The turnover tradition in the executive offices at Rackspace continued Wednesday with the announcement that David Meredith is departing from the San Antonio-based managed hosting provider to take the reins of a global software company that provides support during public safety threats.
Everbridge, a company that provides event management and enterprise safety software applications designed to keep people safe and businesses running during emergencies, announced Meredith’s appointment Wednesday as CEO and a member of the Everbridge board of directors starting July 15. Meredith joined Rackspace as chief operating officer in 2017.
He succeeds long-time CEO Jaime Ellertson, who is transitioning to the role of executive chairman of the Everbridge board.
“Last June, we announced our intent to identify and retain an executive who could lead our business through the next stage of growth to $1 billion in annual revenue, and I am confident that David’s experience and proven leadership skills make him the perfect choice for this role,” Ellertson stated.
Based in Boston and Los Angeles, Everbridge is a software company with 4,500 global customers that rely on its applications to aggregate and assess threat data, locate people at risk and responders able to assist, and automate communication during active-shooter situations, terrorist and cyberattacks, severe weather, and other emergencies.
As chief operating officer at Rackspace since 2017, Meredith oversaw the company’s global operations, technology, and service delivery functions. He reported directly to the CEO and led the company’s transformation from managed hosting to a multi-cloud ITaaS provider.
A Rackspace spokeswoman declined to comment on who will replace Meredith but released a statement calling the move a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity for him.
“David was instrumental in helping to shape Rackspace into who we are today and cementing our position as the preeminent modern-IT-as-a-Service provider,” she stated. “We appreciate David Meredith’s contributions to the company and wish him all the best.”
In April, Rackspace announced the hiring of a new CEO, Kevin Jones, who succeeded Joe Eazor. At Rackspace less than two years, Eazor replaced Taylor Rhodes, who resigned in May 2017 after 10 years with the company.
Eazor led Rackspace through a period of transition after the company was purchased by the New York-based private equity firm Apollo Global Management.
