Seasoned Industry Veteran Keno Helmi Brings Expertise and Proven Track Record to Build and Lead the Espressive Sales Organization
SANTA CLARA, Calif., June 24, 2020 – Espressive, a pioneer in artificial intelligence (AI) for enterprise service management (ESM), today announced the addition of Keno Helmi to its executive team as Chief Revenue Officer. Following Espressive’s recent Series B funding announcement and as the company drives toward an upcoming year of expansion, the addition of Helmi reflects the focus on fueling company growth and product innovation while addressing growing customer demand for Espressive Barista. Barista is the company’s award-winning virtual support agent (VSA) that automates help desks by connecting employees to the information they need. Espressive also expanded its sales team with the addition of Steve Lebron, Head of Sales Operations.
“It’s an exciting time at Espressive as we accelerate our growth. It takes an exceptional team to create a transformational product that redefines how employees get help at work, and we’ve been very deliberate in bringing on high-caliber individuals,” said Pat Calhoun, CEO and founder of Espressive. “Keno is a key leadership hire who brings a successful and proven track record in building and leading global sales operations teams. The combination of Keno’s and Steve’s skills, networks, and experience in intelligent automation will complement those of our existing team and will be integral in achieving our ambitious go-to-market growth objectives.”
Keno Helmi is an industry veteran with over 25 years of experience in the enterprise software space. He has led sales organizations at both publicly traded and startup companies spanning the likes of Parametric Technology Corporation, Amdocs, Opsware, Hewlett Packard Software, Digby, Duetto, Platform9, and Pegasus. Prior to his career in enterprise technology, Keno was an economics professor with a concentration in pricing optimization.
“Espressive is uniquely positioned to disrupt the promising market for enterprise service management with its AI-based approach. I believe I can contribute to the strong execution potential of the Espressive management team,” said Keno Helmi. “As a former professor, education is something germane to my nature and it will be my priority to build a sales culture that our employees can be proud of, emphasizing continuing education and development. I’m excited to deliver enterprise value to Espressive customers by enabling them to foster a compelling help desk user experience at the lowest operational cost.”
Steve Lebron has over 10 years of experience leading sales operations for both small and mid-size high growth B2B software companies. His data-driven approach and ability to build scalable, repeatable sales processes at companies like MSC Software, Apttus, CallidusCloud, Alooma, and Platform9 have helped facilitate several successful exits, including acquisitions by Google Cloud and SAP Cloud. Prior to his career in enterprise technology, Steve was an aerospace engineer for the military and various defense organizations.
About Espressive
Espressive, the pioneer in automating digital workplace assistance, and a 2022 Forrester New Wave Leader, redefines how employees get help by delivering exceptional employee experiences. Barista, the company’s virtual support agent (VSA), brings the ease of consumer virtual assistants, such as Amazon Alexa and Google Home, into the workplace. Barista automates resolution of employee questions, issues, and requests with personalized experiences that result in employee adoption of 80 to 85% and reduced help desk call volume of 50% to 70%. Espressive is backed by Insight Partners, General Catalyst, and Wing Venture Capital, and is headquartered in Santa Clara, California. Visit www.espressive.com for more information.
Media Contact
Pam Njissang
Bhava Communications for Espressive
espressive@bhavacom.com
