Function Point has appointed Sebastian Vaitus as its new CEO. He replaces Bobby Floujeh, who left the company in September and is now Vice President of Global Operations Interactive at Enghouse Interactive. Vaitus was previously Vice President, New Product Initiatives at Vontas and, before then, a Director at TripSpack Technologies.
He will understand the markets that FunctionPoint operates in from the ten years he spent founding and leading NUVISIA, a boutique business and technology consulting firm. This was the most successful of the three firms he founded, with the others surviving for around a year. He started his career at IBM, as a software engineer, before leading projects for several global clients.
Vaitus commented, “I am honored and excited to lead the talented team at Function Point, and embody the core values of Customer-centricity, People, Ownership, and Trust by continuing to build a strong community and culture with both our customers and the internal team.”
The appointment will be blessed by Volaris Group, which acquired Function Point in 2018. It is an interesting appointment and perhaps indicates a shift of focus for the company. Floujeh’s background was in customer service and customer care. He also evolved Function Point’s culture, improving it to the point that led to the firm being recognised as a Great Place to Work. While Vaitus will build on this, his product expertise may lead to pushing the product forward faster. Over the last few years, it has not made many public statements about the product. The last was in August 2021, when it delivered a proofing tool for creative agencies.
Vaitus was perhaps signalling a shift of emphasis when he commented, “As a curious problem-solver with a strong product development background, I am devoted to amplifying the voice of our customers to better understand their challenges and opportunities, allowing Function Point to implement the best solutions and support. I strongly believe that by partnering with our customers, together we can offer the best value and experience to the end clients.”
Over the next few weeks, one suspects he will talk to customers about how they use the agency management and productivity solution, and what improvements should be made.
Enterprise Times: What does this mean
In recent years Function Point has faded slightly and is way short of being placed as a leader in the G2 Trending grid for project management software. Can Vaitus invigorate the company, bring new ideas and innovation to the product and return it to the heights it once had? Will Volaris Group invest and back him to improve the product? FunctionPoint now claims around 500 customers, down from the 600 it claimed a few years ago. Vaitus is now in place as CEO. It will be interesting to see what 2023 brings.
