Sitecore has announced the appointment of Eric Stine as its new Chief Operating Officer. Stine replaces Nick Malone. It is unclear where Malone is headed next. As COO, Stine will lead pre-sales, sales, customer success, alliances operations, Professional Services, as well as support and ecosystem operations. It is a significant role and one that will see him work alongside Kathie Johnston, CMO, on the go-to-market strategy. His brief is to unlock business value for Sitecore’s customers by giving them the power to build compelling digital experiences.
Dave O’Flanagan, CEO of Sitecore, said, “Eric joins Sitecore at one of the most exciting points in the company’s growth as we advance an innovative and integrated suite of AI capabilities tailored for marketing teams. We view a tremendous opportunity for our composable DXP to fundamentally transform the way marketing teams create content and digital experiences. As we deliver on our strategy of leveraging AI to innovate across digital content and experiences, Eric will align our customer-facing teams to bring maximum value to our customers and partners globally.”
Who is Eric Stine?
Stine joins from Elemica, where, for five months only, he was Chief Executive Officer. Before that, he was Chief Revenue Officer and then Chief Commercial Officer at Skillsoft. He spent nearly five years at SAP in leadership positions, including a stint as Chief Revenue Officer of Qualtrics.
Eric Stine commented, “Sitecore has a multibillion-dollar opportunity as marketing intersects with digital transformation and next-gen AI. Marketing teams, at many of the most prominent global brands, trust Sitecore to transform the way they work. I look forward to taking our work with customers and partners to new heights, accelerating the next phase of the company’s growth.”
He also held senior leadership roles at Virtustream and Blackboard. He had three stints at SAP, totalling around 18 years, mainly in sales leadership roles. Stine graduated from the Boston University School of Law and has a BA from Northwestern University.
He is an active volunteer for several charitable organisations, including:
- Angels Circle provides essential support for those affected by COVID-19, HIV/AIDS and other life-threatening illnesses across the country.
- Human Rights Campaign: HRC fights to make equality, equity and liberation a reality for all lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and queer (LGBTQ+) people
- Stamford Health
- Visiting Nurse & Hospice of Fairfield County: A non-profit visiting nurse agency providing a wide range of community-based, family-centered services in Fairfield County, Connecticut
- Dean’s Advisory Board, Boston University School of Law
Stine and his husband are the founders of the Eric and Neil Stine-Markman Scholarships. The scholarships are the first aimed at supporting LGBTQ+ students at Boston and Northwestern University.
Enterprise Times: What does this mean
Stine is based near New York City and, with a young family, seems unlikely to move to San Francisco. His short stint at Elemica raises questions about his decision to leave so quickly after joining. However, Sitecore has gained a leader of immense experience, one who should help the company accelerate growth. He will have relationships across many enterprises, especially in the US. It will be interesting to see what the future holds.
It is also slightly odd that O’Flanagan has chosen to hire a COO with such a wide remit; some firms might have looked to hire a Chief Revenue Office or even Chief Sales Officer. Stine’s remit is very broad, and it will be interesting to see how he structures the functions under him.
