Nuance Identifies Board of Directors for Cerence Inc., its Automotive Spin-Off; Arun Sarin, Former CEO of Vodafone, to be App...
August 07 2019 - 8:00AM
Nuance Communications, Inc. (NASDAQ: NUAN), a leading provider of
conversational AI, today identified the Board of Directors for its
upcoming Automotive spin-off, Cerence Inc. Among the
directors, the Company announced that Arun Sarin, former CEO of
Vodafone, will be appointed Cerence Chairman of the Board when the
spin-off is completed on October 1, 2019.
In addition to Mr. Sarin, the board members will include Thomas
Beaudoin, EVP, Business Transformation, at Nuance; Marianne Budnik,
CMO, CyberArk Software; Sanjay Dhawan, future Cerence president and
CEO, and a division president and CTO at Harman; Sanjay Jha,
general partner at Eclipse Ventures and former CEO of Motorola
Mobility, Inc.; Kristi Ann Matus, executive advisor at Thomas H.
Lee Partners and former CFO at athenahealth; and Alfred Nietzel,
executive consultant and former CFO at CDK Global.
“For Cerence’s future Board of Directors, we have assembled a
group of highly talented leaders who bring a variety of meaningful,
deep talent and expertise,” said Mark Benjamin, CEO of Nuance. “As
Nuance prepares to spin the automotive business into Cerence, the
extensive knowledge, unique insights, and proven success of this
board will serve Cerence and its shareholders well and will be
integral to the company’s bright future.”
Industry Veteran and Former Vodafone CEO Arun Sarin to
be Named Cerence Chairman of the Board
When the spin-off is completed, Arun Sarin will be named
Charmain of the Board for Cerence Inc. Mr. Sarin is an accomplished
and well-respected technology industry veteran. He began his career
at Pacific Telesis Group, progressing through various management
positions there and then at AirTouch Communications Inc., which
Pacific Telesis spun off in 1994. Mr. Sarin was later named
president and chief operating officer of AirTouch. After AirTouch
merged with Vodafone, he was appointed chief executive officer of
Vodafone’s U.S./Asia-Pacific region. He left Vodafone to become
chief executive officer of InfoSpace, Inc., and later served as
chief executive officer of Accel-KKR Telecom. In 2003, Mr. Sarin
rejoined Vodafone as chief executive officer where he grew the
business from 100 million to 300 million subscribers and
significantly expanded the company’s services. After his retirement
from Vodafone in 2008, he served as a senior advisor to Kohlberg
Kravis Roberts & Co. (KKR) for five years.
Mr. Sarin currently serves as a director at Cisco Systems, The
Charles Schwab Corporation and Accenture. He previously served as a
director of Safeway, Inc. and Blackhawk Network Holdings, Inc. Mr.
Sarin holds M.B.A. and Master of Science in Engineering degrees
from University of California-Berkeley and a B.S. from the Indian
Institute of Technology in Kharagpur, India.
“There is a significant opportunity ahead for Cerence as the
company transforms the mobility experience in partnership with the
world’s leading automakers. I am thrilled to be joining at such a
pivotal moment,” said Arun Sarin. “I have had the opportunity to
spend time with the Cerence leadership team and its future board,
and I look forward to together creating value for all of our
stakeholders.”
Six Additional Industry Leaders Identified for the
Cerence Board
In addition to Mr. Sarin, Nuance has identified six industry
leaders for the Cerence Board of Directors:
- Thomas Beaudoin currently serves as the head
of Nuance’s Business Transformation Office, where he is responsible
for leading efforts to align and fully leverage technologies within
Nuance’s vertical markets and drive growth while improving margins
and cost structure. Previously, Mr. Beaudoin held several executive
leadership roles, including CFO of SimpliVity Corp.; executive vice
president and CFO of Nuance; president and CFO of Polaroid
Corporation; senior vice president and CFO of Parametric Technology
Corporation; and other senior finance positions during his 24-year
career at Digital Equipment Corporation, then Compaq Computer
Corporation.
- Marianne Budnik is the chief marketing officer
at CyberArk Software Ltd. Prior to joining CyberArk, Ms. Budnik
served as chief marketing officer for SimpliVity Corp., chief
marketing officer for Acme Packet, Inc. and chief marketing officer
for CA Technologies. Ms. Budnik serves as a director at Schibsted
Media Group. She is a tenured technology marketing executive,
experienced in leading both transformational marketing initiatives
for mature and growth companies, and driving market disruption with
some of the fastest growing B2B start-ups in technology and
telecommunications.
- Sanjay Dhawan will become Cerence’s chief
executive officer upon the spin-off from Nuance. Mr. Dhawan has
previously served as president of the Connected Services Division
and chief technology officer of Harman Industries International
since 2015. Prior to joining Harman, he served as president and
chief executive officer of Symphony Teleca Corporation. With more
than 30 years of technology leadership and extensive experience in
the automotive industry, Mr. Dhawan brings a deep understanding of
AI and machine learning applications, with a focus on developing
solutions at the intersection of devices, sensors, cloud solutions
and data integration.
- Sanjay Jha has served as a general partner at
Eclipse Ventures since 2019. Mr. Jha was chief executive officer of
GlobalFoundries Inc., the world’s second-largest semiconductor
foundry business, and chief executive officer for Motorola
Mobility, Inc. Before joining Motorola, Mr. Jha served as
Qualcomm’s chief operating officer and president of its CDMA
Technologies. He is a member of the board of trustees of UC San
Diego and the Salk Institute and serves on the board of several
private start-ups. Mr. Jha has an extensive background in the
semiconductor and mobility industries and significant managerial,
international and technological experience.
- Kristi Ann Matus has been an executive advisor
to Thomas H. Lee Partners since 2017. Previously, Ms. Matus served
as the executive vice president, chief financial and administrative
officer at athenahealth, Inc. and as executive vice president and
head of Governmental Services at Aetna, Inc. She also held several
senior leadership roles at USAA, including executive vice president
and chief financial officer, and began her career at Thrivent in
various financial and operational roles for over a decade. Ms.
Matus serves as a director at AXA Equitable Holdings, Inc. and
AllianceBernstein Holding L.P. Ms. Matus has extensive management
and financial expertise as well as corporate governance and key
leadership skills developed through her decades of experience.
- Alfred Nietzel has been an independent
consultant since 2017. From 2014 to 2017, Mr. Nietzel served as the
chief financial officer and executive vice president at CDK Global,
Inc. Prior to CDK, Mr. Nietzel was with Automatic Data Processing,
Inc. (ADP) and served as chief financial officer for the Dealer
Services Division, chief financial officer for the Employer
Services Division and ADP’s corporate controller. Prior to joining
ADP, Mr. Nietzel served for 17 years with Proctor & Gamble Inc.
in numerous financial management roles in the United States, United
Kingdom, and Australia. Mr. Nietzel led and orchestrated the
financial and administrative execution of the spin-off of CDK
Global from ADP in 2014 and has extensive management, financial and
corporate experience.
Cerence Inc. delivers immersive experiences that make people
feel happier, safer, more informed, and more entertained in their
cars. Bringing together voice, touch, gesture, emotion, and gaze
innovations, it creates deeper connections between drivers, their
cars and the digital world around them. It currently powers A.I. in
more than 280 million cars on the road globally across more than 40
languages and for nearly every major automaker in the world,
including Audi, BMW, Daimler, Ford, Geely, GM, SAIC, Toyota, and
many more. For more information, visit www.cerence.com.
About Nuance Communications,
Inc.
Nuance Communications, Inc. (NASDAQ: NUAN) is the pioneer and
leader in conversational AI innovations that bring intelligence to
everyday work and life. The company delivers solutions that
understand, analyze and respond to human language to increase
productivity and amplify human intelligence. With decades of domain
and artificial intelligence expertise, Nuance works with thousands
of organizations – in global industries that include healthcare,
telecommunications, automotive, financial services, and retail – to
create stronger relationships and better experiences for their
customers and workforce. For more information, please visit
www.nuance.com.
Trademark reference: Nuance and the Nuance logo are registered
trademarks or trademarks of Nuance Communications, Inc. or its
affiliates in the United States and/or other countries. All other
trademarks referenced herein are the property of their respective
owners.
Contact Information
For Press:Kate HickmanNuance Communications, Inc.Tel:
781-565-4627Email: kathryn.hickman@nuance.com
For Investors:
Tracy Krumme Nuance Communications, Inc. Tel: 781-565-4334
Email: tracy.krumme@nuance.com
Nuance Communications (NASDAQ:NUAN)
Historical Stock Chart
From Mar 2024 to Apr 2024
Nuance Communications (NASDAQ:NUAN)
Historical Stock Chart
From Apr 2023 to Apr 2024