Thoughts on Genesys and Five9 News
On July 31, both Genesys and Five9 made interesting announcements.
Here is my take:
San Francisco – July 31, 2025 — Genesys, a global cloud leader in AI-Powered Experience Orchestration, today announced $1.5 billion in new investment commitments from Salesforce and ServiceNow, with each company agreeing to invest an equal amount.
This milestone reinforces the strength of Genesys as the strategic customer experience (CX) orchestration platform for all enterprises and deepens its global partnerships with both Salesforce and ServiceNow. Proceeds from the investment will be used to repurchase shares from the company’s existing equity holders. Hellman & Friedman and Permira remain the company’s majority equity owners. RELEASE
Five9 Announces Future Retirement of Chief Executive Officer Mike Burkland
SAN RAMON, Calif.–(BUSINESS WIRE)–Jul. 31, 2025– Five9, Inc. (Nasdaq: FIVN) (“Five9”), provider of the Intelligent CX Platform, today announced that its Chief Executive Officer, Mike Burkland, has decided to retire from his role as CEO. Burkland will remain in the CEO role until his successor is appointed and then will continue to serve on the Five9 Board of Directors (“Board”) as Executive Chairman, working with the new CEO to ensure a smooth transition. A committee of independent Board directors has initiated a comprehensive search for the company’s next CEO. This search will be conducted by a nationally recognized executive search firm with the goal of appointing a successor by year end.
Mike Burkland served as CEO from 2008 until 2017 when he stepped down as CEO after being diagnosed with cancer. Burkland returned as CEO in 2022. During his tenure, Burkland led the company through significant milestones, including growing the company from $10 million to over a $1 billion in annual revenue and a successful IPO in 2014. Since his reappointment as CEO, he has led a number of transformation initiatives across the company to bolster Five9’s market leadership and position the company for the future. RELEASE.