Two of the most prestigious categories of the UC Awards are UC Leader of the Year and Collaboration Leader of the Year.
With the deadline for 2022 entries fast approaching (this Friday!) we’ve looked back at the previous winners of the two categories. The eventual winners this year will undoubtedly be in esteemed company.
UC Leader of the Year 2021 – Oded Gal, Chief Product Officer, Zoom
Gal’s crowning last year was yet another symbol of Zoom’s evolution into a true UCaaS provider, growing beyond its video roots with products such as Zoom Phone and stronger chat capabilities.
Gal joined Zoom in 2016 having previously worked in the industry with Webex, BlueJeans and Radvision (which Avaya acquired in 2012).
Look back on Gal’s crowning here:
UC Today also interviewed the exec soon after his win, discussing the trends he expected to dominate the UC world this year and beyond. Here’s what he said:
Collaboration Leader of the Year 2021 – Javed Khan, SVP and GM Cisco Collaboration
Khan won the collaboration gong in 2021 during a year when Cisco revamped its Webex platform through internal innovations and acquisitions.
The exec has been at Cisco since 2015, having previous spend 14 years at cybersecurity giant Symantec.
Despite winning an individual award, Khan credited the team at Webex for his achievement. Watch his reaction to the achievement here:
UC Leader of the Year 2020 – Vlad Shmunis, CEO, RingCentral
Vlad Shmunis, who UC Today has dubbed the godfather of UCaaS by UC Today, won the inaugural UC Leader of the Year Award in 2020.
The RingCentral CEO was given the accolade during a year when the unified communications industry stepped up to keep businesses and families connected.
