Nice Systems Ltd. (NASDAQ: nice – good; level:nice – goodNICE has appointed Scott Russell, a former senior executive at SAP, as its new CEO. He replaces Barak Elam, who announced he would step down at the end of the year when NICE published its first-quarter financial results three months ago, and the new appointment has now been announced as the company publishes its second-quarter financial results.
Born in Australia in 1973, Russell has held senior roles at SAP in recent years, including chief revenue officer. He was responsible for mergers and acquisitions, strategic planning and corporate governance. In his most recent role, according to the NICE announcement, Russell was responsible for $31 billion in revenue. Prior to SAP, Russell worked at PwC and IBM. Russell will run NICE from its New Jersey offices, as did outgoing CEO Elam.
Elam has run NICE for the past decade and is widely respected for his leadership of the company’s focused operations, which operate in customer relationship management and risk management solutions. Since Elam announced his resignation, NICE’s stock has lost 25% of its value and closed on Wall Street yesterday up 4.2% at $166.78, giving it a market cap of $10.583 billion. In pre-market trading, the stock is up 6.28%.
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In the second quarter, NICE reported revenue of $664 million and non-GAAP earnings per share of $2.64, above analysts’ expectations of revenue of $663 million and earnings per share of $2.58.
Nice left its full-year revenue forecast unchanged but raised its earnings per share forecast. The company expects full-year revenue for 2024 to be between $2.715 billion and $2.735 billion, up 15% from 2023, and non-accounting earnings per share to be between $10.60 and $10.80, compared with the previous forecast of $10.53 and $10.73 per share.
Russell’s extensive experience in enterprise software in adjacent markets and his leadership on a global scale will be instrumental in leading NICE through its next phase of growth, said NICE Chairman David Kostman. “With his character, energy and drive, he will lead NICE to new heights,” he added.
“I am honored to step into the CEO role at such an exciting time for NICE,” said Russell. “We have an incredible opportunity ahead of us as NICE continues to drive digital and AI transformation and provides a unique platform for growth in the years ahead. I am extremely impressed with the company’s culture, innovative product portfolio, strong global presence and leadership position. I look forward to working with the talented team at NICE to continue building on the legacy and success that NICE has achieved over the past decade and leading the company into its next phase of growth.”
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“It has been a pleasure and an honor to lead NICE over the past 10 years,” Elam added. “Together with NICE’s 8,500 dedicated employees, we have significantly scaled the company, establishing it as a leader in all of its markets. Over the past decade, our outstanding leadership team has driven accelerated growth, achieved remarkable profitability, and built a strong recurring revenue stream that has created tremendous value. With such a strong foundation, NICE is well positioned for a leadership transition, and I am confident that it will continue to thrive under Scott’s leadership. I will continue to lead NICE through the end of 2024 and support the transformation through the first part of 2025.”
This article was published in Globes, Israeli Business News – en.globes.co.il – on August 15, 2024.
© Copyright Globes Publisher Itonut (1983) Ltd., 2024.
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