Unbabel, an AI-powered language operations platform that helps businesses deliver multilingual support at scale, has announced the hire of James Palmer as chief financial officer (CFO). Palmer is a 30-plus year veteran of advising and leading global companies through growth and development in the technology sector, and will help propel Unbabel into its next phase of industry leadership.
According to Gartner, CFOs are key drivers of business growth, with the vast majority focusing on the acceleration of digital technologies this year. A merger and acquisition (M&A) and growth expert who has steered 12 transactions, Palmer will help guide Unbabel’s growth strategy as the company conveys its business value to C-level decision-makers considering adopting language-based technology advancements. This comes in an economy where global resiliency is needed, and as recovery happens post COVID.
“CFOs around the world are increasingly under pressure to find better, more efficient solutions to support rapid growth for their businesses,” Palmer said. “Unbabel enables organizations to continue to provide exceptional customer experiences as they scale into new markets without having to make large investments they would normally require.”
Palmer comes to Unbabel after advising a broad range of private equity-backed, emerging technology companies and having worked at high-revenue enterprise businesses such as Achilles Information Limited, Cable & Wireless Plc, and MessageLabs (now Symantec). He was the head of sales and strategy for Achilles and had previously been instrumental in the sale of MessageLabs to Symantec for $700 million as the senior vice president of strategy and business development. Palmer was also the chief executive officer of the largest private company in Panama (previously known as Cable & Wireless Panama), head of marketing and product management at C&W Global Businesses and the chief operating officer of its regional business division. He earned his M.A. in Mathematics and Statistics from Cambridge University.
“James Palmer is a perfect match for our globally seasoned executive team as he has spent decades leading or advising on growth strategy for companies,” said Unbabel Co-Founder and CEO Vasco Pedro. “His strategic vision, background with M&As, and robust global operations expertise will help us navigate to the next level. He is a CFO who understands global business from multiple operational angles, enabling us to thrive both internally and with our enterprise customer base.”
Gartner, Becoming a World-Class Chief Financial Officer, as on 30 April 2021.
About Unbabel
Unbabel eliminates language barriers so that businesses can thrive across cultures and geographies. The company’s language operations solution blends advanced artificial intelligence with human editors, for fast, efficient, high-quality translations that get smarter over time. Unbabel integrates seamlessly in any channel, so agents can deliver consistent multilingual support from within their existing workflows. This makes it easy for enterprises to grow into new markets and build customer trust in every corner of the world. Based in San Francisco, Calif., Unbabel works with leading customer support teams at brands such as Facebook, Microsoft, Booking.com, and Uber, to communicate effortlessly with customers around the world, no matter what language they speak. For more information, visit www.unbabel.com.
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