Zoom, BlueJeans and Cisco veterans join as part of ongoing 8×8 sales transformation and expansion across EMEA
8×8, Inc. has announced the appointment of Daniel Arnold as the new Senior Director of Enterprise for EMEA, and Christian Laloy as its new Country Manager for France.
With these appointments, 8×8 continues to push forward in positioning the 8×8 Platform for CX as the superior solution for companies and organisations seeking to improve their customer experience through enhanced and improved engagement.
Daniel Arnold, will answer into 8×8’s recently-appointed Vice President of Sales, Joe McStravick, and will continue to grow 8×8’s presence in the enterprise space. Arnold joins from Zoom, where he held multiple posts, including Head of Enterprise for UK and Ireland. Prior to Zoom he worked at BlueJeans.
“Enterprise is a key area for 8×8 and the timing couldn’t be better for joining as, especially in the UK where you have the PSTN switch-off as an ongoing opportunity, many companies are still to make the move over to cloud-enabled solutions and experiences for improved customer engagement,” said Daniel Arnold, Senior Director of Enterprise at 8×8, Inc.
Arnold continued: “What excites me about being here is not only the product but the great team that is across not only direct sales but also the channel, showing a true understanding that to succeed in today’s marketplace takes being connected to both.”
Reporting to EMEA Managing Director, Jamie Snaddon, Christian Laloy will build on 8×8’s increasing presence in France to deliver cloud-based contact center, unified communications, and CPaaS API solutions with the help of the partner ecosystem.
Research firm Cavell forecasts that the number of cloud contact center agents will continue to grow reaching 146,000 by 2028 with the total French Cloud Contact Center Market growing at 14.3% Compound Annual Growth Rate (CAGR).
“Europe is waking up to the potential offered by strong customer experience across engagement channels and France can play a key role in realizing that potential,” said Christian Laloy, Country Manager, France at 8×8, Inc.
Laloy continued: “What is great to see is that 8×8 understands that while technology – including artificial intelligence (AI), automation, and cloud-based solutions – is driving this revolution, it’s ultimately about helping people. This goes beyond just the customers but also includes the employees, which is why solutions that augment their roles, rather than replacing them, is so important.”
Laloy joins from Cisco, where he was responsible for the EMEA region including France, Spain, Italy, Portugal, Greece and Israel, as a CCaaS, CPaaS, AI, and customer experience Sales Specialist. He has also held positions at Microsoft and partner-facing roles at eGain, Flexera and Workiva.
“Our research shows that the leading market segment in France by 2028 will be the 25-250 employee range due to the tools being made available for smaller and more compact contact centers,” said Patrick Watson, Head of Research at Cavell. “This will continue to be a large potential growth area for the French market in the future. Vendors, such as 8×8, offering an integrated contact center and unified communication platform, as well as CPaaS APIs, that enables cross-organisation customer engagement are well positioned to take advantage of the French market.”
The appointments come just weeks after Chris Angus, EMEA Vice President, was tasked with overseeing sales of CPaaS APIs across EMEA and the US.
“I’m delighted to welcome both Dan and Christian to 8×8,” said Jamie Snaddon, EMEA Managing Director at 8×8, Inc. “When you see the calibre of people in our key positions, customers are being left in no doubt that we are looking to deliver a solution and product that fits companies of all sizes as we look to grow and scale with them. There’s an exciting future ahead.”