www.8x8.com/UK 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, market acceptance of new or
existing services and features, success of our efforts to target
mid-market and larger distributed enterprises, changes in the
competitive dynamics of the markets in which we compete, customer
cancellations and rate of churn, impact of current economic climate and
adverse credit markets on our target customers, our ability to scale our
business, our reliance on infrastructure of third-party network services
providers, risk of failure in our physical infrastructure, risk of
failure of our software, our ability to maintain the compatibility of
our software with third-party applications and mobile platforms,
continued compliance with industry standards and regulatory
requirements, risks relating to our strategies and objectives for future
operations, including the execution of integration plans and realization
of the expected benefits of our acquisitions, the amount and timing of
costs associated with recruiting, training and integrating new
employees, introduction and adoption of our cloud communications and
collaboration services in markets outside of the United States, and
general economic conditions 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
News Provided by Acquire Media