August 1, 2024
Rotterdam, March 5th, 2024
Anywhere365®, a global leader in Enterprise Dialogue Management software and a pioneer in customer service technology, today announced the appointment of Will Blench as its new Chief Executive Officer. Will Blench succeeds Enrico Karsten, who has served the company with distinction over the past 3 years and will be stepping down.
Will Blench has been on the Board of Directors of Anywhere365 since April 2020, and has served as VP of Microsoft’s Enterprise division in Europe, the Middle-East and Africa since 2018. Prior to Microsoft, Will held senior leadership roles at several leading global software companies, including Unit4 (Chief Sales Officer), VMware (MD EMEA and APJ) and Openwave Systems (VP & GM EMEA).
Will Blench has a proven track record of operational excellence and scaling Enterprise Software businesses and is well-equipped to lead Anywhere365 into its next phase of growth and innovation, including its focus on deepening its AI offering (as showcased by the recent acquisition of Deepdesk and their AI Agent Assist), alongside existing growth software investor Bregal Milestone.
“We are thankful to Enrico for his dedication and achievements over the last 3 years, and are thrilled to welcome Will in a full-time CEO capacity at Anywhere365. His extensive experience and visionary leadership, combined with his intimate understanding of our business and market will guide Anywhere365 to new heights and further strengthen our position as the global leader in Enterprise Dialogue Management”, said Gijs Geurts, Founder and Non-Executive Director.
“At Anywhere365, we envision a future where every customer feels heard, understood, and valued. Anywhere365 is the trusted partner in delivering exceptional customer experiences: enhanced customer engagement, efficient workforce collaboration, AI driven insights, and full omni-channel service experience: leveraging the power of Teams and the Microsoft ecosystem, as well as our close integrations with other technology providers such as ServiceNow or Salesforce. After having served on the Board for almost four years, I am excited to be part of the next chapter of Anywhere365’s journey in this new capacity as we continue to set the bar on innovation, together with Bregal Milestone and Gijs”, said Will Blench, CEO.
Will Blench has officially assumed the role of CEO on March 4th 2024 and Enrico Karsten will work closely with him during the transition period to ensure a seamless handover of responsibilities.
In addition to this leadership transition, Anywhere365 has been making significant strides in recent months. Through the successful acquisition in February 2024 of Deepdesk, a leading provider of AI Assistant technology, Anywhere365 has significantly deepened its AI proposition and enhanced its Dialogue Management offering. This strategic move underscores Anywhere365’s commitment to growing its AI proposition, benefitting its customer base of over 2,000 blue-chip customers and partners such as Rabobank, Mazda, NHS, Emirates, KPMG, Deloitte, Credit Suisse, Aldi and Vodafone. Anywhere365 was also recently recognized by ISG as a CCaaS Product Challenger for the Microsoft Ecosystem, and is the world’s first certified Microsoft Teams Contact Center, natively leveraging all the voice capabilities of Teams. Further, Anywhere365 is Microsoft’s 2023 Partner of the year for the Netherlands.
For more information and interview requests, please contact Janneke van Kasteren and Michelle Swartjes from TEAM LEWIS:
T: +31(0)40 235 46 00
Email: Anywhere365NL@teamlewis.com.
About Anywhere365
Anywhere365 is a leading provider of Enterprise Dialogue Management solutions, including Cloud Contact Center. Our aim is to empower voice and digital dialogues for organizations worldwide and to bring AI intelligence for increased productivity and effectiveness. Companies using the Anywhere365 Dialogue Cloud can enhance all customer interactions, ensure compliance in all communications, and optimize internal communication flows. Integrated within Microsoft Teams, Azure, and all CRM platforms, including Salesforce, Anywhere365 can consolidate all formal and informal business dialogue requests for any department within our customers' organizations. Anywhere365's products are award-winning, recognized by industry analysts, and trusted by over 2,000 global customers, ranging from mid-sized to large enterprises. Headquartered in the Netherlands, Anywhere365 also maintains regional offices across all continents. For more information, please visit www.anywhere365.io.
About Bregal Milestone
Bregal Milestone is a leading European software and technology growth private equity firm with c.€1.3 billion of capital raised since inception. The firm provides growth capital and strategic assistance to support market-leading technology companies. Bregal Milestone is part of Bregal Investments, a leading global investment platform with over €18 billion in assets under management. For more information, visit www.bregalmilestone.com or follow us on LinkedIn.
