SAN FRANCISCO--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Zenefits today announced it has appointed Jay Fulcher as chief executive officer and chairman of the board effective February 3, 2017. Fulcher was most recently the president and CEO at Ooyala and brings more than 20 years of senior management experience to Zenefits at an ideal time in its evolution.
Having served as CEO of both a public and private company, Fulcher brings the ideal combination of vision, operating discipline and leadership experience to Zenefits. Previously, Fulcher served as president and CEO of Ooyala, Inc., president and CEO of Agile Software Corp., executive vice president at Peoplesoft and vice president at SAP. His career includes executive roles the past 20 years managing all business functions of a global software business. Fulcher has also co-founded and helped launch and scale many early stage start-ups.
“With Jay coming on board, Zenefits looks to the future with a proven leader. I have the greatest confidence that Jay’s proven operations, sales, marketing and leadership experience are exactly what Zenefits needs to scale and grow,” said Lars Dalgaard, general partner at Andreessen Horowitz and member of Zenefits’ Board of Directors.
“The ultimate validation for all of our hard work over the past year is the company attracting an amazingly accomplished CEO to lead it to the next stage of growth and profitability. I feel very fortunate to be passing the reins to a seasoned leader and operator with deep experience in both HR and SaaS. Jay’s energy, experience and leadership line up perfectly with what the company needs now,” said David Sacks, the outgoing CEO of Zenefits, who announced his departure in November as part of a planned transition. Sacks will continue to serve on the company’s Board of Directors.
This announcement comes days after the company’s second major product release in four months, which introduced comprehensive HR compliance and documents applications, new mobile capabilities, expanded payroll availability, and ten new platform partners. Industry leaders including Box, Salesforce, Lyft, Principal and Expensify have all joined Zenefits’ All-in-One HR platform with more than 50 new partner applications in development.
“Zenefits is one of those rare companies with the potential to truly revolutionize an industry and I am excited to have the opportunity to lead the company going forward,” said Fulcher. “With the most comprehensive All-in-One HR offering in the market, Zenefits is spring-loaded for growth. The opportunity ahead of us is enormous. A big part of my job is to build on the company’s recent momentum and deliver the industry’s best customer experience.”
“Zenefits engaged in a rigorous search for a leader who can realize the company’s potential,” said Bill McGlashan, founder and managing partner of TPG Growth. “We’re thrilled to welcome Jay Fulcher, a CEO with the experience and vision to lead Zenefits into the future.”
About Zenefits
Zenefits is the first total app experience for small business HR. Designed as a connected ecosystem of apps, Zenefits gives small businesses the most comprehensive all-in-one HR solution and enables best-of-breed providers to join the Zenefits platform. For thousands of small business owners nationwide — from restaurants and fitness clubs, tech companies and clothing stores, dentists’ and doctors’ offices, architects and schools, Zenefits eliminates thousands of hours of paperwork. Combining HR expertise and broker services with a suite of deeply integrated technologies, Zenefits helps entrepreneurs do what they do best: grow their business. For more information, visit www.zenefits.com.
