Former VMware SVP Bryan Cox and Gap Inc. CIO Tom Keiser Bring Deep Roots from Enterprise Technology and Operations to New Roles

SAN FRANCISCO--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- Zendesk, Inc. (NYSE: ZEN) today announced the appointments of Bryan Cox, former senior vice president of global customer operations at VMware, as its first chief revenue officer and Tom Keiser, former chief information officer and executive vice president of global product operations at Gap, as its first chief information officer.

Both executives bring a wealth of experience in enterprise technology, sales and operations from two of the world’s top brands to Zendesk as the company broadens its enterprise reach and expands its products beyond customer service.

“Bryan and Tom are proven leaders whose combined dedication and vision will help define the next chapter for Zendesk,” said Mikkel Svane, Zendesk chairman, founder and CEO. “We’re focused on helping organizations build better customer relationships at a time of major shifts in technology, business models and consumer behavior. Their valuable industry insight and deep enterprise experience will help us reach our goal of $1 billion in revenue in 2020.”

At VMware, Cox most recently oversaw three key parts of its global customer operations organization—including software license compliance, online sales, and the renewals business—for the $6 billion revenue company. As CRO, Cox will lead all revenue-generating teams at Zendesk and help grow additional markets and segments.

“I’ve admired Zendesk for rethinking customer service software to make it modern and beautifully simple,” Cox said. “Now I am excited to join the team as Zendesk seeks to improve customer relationships more broadly and deliver on its strategy for growth.”

Keiser, whose career spans 20 years of leading global technology initiatives for consumer product and retail companies, most recently led the modernization of Gap’s IT and technology systems to address the rise of digital and mobile consumers. In his new role, Keiser will focus on scaling Zendesk’s IT, security and data systems and architecture across its worldwide offices, as well as serve as an external executive champion about the impact of technology on customer relationships.

“Coming from the retail world, I’ve seen first-hand how technology innovations are reshaping the way we shop, buy and interact with businesses,” Keiser said. “Every organization today must use the right combination of technology and people to build better customer relationships, and I’m excited to be able to help companies through that transformation by joining the Zendesk team.”

About Zendesk

Zendesk provides a customer service platform designed to bring organizations and their customers closer together. With more than 75,000 paid customer accounts, Zendesk’s products are used by organizations in 150 countries and territories to provide support in more than 40 languages. Founded in 2007 and headquartered in San Francisco, Zendesk has operations in the United States, Europe, Asia, Australia and South America. Learn more at www.zendesk.com.

Source: Zendesk, Inc.

Forward-Looking Statements

This press release contains forward-looking statements, including, among other things, statements regarding Zendesk’s future financial performance, its continued investment to grow its business, and progress towards its long-term financial objectives. The words such as “may,” “should,” “will,” “believe,” “expect,” “anticipate,” “target,” “project,” and similar phrases that denote future expectation or intent regarding Zendesk’s financial results, operations and other matters are intended to identify forward-looking statements. You should not rely upon forward-looking statements as predictions of future events.

The outcome of the events described in these forward-looking statements is subject to known and unknown risks, uncertainties, and other factors that may cause Zendesk’s actual results, performance, or achievements to differ materially, including (i) adverse changes in general economic or market conditions; (ii) Zendesk’s ability to adapt its customer service platform to changing market dynamics and customer preferences or achieve increased market acceptance of its platform; (iii) Zendesk’s expectation that the future growth rate of its revenues will decline, and that as its costs increase, Zendesk may not be able to generate sufficient revenues to achieve or sustain profitability; (iv) Zendesk’s limited operating history, which makes it difficult to evaluate its prospects and future operating results; (v) Zendesk’s ability to effectively manage its growth and organizational change; (vi) the market in which Zendesk operates is intensely competitive, and Zendesk may not compete effectively; (vii) the development of the market for software as a service business software applications; (viii) Zendesk’s ability to sell its live chat software as a standalone service and more fully integrate its live chat software with its customer service platform; (ix) Zendesk’s ability to sell its analytics software as a standalone service and to integrate its analytics software with its customer service platform; (x) breaches in Zendesk’s security measures or unauthorized access to its customers’ data; (xi) service interruptions or performance problems associated with Zendesk’s technology and infrastructure; (xii) real or perceived errors, failures, or bugs in its products; (xiii) Zendesk’s substantial reliance on its customers renewing their subscriptions and purchasing additional subscriptions; and (xiv) Zendesk’s ability to effectively expand its sales capabilities.

The forward-looking statements contained in this press release are also subject to additional risks, uncertainties, and factors, including those more fully described in Zendesk’s filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission, including its Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2015.

Forward-looking statements represent Zendesk’s management’s beliefs and assumptions only as of the date such statements are made. Zendesk undertakes no obligation to update any forward-looking statements made in this press release to reflect events or circumstances after the date of this press release or to reflect new information or the occurrence of unanticipated events, except as required by law.

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Source: Zendesk, Inc.