News Release
Spok appoints Brett Shockley to board of directors
New director has expertise in cloud-based Software-as-a-Service offerings
SPRINGFIELD, Va. (June 18, 2020) – Spok Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ: SPOK), a global leader in healthcare communications, today announced that its Board of Directors has appointed Brett Shockley to the Board and its Nominating and Governance Committee, effective immediately. Mr. Shockley is the Chief Executive Officer and Chairman of Journey AI, Inc., a private software company that provides a trusted identity platform delivering security, privacy and frictionless customer experience solutions to the contact center industry. Prior to Journey AI, Mr. Shockley served in senior executive roles with Avaya Holdings Corp. and Cisco Systems, Inc. At both companies, Mr. Shockley was directly involved in corporate strategy, business development and software innovation. Mr. Shockley also currently serves as the Lead Independent Director of eGain Corporation (NASDAQ: EGAN), a provider of subscription-based customer engagement software solutions.
“The Board welcomes Brett and looks forward to his contributions,” said Royce G. Yudkoff, Chairman of the Spok Board. “As Spok pivots to cloud-based software solutions, Brett’s knowledge of the SaaS business model and his expertise in R&D and cloud-based software marketing will make a valuable contribution to our Board’s expertise.”
The appointment of Brett Shockley to the Spok Board is the third addition to the Board since January 2020 and comes after engagement with our stockholders regarding the composition of the Board during which Mr. Shockley was identified by one of our stockholders, White Hat Capital Partners LP. In connection with the appointment of Mr. Shockley, the Company and White Hat Capital executed a Cooperation Agreement with customary terms, including a commitment by White Hat Capital to vote its shares in favor of the Board’s nominees at the 2020 Annual Stockholders Meeting.
Prior to founding Journey AI, Mr. Shockley held various positions at Avaya Holdings Corp (NYSE: AVYA), a technology company specializing in enterprise communications, from October 2008 to December 2014. From May 2013 to December 2014, Mr. Shockley served as a Senior Vice President of Corporate Strategy, Corporate Development and Chief Technology Officer. Prior to working at Avaya, Mr. Shockley served as Chief Executive Officer, President and a Co‐Founder of Spanlink Communications, Inc. (formerly NASDAQ: SPLK), a provider of contact center technologies and network infrastructure implementations, from August 1988 to October 2008.
“I look forward to working with the Board and executive team at Spok to help bring to market Spok’s innovative communications solutions for the healthcare industry,” said Mr. Shockley.
About Brett Shockley
Brett Shockley is the Chief Executive Officer and Chairman of Journey AI, Inc., a private software company, that provides a trusted identity platform delivering security, privacy and frictionless customer experience solutions to the contact center industry. Prior to founding Journey AI, Mr. Shockley held various positions at Avaya, a global provider of business collaboration and communications solutions, from August 2008 to December 2014, including Senior Vice President and General Manager of Software and Emerging Technologies, and Senior Vice President of Corporate Development, Strategy and Chief Technology Officer. Before joining Avaya, Mr. Shockley was the Chief Executive Officer and co-founder of Spanlink Communications, a contact center software and services business, which he brought through an initial public offering on Nasdaq. In 2007, Mr. Shockley co-founded Calabrio, a workforce optimization software company which was acquired by KKR in 2016. Prior to Calabrio, Mr. Shockley was the Vice President and General Manager of Cisco’s Customer Contact Business Unit. In addition to holding patents in social networking and telecommunications, Mr. Shockley has an M.B.A. in Marketing from the University of Minnesota’s Carlson School of Management and a bachelor’s degree in Mechanical Engineering from the University of Minnesota’s Institute of Technology. Mr. Shockley was a 2007 Ernst & Young Entrepreneur of the Year award winner, University of Minnesota Alumni Lifetime Achievement award winner in 2006 and 2008 Minnesota High Tech Association Emerging Technology Company award winner. Mr. Shockley has served on the Board of eGain Corporation since January 2015 and has served as eGain’s Lead Independent Director since September 2017.