Five9 has appointed Amit Mathradas to succeed Mike Burkland as its CEO, effective February 2, 2026, signaling a strategic shift toward AI-driven customer experience innovation.
Burkland, who has faced ongoing health challenges, said stepping down as CEO will allow him to focus on his well-being while continuing to support the company in his position on the board as Executive Chairman.
Under Burkland’s leadership, Five9 has grown from a $10MN startup to a CCaaS leader with more than $1BN in annual revenue, competing with the likes of AWS, Genesys, and NiCE.
Mathradas brings a strong track record in AI product development and scaling global operations, which will be key as the company navigates the shift towards enterprise platforms with built-in intelligence to boost efficiency and transform customer engagement.
Most recently, Mathradas was CEO of Nintex, building out its AI‑driven business orchestration platform for over 7,000 organizations across 90 countries. Before that, he served as President and COO at Avalara, helping the tax compliance automation firm grow by more than 250% before its $8.4BN sale to Vista Equity Partners.
In announcing the move, Burkland highlighted the importance of Mathradas’ AI experience in leading the company:
“His deep expertise in product innovation, AI, and operational excellence at scale makes him ideally suited to lead the Company into its next chapter. As we advance our AI-driven CX strategy, we believe Amit will help lead Five9 to even greater success by furthering our efforts to accelerate growth and deliver meaningful value for our customers, partners, employees, and shareholders.”
“He will lead our efforts to capture greater share in an expanding market, where Five9 is uniquely positioned to win as enterprises increasingly seek unified CX platforms with natively embedded AI,” Burkland added.
During Five9’s second quarter earnings call, Burkland had said that in its search for his successor, the company was prioritizing a track record of AI-led innovation, experience running large-scale operations, and a growth mindset focused on pushing the business well beyond $2BN in revenue over time.
“It’s going to be much more AI and innovation focused as opposed to comms,” Burkland said at the time.
Five9 Aligns Leadership and Strategy After Operational Reset
The timing of this leadership change is notable. Five9 has undergone a period of restructuring over the past year, which included the departure of several executives as well as multiple rounds of workforce reductions designed to improve efficiency and align with strategic priorities. Prior to 2024, the company had never initiated layoffs.
The company has also seen a shift in investor oversight, with activist shareholders such as Anson Funds and Legion Partners pushing management to explore strategic alternatives, including a potential sale.
There has been growing speculation about the Five9’s long‑term strategy. The scale of the executive restructuring and job cuts suggest that the company may indeed be looking to streamline operations to prepare for a sale.
As he takes the helm as Five9’s new CEO, Mathradas will be tasked with balancing operational efficiency, growth ambitions, and investor expectations.
“I am excited to lead such a dynamic company that I have long admired as being at the cutting edge of the industry.”
“Five9 has tremendous opportunities ahead, and I look forward to working with the Board, the rest of the management team, and our employees to execute our strategy to drive growth, increase profitability, and deliver long-term shareholder value,” Mathradas said.
The company said it plans an investor day in 2026 to detail its long-term strategy and financial roadmap.
Mathradas’ appointment as Five9 CEO signals a clear emphasis on reinforcing the company’s AI capabilities as a growth driver, a priority that could help enhance customer experience outcomes for enterprise customers and shape the company’s appeal to partners or potential acquirers.
