An interview with Steve Tzikakis, CEO of Sitecore
Sitecore is a global leader in digital experience software. By bringing content, commerce, and data into one connected platform it empowers organisations to build lifelong relationships with their customers. Brands across the globe, including American Express, ASOS, Kimberly-Clark, L’Oréal, and Volvo Cars, rely on Sitecore to provide more engaging, personalised experiences for their customers.
The European recently caught up with CEO Steve Tzikakis to learn more about his vision, ambitious growth plans, and why the financial services should turn to Sitecore.
You took over as CEO of Sitecore one year ago. How does it feel a year into the job?
Exhilarating and inspiring, with an unwavering belief in the power of technology to transform customer experience. I’m particularly proud of everything Sitecore’s employees accomplished over the past year despite the pandemic’s many challenges. We truly have an incredible group of people who believe in what we are going to achieve, and that’s where it all starts. In all, we have reorganised the company around customer needs, rolled out a growth plan and record-breaking investment, onboarded three key acquisitions in three months, expanded strategic partner relationships, and delivered new product innovations amid a strategic pivot – all while finishing our fiscal year with significant revenue growth. On top of this, we have over 650 new hires and received a host of top industry honours. When a company has that much momentum, it’s difficult for the industry not to take notice.
Tell us more about Sitecore’s vision – I would imagine it expanded quite a bit over the past year?
Indeed, given all the transformation of the past year, we felt it was critical to renew Sitecore’s brand and clarify the company’s core objectives for a new era. Sitecore’s new raison d’être permeates everything we do and will hopefully serve as a beacon of light in the industry amid uncertainty and change. Sitecore’s new mission is simple but powerful: to elevate leading brands through unforgettable digital connections with their customers. Our vision is to disrupt the market with innovative solutions that turn consumers into fans. Sitecore’s product roadmap is designed to deliver on that vision, offering brands a faster realisation of value, greater ROI, and built-in agility and flexibility to navigate rapidly shifting industry and world events.
What’s one issue that brands should keep top of mind moving forward?
Obviously, the biggest issue that we are all watching closely is how the pandemic continues to reshape society and the market. We are likely witnessing once-in-a-generation changes in consumer expectations and preferences, making it critical for brands to invest in technology to create memorable experiences. In today’s world, there simply isn’t room for companies to hesitate in embracing digital commerce at scale or having a first-party data strategy in place; the time to act is now, with a modernised approach to marketing that incorporates privacy, personalisation, full-cycle ROI reporting, and more.
What are you hearing from your conversations with customers?
Many executives I speak to are in the process of modernising their marketing stacks around best-of-breed platforms – retooling to embrace composability through strategic investment in microservices, API-first and cloud-native platforms.
Sitecore’s composable digital experience platform (DXP) is often at the center of these efforts because it is truly unique in the industry – the only integrated, SaaS-based stack with industry-leading solutions across every facet of content experience and commerce. We are seeing particular momentum with large global enterprises in the wake of the pandemic, who are moving to Sitecore and replacing incumbent platforms.
Why should financial services clients turn to Sitecore?
Personalisation in finance is key. Every customer at a bank – and that includes you and I – wants a tailored offering that meets our needs, our habits, and our daily responsibilities. As customers grow more and more demanding, it’s critical for brands to have a partner that is set up to deliver a great experience with trust and enterprise scale.
At Sitecore, we intrinsically understand the size of the challenge for financial service organisations. To succeed, they are going to have to focus on existing markets to fuel growth, either by increasing cross-sell and upsell of existing products or introducing new products and services to existing customers through personalisation. This requires enterprises to modernise and integrate martech and core banking technology stacks to increase agility and future-proof their business through cloud, AI and mobility while also reducing costs of operation.
Only Sitecore, with its composable architecture, focus on data, content and experience can provide the flexibility and speed to market required to integrate disparate technologies together in a seamless way. With true content velocity and agility, tied together with deep customer insights, Sitecore is enabling its financial services customers to leverage their knowledge and understanding of their own customers better to create personalised experiences in a digital-first world.
About Steve Tzikakis
Sitecore CEO Steve Tzikakis is an experienced digital transformation technology leader with a strong track record for translating vision and strategy into world-class go-to-market execution, and the ability to bring together teams and ecosystems to drive rapid growth. Under Tzikakis’ leadership, Sitecore was recently named a 2021 Microsoft Partner of the Year in the Industry category and a Top 50 Workplace for Women. Prior to Sitecore, Tzikakis spent 13 years at SAP – the last five as President of EMEA South, Middle East, and Africa. During his tenure in this role, SAP doubled its business in the region.
For further information:
www.sitecore.com
