Unit4, an enterprise cloud applications provider for people-centric firms, appointed Jean de Villiers as Chief Customer Officer. Jean will be responsible for Professional Services, Product Support, University4U/Community4U – the knowledge centres for employees, partners and clients – and Customer Success, all of which covers the entire end-to-end customer journey.
What does Jean bring to Unit4 in his new role?
With a 27 year career spent in tech, management consulting, managed services and professional services, de Villiers joins from enterprise software company, BMC, where he led the Professional Services business, covering Consulting, Managed Services and Education.
He was instrumental in leading the shift to subscription-based services, and served as part of the corporate team responsible for evolving customer-centricity and digital experience.
De Villiers has been working in software since 2004 and, has been deeply involved in the rise of Software-as-a-Service. Prior to his 11 year tenure at BMC, where held a variety of roles, de Villiers worked for a number of firms ranging from Value Added Resellers, like Planwell Technologies, to large Managed Services Providers, like PinkRoccade – latterly Getronics.
In this context, he has worked with and supported the largest brands in the world, across multiple industry verticals. In addition to his global commercial experience in the IT industry, he has a strong technical background in Service Management and is a certified ITIL Master.
What were the executives’ thoughts on the appointment?
“We are delighted to welcome Jean to Unit4. As a people-centric business, focused on delivering the best possible outcomes for our customers, the Chief Customer Officer – part of the Global Leadership Team – plays a vital role in both Unit4’s and our customers’ success. Jean’s experience in digital, SaaS and customer centricity will be an asset for the mid-market services organisations we serve,” commented Mike Ettling, Chief Executive Officer, Unit4.
“With customer experience as a key differentiator across all industries, particularly in tech, now is a fantastic time to join Unit4. The company has clear growth ambitions and I am looking forward to my own growth journey, alongside those of our customers, as they digitise and move to cloud,” commented Jean de Villiers, Chief Customer Officer at Unit4.
