Vonage has appointed Rory Read as its chief executive officer and member of its board of directors. Read was previously with Dell Technologies.

Read replaces Alan Masarek, who is stepping down as CEO and board member. He will work closely with Read to assist in the transition.

Masarek joined Vonage as CEO in November 2014.

Vonage’s Rory Read

“This is truly an exciting time to be joining Vonage,” Read said. “The need for businesses to accelerate their digital transformation through communications is expanding at an unprecedented pace. Vonage’s communications services platform brings unique value through the integration of multiple communications channels – video, voice, messaging, chat and verification – into customers’ applications, products and workflows. I’m looking forward to working closely with the board, leadership team and the more than 2,400 talented team members at Vonage as we create value for our shareholders, customers and partners.”

Read brings to Vonage more than three decades of global technology industry experience. He most recently served as Dell’s chief operating executive. He also was CEO and president of Virtustream, a Dell business.

In addition, he served as executive vice president of Dell Boomi, a SaaS integration platform provider.

Read led the integration of Dell and EMC in fall 2016. The transaction created Dell Technologies, the world’s largest privately controlled technology company.

New CEO a ‘Highly Effective Leader’

Janet Schijns, CEO of JS Group, said Read is a “highly effective leader who understands the technology, but most importantly understands the human element of doing business in our industry.” She knew him during his tenures at Dell and AMD.

“He is a transformation genius, who drives the needed changes in a caring and thoughtful way while still achieving results,” she said. “His expertise in the cloud, coming from his most recent leadership role at Dell, positions Vonage to capture the demand created by the digital normal we find ourselves in. A channel cheer is likely in order for this channel-friendly CEO appointment.”

Masarek said Read is the “right leader to take us forward.”

“It has been my absolute privilege to lead Vonage over the past several years, and I am incredibly proud of everything our team has accomplished together,” he said. “Transformations of this magnitude are enormously challenging. We achieved our objective of reinventing the company and becoming a global leader in business communications while building a truly talent-driven culture. I am honored to have worked with so many talented colleagues.”

Last month, Vonage announced it has integrated its contact center and unified communications solutions for a single source of customer support.

The communications suite includes Vonage Contact Center (VCC) and Vonage Business Communications (VBC). It can help businesses optimize customer communication, improve internal collaboration, customize their experience and maximize productivity.