A Norwegian leader in conversational AI has appointed Briton Jerry Haywood as CEO as it targets growth on these shores.
Boost.ai, backed by Nordic Capital, says founder and current CEO Lars Ropeid Selsås wants to devote more time to product development and innovation.
Selsås was actively involved in the selection process alongside co-founder and chief commercial officer Henry Vaage Iversen as well as chief operating officer Camilla Gjetvik.
Haywood brings 20 years of enterprise technology experience with him and has held various sales and senior leadership positions at IBM, Cisco, and Salesforce. He joins Boost.ai from LivePerson, a global technology company that develops conversational commerce and AI software.
“During this time of accelerated digital customer experience transformation, Boost.ai has never been better positioned to become a global category leader in conversational AI,” said Selsås.
“This change in leadership is a natural step in the next growth phase for Boost.ai. Jerry is a strong and experienced visionary leader who can build on the solid foundation created over the last six years, and we are thrilled to have him join us.
“While it is his outstanding track record that made him a natural candidate for this key leadership role, it was his personality and people-oriented leadership style that impressed us most. He is approachable, humble, and full of energy.”
Haywood said: “I am really excited and honoured to join the Boost.ai team, at a time where the owners and leadership want to accelerate growth while positioning the company as a global category leader in the conversational AI space.
“Boost.ai is already very familiar to me. I have followed their amazing journey closely and I am convinced that the scale up has what it needs to go all the way. Boost.ai has the best technology available and an amazing team with some of the brightest minds in the industry.
“I want to thank the founders, the Board of Directors and Nordic Capital for their trust. I can’t wait to meet the team across the globe and get started.”
Haywood will balance his time between Stavanger, Norway, where Boost.ai is headquartered, and London, where he lives with his wife and three children.