October 17, 2013
Medallia Signs Multiple Blue-Chip Accounts and Appoints Chief Customer Officer
Additional venture funding from Sequoia Capital powers Medallia core team build-out, expansion into new regions, and continued growth of Customer Experience Management product line
PALO ALTO, California, October 16, 2013 — Medallia® (medallia.com), the global leader in SaaS Customer Experience Management (CEM) solutions, continues to build momentum with its recent signing of over fifteen blue-chip customers and its appointment of Chief Customer Officer Ken Fine. Some of the industry-leading companies that have recently adopted Medallia’s solutions include: 7-Eleven; Aaron’s Inc.; AXA Insurance; Highmark Health Services; Marriott International; Mercedes-Benz USA; Royal Caribbean International; Windstream Communications; and Zurich Insurance; among many others.
“We are proud that these companies have chosen Medallia to help them manage and improve their customer experience,” said Medallia CEO Borge Hald.
To support its mission to deliver not only the best customer experience software but also the best customer service, Medallia has also hired Ken Fine to serve in the new position of Chief Customer Officer. In the newly created role, Fine will lead Medallia’s entire product and services organization – including product design, program definition, scoping and implementation, customer support, expansions and renewals – to ensure a consistent customer experience as Medallia continues to grow. Medallia currently boasts an outstanding 98 percent renewal rate and a Net Promoter Score® (NPS) that consistently averages as one of the highest in the software industry.
“Customer experience is as important to us as it is to the companies that use our solutions. As our customer base grows, we must expand our leadership team to match. That is why I am excited that Ken is joining as the company’s first Chief Customer Officer,” said Hald.
Ken Fine brings nearly two decades of experience in growing revenue and market leadership for Business-to-Business (B2B) and Software as a Service (SaaS) companies. Before joining Medallia, Fine was an early member of Financial Engines, where he spent 15 years in product, marketing and general management roles, fostering customer growth and success. At Financial Engines, Fine led a customer experience redesign that was one key to the company’s market success. He also led the company’s transformation into a SaaS leader and successfully positioned the company for its 2010 initial public offering that resulted in a billion-dollar-plus market cap.
“I am thrilled to join the stellar team at Medallia at this stage of the company’s development, when it stands in the middle of explosive growth. Companies recognize the need for improved technology solutions to better manage the customer experience, and Medallia is perfectly poised to address this demand,” Fine said. ”I’m enthusiastic about the opportunity to work with our clients to create and grow their outstanding programs, leveraging the best practices that Medallia has curated from over 10 years of working with companies to improve customer experiences.”
Medallia’s customers have garnered multiple honors this year for their customer experience management programs, including the Gartner & 1to1 Media 2013 CRM Excellence Award that went to Intuit and Best Western; 1to1 Media’s 2013 Customer Champion honor that went to Four Seasons; and the Forrester Research Outside In Award that went to LEGO. Medallia itself was named a finalist of the Temkin Group’s 2013 Customer Experience Vendor Excellence Awards, which recognizes firms that help other companies improve their customer experience.
With another $20 million in venture funding this year from Sequoia Capital, one of Silicon Valley’s legendary names in venture capital, Medallia will continue to expand its product line and SaaS facilities in Europe and Asia, as well as grow the core team at the company’s headquarters in Palo Alto and in Buenos Aires, Argentina. The recent infusion brings Medallia’s total amount of institutional funding to $55 million.
Upcoming Events
The Medallia Institute, which helps companies improve performance by developing skills and knowledge in Customer Experience (CX) best practices, will hold a Customer Experience Certification Course in Chicago, Illinois from November 5-7.