Avaya has confirmed that Kieran McGrath, the Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer, is set to retire.
The company has announced that Becky Roof, the Managing Director at AlixPartners LLP, has been appointed as interim CFO, with the changes effective from November 9.
It is reported that McGrath will continue with Avaya in an advisory capacity until the start of December as the company aims to ensure a smooth transition.
Alan Masarek, President and Chief Executive Officer of Avaya, commented: "I thank Kieran for his contributions to Avaya, including delaying his retirement to support my transition to the company and wish him all the best in his retirement.
"As we continue positioning the business for the long term, I look forward to benefitting from Becky’s expertise.
"We remain focused on continuing to provide our global customers with outstanding communications solutions and support and investing in our long-range product roadmaps."
In addition to McGrath's retirement, Avaya has announced that Shefali Shah, Executive Vice President and Chief Administrative Officer, will be taking on responsibilities relating to strategic initiatives being implemented by Masarek.
Avaya's Economic Troubles
McGrath's retirement comes at a time of great economic uncertainty for Avaya, as the company's share price has been on the slide for some time amid disappointing quarterly results.
This culminated in the sacking of CEO and long-time servant Jim Chirico at the end of July, paving the way for the appointment of Masarek.
Chirico was praised for guiding Avaya out of its last turbulent period when it entered and exited Chapter 11 before listing on the New York Stock Exchange in 2018.
Avaya reported its first year of revenue growth in over a decade in November 2021 as it transformed into a cloud-first company.
At first, it appeared that this transformation was going well; however, in May 2022, the company saw its growth stall for the second consecutive quarter.
Chirico put the halt in progress down to a delay in several big deals, which included a $400m CCaaS deal with a financial Institution that Avaya revealed in February 2022.
The vendor did not disclose its complete Q3 figures due to the sacking of Chirico; however, it did publish some daunting numbers at the time of the ousting.
