Five9, Inc. (NASDAQ: FIVN) appointed Niranjan Vijayaragavan as Chief Technology Officer, Rob Hornish as Chief Sales Officer, and Sven Linsmaier as Executive Vice President, Transformation and Strategy, effective June 29, 2026. These leadership additions are designed to scale the company's AI-driven customer experience (CX) strategy and sharpen execution across the business. The appointments come as the company seeks to strengthen alignment and deliver value to customers, partners, employees, and shareholders.

Amit Mathradas, CEO of Five9, stated that the new executives bring proven leadership and operational discipline critical for the company's next chapter. He highlighted Niranjan Vijayaragavan's expertise in product, technology, and AI, Rob Hornish's track record in sales, and Sven Linsmaier's ability to drive strategic transformation as key drivers for building momentum and deepening customer impact.

New Leadership Roles

Niranjan Vijayaragavan joins Five9 with over two decades of experience building products and technology organizations at global scale. Most recently, he served as Chief Product and Technology Officer at Nintex, where he led the company's transformation toward AI-driven enterprise automation. At Five9, he will lead Product Engineering, Product Management, AI Automation, and Architecture under a single leadership structure. His previous roles include senior leadership positions at Avalara, Expedia, Microsoft, and Boston Consulting Group.

Rob Hornish brings more than 30 years of experience building high-performing sales teams and driving go-to-market transformation. He previously served as Chief Sales Officer at Redaptive, leading go-to-market transformation in the energy-as-a-service market. Hornish also played a key role in McAfee Enterprise's Americas business, contributing to its IPO and eventual sale for $4 billion, and held senior roles at Polycom and Cisco Systems.

Sven Linsmaier joins as Executive Vice President, Transformation and Strategy. He will lead enterprise strategy, oversee Corporate Development, and drive the company's highest-priority initiatives. Linsmaier most recently served as VP of Business Finance and Operations at Workday, partnering with the C-suite on strategic initiatives. Prior to that, he was Chief Operating Officer at Convex and spent nine years at Boston Consulting Group driving large-scale transformation.

Executive Transition Details

To ensure business continuity, Five9 announced that Panos Kozanian, Executive Vice President of Product Engineering, Jonathan Rosenberg, Chief Technology Officer, and Matthew Tuckness, Chief Revenue Officer will remain with the company in advisory capacities to support the transitions.

Five9, Inc. has been recognized as one of the 2026 Fortune Best Workplaces in the Bay Area, ranking No. 23 in the Large Company category. This marks the third consecutive year the Intelligent CX Platform provider has appeared on the list. The distinction underscores the company's focus on fostering a people-first culture to support AI-driven customer experience transformations.

The selection process for the Fortune Best Workplaces in the Bay Area list involved analyzing more than 70,000 confidential survey responses from employees at eligible companies. Great Place To Work ranked organizations based on their ability to create consistently positive experiences and build trust with leadership and colleagues. To qualify, companies must be Great Place To Work Certified, employ at least 10 U.S. workers, and maintain headquarters in the San Francisco Bay Area.

"At Five9, our people are at the center of everything we do," said Tiffany Meriweather, Chief Administrative and Legal Officer at Five9. "Being recognized as one of the Fortune Best Workplaces in the Bay Area reflects the passion and dedication of our global team."

In addition to this honor, Five9 was recently named by Computerworld as one of the Best Places to Work in IT for the third consecutive year. The company was also recognized by Newsweek as one of America's Greatest Workplaces for Culture, Belonging, and Community. Five9 is trusted by more than 3,000 organizations worldwide to power customer experiences through its Intelligent CX Platform.