Business software maker Zenefits has named Jay Fulcher, a two-time chief executive in tech, as its new CEO and chairman. The appointment was effective as of February 3, but wasn’t announced until February 6 on the company’s web site.
Fulcher has experience in the executive suite. He was previously chief executive of video streaming company Ooyala and of Agile Software, a business software company acquired by Oracle in 2007. Zenefits software aims to help smaller companies get employees set up with payroll, insurance, and other benefits.
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In an email sent to employees of the San Francisco-based company and shared with Coins2Day, Fulcher wrote:
The best days for Zenefits are ahead of us. Our mission is powerful and inspirational. Enabling small and medium sized businesses – the economic engine of the entire US economy – to grow and succeed is a noble purpose. It should propel us every day and drive us to do our best work. What we do matters.
Employees probably could use the pep talk: The company has seen its share of turmoil in its four-year history. Last December, then-chief executive David Sacks launched a search for his replacement.
In February 2016, Sacks, who had been chief operating officer, got the top job after company co-founder and then chief executive Parker Conrad was forced to resign amid allegations that he wrote a program allowing Zenefits software to bypass state insurance licensing requirements.
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In the spring of 2015, Zenefits was flying high, having raised $500 million from Andreessen Horowitz, TPG, and Fidelity Investments, putting its valuation at the time at an estimated $4.5 billion. A year later, it had lost half its value after news of Conrad’s actions surfaced.
Sacks will remain on the Zenefits board.