Nice’s Barak Eilam to step down as CEO after decade-long tenure
Eilam, who joined cloud-based software-provider in 1999, will stay in office until year’s end, help find a successor
Sharon Wrobel is a tech reporter for The Times of Israel.
Barak Eilam plans to step down as CEO of Israel’s Nice Ltd. after 10 years at the helm of the $14 billion cloud-based software provider.
After 25 years with Nice, Eilam will leave at the end of 2024, while taking an active role in the search for his successor internally and externally, Nice announced on Thursday. During the first half of 2025, he will continue to serve in a strategic consulting role for the software firm.
Founded in the 1980s, Nice is one of Israel’s veteran tech firms focused on customer relations software and cloud computing systems and is listed on Nasdaq and the Tel Aviv Stock Exchange with a market value of about $14 billion. The Ra’anana-based company employs more than 8,500 workers and operates in over 30 countries around the world.
Following the announcement, Nice’s shares traded on the Tel Aviv Stock Exchange dropped almost 11 percent, while its Nasdaq-listed American Depositary Shares (ADRs) were down 13%.
“Leading Nice for the past decade has been the pinnacle of my career,” said Eilam. “After 25 years at Nice and with the company poised for continued leadership and success, it’s the right time to transition the helm of the company to a new leader.”
“I remain laser focused to deliver our 2024 plan, support the success of our customers and partners and work closely with our product teams on our exciting innovations,” he added.
Eilam started his career as an engineer at Nice back in 1999 and established its analytics business before leading its transition to an enterprise software firm leveraging its platform offering with cloud and AI capabilities. During his tenure as CEO over the past 10 years, Eilam oversaw Nice’s total revenue triple and profitability grew four-fold, resulting in a seven-fold increase in its market value, the software firm said.
Eilam was among the first senior tech executives who openly voiced opposition to the contentious judicial overhaul proposed by the Israeli government at the beginning of last year. Eilam warned that the government’s plan to weaken the judiciary was poised to have irreparable consequences for Israel as a hub for doing business and attracting investment.
He was joined by hundreds of senior tech executives, serial entrepreneurs, money makers, and heads of investment firms, who expressed their fear that the proposed legislative actions would change Israel’s democratic character. The judicial overhaul would pose a threat to the country’s stable democracy, undermine confidence in the Israeli judicial system and scare away investors.
