Twilio, the customer engagement platform that drives real-time, personalized experiences for today’s leading brands, today announced that Khozema Shipchandler, formerly President of Twilio Communications, has been appointed Chief Executive Officer and will join the company’s Board of Directors, effective immediately. Shipchandler succeeds Jeff Lawson, Twilio’s co-founder, who is stepping down as CEO and as a member of the Twilio Board. In addition, Jeff Epstein, a member of the Twilio Board and Lead Independent Director since 2017, has been appointed as Chair of the Twilio Board.

Shipchandler has over 25 years of experience growing businesses and driving financial performance across global, public organizations. Prior to Twilio, Khozema spent over two decades at GE where he drove operating excellence in GE’s high tech aviation division, plus accelerated growth in the Middle East region. He has a deep understanding of Twilio’s business, operations and culture, having most recently served as President of Twilio Communications, and previously as Twilio’s Chief Operating Officer and Chief Financial Officer.

“Khozema is a proven leader and the right person to lead Twilio in its next chapter,” said Jeff Epstein, incoming Board Chair. “This appointment ensures that Twilio is best positioned to deliver increased value to all stakeholders going forward. Khozema successfully led Twilio Communications over the past year, pivoting the business to profitable growth, in addition to having served in key operational and financial leadership roles over the past five years.”

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Shipchandler said, “I am honored to step into the CEO role and to partner with our talented team to lead Twilio in its next era. Over the last year and a half, we have implemented meaningful changes across the organization to position ourselves for renewed growth and to drive operational improvements, optimize our capital allocation strategy, and enhance focus and execution. We have a strong foundation, but we always have more work to do. As I step into the CEO role, I am focused on continuing to build on the considerable growth and operating improvements we’ve made across the board, plus taking a fresh look at the areas of the business that are underperforming to realize the full potential of our business.”

“Building Twilio over the past 15 years has been one of the most rewarding experiences of my life,” said Jeff Lawson. “We launched Twilio in 2008 with a to-do list written on the back of a pizza box and 15 years later, Twilio’s platform handles over 1.7 trillion interactions a year on behalf of more than 306,000 customers across the globe. I’m proud to have led the company from zero to over $4 billion in annualized revenue, and now generating a 19% free cash flow margin as of our last earnings. I leave Twilio in the hands of a capable and talented management team who have my full support and respect. Khozema is a great leader, and I am confident he will lead the company well. Thank you to every Twilio customer, employee and developer I’ve had the privilege of building with – I can’t wait to see what you build next.”

Shipchandler continued, “It is a privilege to follow in the footsteps of Jeff – a tech visionary and pioneer from whom I have learned so much from over the past five years. Over the last 15 years, Jeff led Twilio through its incredible evolution from a disruptive startup to an admired public company. He brought his passion as a founder to countless product innovations and shaped our culture. Jeff also pushed the tech industry forward in many ways – democratizing business communications and making a hero of developers. His mark on Twilio is indelible and I have profound respect for him as a leader and friend.”

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