Skype names new CEO


5 Oct 2010

Skype has appointed Tony Bates, a senior vice-president at Cisco, as its new CEO. It’s seen as another step towards the company going public.

Bates ran the Enterprise and Service Provider groups in Cisco, accounting for about $30bn of its business.

This was 80pc of Cisco’s business and he had more than 12,000 employees reporting to him.

He will move to Skype’s headquarters in Luxembourg to start his duties at the end of October. Skype’s CFO Adrian Dillion will act as its interim CEO until then.

“Skype is not only a powerful global brand but also a global technology leader in internet communications,” said Bates on his appointment.

“There are extraordinary opportunities ahead for Skype and I am eager to lead the company through this exciting juncture in its continuing transformation.

“I look forward to working with Skype’s management team and talented employees to engineer the next wave of game-changing products and services for our users,” said Bates.

There were previous rumours that Cisco would be purchasing Skype. It was believed Skype would integrate with Cisco’s products such as WebEx and its communications services.

However, it seems as though those actions were more about Skype looking for a new CEO as opposed to Cisco looking for a new company to acquire. This will put them in a stronger position as it files for an IPO.

Bates is replacing Skype’s current CEO Josh Silverman, who is moving on from the company.

It is thought Bates’ experience in the enterprise world will help Skype draw its future revenues from.

Skype has 560 million registered users, but most of its revenue comes from almost 8 million users who pay for its computer to landline and mobile calling services.

In its filing with the US Securities and Exchange Committee (SEC), Skype has said it expects revenues to increase, due to the deals it has struck with Verizon Wireless, Samsung and LG.