Zoom boss Greg Tomb fired ‘without cause’

Video conferencing platform Zoom has sacked its president, Greg Tomb, a former Google executive.

Mr Tomb’s contract was abruptly terminated “without cause”, according to the company in a regulatory filing.

There were Zoom weddings and funerals, and by April 2020 the company said 300 million daily participants were on Zoom calls.

The businessman had taken up the role in June 2022 and had been active on earnings calls and overseeing the company’s sales.

A spokesperson for Zoom said the tech firm isn’t looking for a replacement.

Mr Tomb reported directly to chief executive officer Eric Yuan, who started Zoom in 2011 and was at the helm as the company became one of the pandemic’s biggest winners.

Zoom became a household name as people needed to stay at home, and screen time increased.

There were Zoom weddings and funerals, and by April 2020 the company said 300 million daily participants were on Zoom calls.

At the time of Mr Tomb’s appointment, Mr Yuan said he was excited about the strength he was adding to the leadership team: “Greg is a highly respected technology industry leader and has deep experience in helping to scale companies at critical junctures.”

Mr Tomb said he was thrilled to join the team and help “drive growth” as businesses around the world addressed their communications needs.

But it has been a difficult picture for the company, which has struggled to maintain its pandemic boom and – like many others in the tech sector – it has been forced to lay off staff.

Despite Zoom tripling its head count in two years during the pandemic, in February the company cut 15% of its staff – 1,300 people – to deal with waning demand.

“We didn’t take as much time as we should have to thoroughly analyse our teams or assess if we were growing sustainably, toward the highest priorities,” Mr Yuan said.

As companies look to cut costs in the face of an economic downturn, Zoom could be left behind in favour of rival services such as Google Meet, Microsoft Teams and Slack.

Zoom is trying to diversify. Last year, it announced plans to integrate email and calendar features and a chatbot to help users with troubleshoot issues. Zoom Sports is also in the works. – bbc.com