Mitel Announces CFO Retirement and New Executive Appointments

OTTAWA, Ontario--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Mitel, a global leader in business communications, today announced the retirement of Chief Financial Officer Steve Spooner, whose 16 years of leadership at Mitel mark one of the longest and most stellar financial careers in the global technology industry. Vanessa Kanu, Senior Vice President of Finance, will take over as Spooner’s successor, continuing her 15-year career with Mitel.

As CFO, Spooner’s contributions to Mitel have left an indelible mark on the organization’s success. In partnership with President and Chief Executive Officer Rich McBee, Spooner helped put a foundation in place that enabled Mitel to triple in size and emerge as a $1.3 billion global business, market share leader and cloud communications powerhouse. In recognition of his work, Spooner was recently named CFO of the Year by the Ottawa Board of Trade and the Ottawa Business Journal. His retirement provides opportunities to enjoy time with his growing family and pursue service as a board member, advisor to private equity and management consultant.

Newly-appointed CFO Vanessa Kanu’s career at Mitel reflects a quick succession of diverse and increasingly senior roles. She is recognized as a proven finance partner to Mitel business divisions and leaders around the world, as well as a trusted advisor to Spooner and McBee. Her acumen and strategic mindset have also been instrumental in driving profitability and steering the company’s direction through an IPO, multiple strategic acquisitions and most recently, in transitioning Mitel to a private company. Kanu is a recipient of the 2017 Ottawa Business Journal’s Forty Under 40 award.

The company is also drawing from its well-established leadership bench to promote Bob Agnes, previously Executive Vice President and President of Products and Solutions, to Executive Vice President and General Manager of its Unified Communications Division. In his new role, Agnes will lead strategic direction, business operations and performance of Mitel’s on-site, private and hybrid cloud communications and collaboration businesses. As customer needs continue to drive distinct sales motions for the unified communications and unified communications-as-a-service markets, Agnes’ industry expertise and proven leadership will enable Mitel to sharpen focus on the large, global opportunity for enterprise-caliber unified communications and further extend its market leadership.

Quotes

“It is an understatement to say that Steve’s contributions to Mitel have been enormous. We would not be the company we are today without his leadership and strategic understanding of our industry,” said Mitel President and CEO Rich McBee. “Congratulations are also in order for Vanessa and Bob on their expanded roles. They have both been critical to our transformation. Their ongoing dedication, commitment and contributions to Mitel make me extremely proud of our team and even more confident in Mitel’s future.”

Additional Fact

• Mitel is trusted by more than 70 million users each day to provide an exceptional communications and collaboration experience.
• Synergy Research Group ranks Mitel #1 in total cloud seats for the seventh consecutive year.
• Mitel is the only brand recognized across the Gartner Magic Quadrants for Contact Center, Unified Communications and Unified Communications as a Service.

About Mitel

A global market leader in business communications powering more than two billion business connections, Mitel helps businesses and service providers connect, collaborate and provide innovative services to their customers. Our innovation and communications experts serve more than 70 million business users in more than 100 countries. For more information, go to www.mitel.com and follow us on Twitter @Mitel.

Mitel is the registered trademark of Mitel Networks Corporation.

All other trademarks are the property of their respective owners.