Five9 has appointed Ajay Awatramani as Chief Product Officer (CPO). This appears to be the first time that Five9 has appointed a Chief Product Officer. Callan Schebella, Executive Vice President of Product Management, is still with the firm and will likely report to Awatramani.
Awatramani will be responsible for the design and implementation of new features and enhancements that align with Five9’s ambition to become the orchestration engine for every interaction across the entire customer journey. He will continue Five9’s focus on innovation using AI for its CX offerings.
Mike Burkland, Chairman and CEO of Five9, commented, “We are thrilled to welcome Ajay to Five9 as Chief Product Officer as we accelerate our next phase of innovation and growth. Ajay’s extensive experience and visionary approach to AI and customer experience will be instrumental as we continue to innovate and to deliver exceptional value to our customers. We remain committed to advancing our strategic vision for AI-elevated CX.”
Who is Ajay Awatramani
Awatramani joins Five9 from Storm Ventures, where he has been working as an Entrepreneur in Residence for the last year. He advised the VC firm about investments in AI startups. Before that, he held product leadership positions at global firms such as Cornerstone OnDemand, Adobe, Marketo and Oracle. Earlier in his career, he worked in Engineering for Siebel and Sun Microsystems.
At Cornerstone OnDemand, he led innovation and transformation in the HR/Talent category. He expanded that organisation’s TAM by launching a new platform, Cornerstone Xplore and integrating acquisitions such as Saba and Edcat.
At Adobe, he held the role of head of product and GTM for the B2B sector. Awatramani led product, strategy and product marketing for Adobe Marketo Engage and the strategy B2b for the Adobe Digital Experience business unit.
He had joined Adobe as part of the Marketo acquisition, where he was VP, of Global Product Management. He spent ten years at Oracle, where he was Director of Product for Sales Platforms for five years.
Awatramani commented, “This is a pivotal moment in AI and customer experience, where consumers are demanding more personalised and effortless interactions. I’m excited to lead Five9’s product organisation at this stage in the company’s growth.
“I look forward to partnering with our EVP of product management, Callan Schebella, as we continue to develop AI that not only meets the needs of our customers but also sets new standards for CX.”
Enterprise Times: What does this mean
For Five9, it is perhaps surprising that they have not had a Chief Product Officer before. Awatramani has the experience to advise on both organic and inorganic growth to achieve its strategy and align with its vision.
Awatramani will no doubt take a few weeks to settle into the role and understand the company, his team and the product. It will be interesting to see how the product strategy evolves in 2025. Especially around AI, which he has a lot of experience in building products around.
