Thread regarding Five9 Inc. layoffs

Close the chapter on this guy already

I’ve held back from posting, largely because some of the existing comments haven’t been shared in good taste. But after much thought, I feel compelled to add my voice.

I’ve been with Five9 for over seven years, and I can say with certainty that morale across the organization is at an all-time low. Yesterday’s product showcase was a tipping point for many of us. While there were a few ok moments, the overall experience fell seriously flat. We were expecting bold moves, clear direction, and product innovation that would define our strategy for the coming decade. Instead, we got recycled talking points—“AI is the future” and “Agentic AI is next.” We’ve heard all that before.

The current Product Lead has been in place for over eight months now, yet we still lack a compelling vision or roadmap. Beyond surface-level commentary on AI and a handful of uninspired customer stories, there was nothing of substance to rally behind. No clear articulation of what Five9 is building toward. No strategy. No next-gen product story.

Frankly, it’s demoralizing. I’ve seen more energy at internal QBRs than what was presented at the showcase—and unfortunately, this wasn’t an isolated incident. The same lack of vision and inspiration was on full display at the SKO earlier this year. Product team under this new regime is unraveling. Many of them have already left, and those who remain are visibly disengaged. I know this because I’ve worked closely with some.

Right now, I have no story to tell our customers. No message to inspire them, and nothing that sets us apart. That’s deeply concerning—not just as an employee, but as someone who once believed passionately in this company’s potential.

We need real leadership. Urgently. Five9 Board please do your fiduciary duties.

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| 1961 views | | 13 replies (last July 30) | Reply
Post ID: @OP+1jys4y7wb

13 replies (most recent on top)

It’s a shame, I worked at Five9 for 8 years. I departed a year before all the recent chaos. It’s absolutely a fact that top leadership failed across many key areas. Mostly they hired wrong people, valuing hires they knew, trusted etc vs hiring the best. This ultimately is why a key loss occurred last quarter w head of Strategic Sales leaving for a CRO role. This person delivered and overachieved at levels few have ever reached in any company or industry. A true rare talent. So of course the top executives blocked this talent for years, until he took his talent somewhere else. Shame on the arrogant leadership.

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Post ID: @4vg+1jys4y7wb

so where are we on this? I guess the board and Five9 looks bad if they let this schmuck go. i haven’t interacted with him but I see him every now and then in the kitchen comes across as a guy whose head is too far up his a-s. bet panos and his cronies are running circles around this tw-t.

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Post ID: @4ag+1jys4y7wb

@ae chill!

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Post ID: @174+1jys4y7wb

@ae don't be a party po---r. Not everyone is a trained writer.

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Post ID: @zy+1jys4y7wb

@wt ouch. So the embarrassment was at full display in front of customers, analysts, etc?

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Post ID: @ww+1jys4y7wb

@a1 that was at Enterprise Connect. It was embarrassing.

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Post ID: @wt+1jys4y7wb

To "anonymous". SOME Indian team members are good, others just have high output with no quality. On the code side of things, often they will do exactly what you tell them to a T, no more, no less, no suggestions, no ideas, no outlook, no raising concerns. I don't want robots, I want team contributions to build a better product

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Post ID: @fa+1jys4y7wb

CPO is different but not bad. Accountability in product leadership is long overdue—especially after years of coasting on status, not outcomes.

Also, the anti-India rhetoric hurts credibility of statements I’ve seen floating around in this space. Not this specific thread. If teams were consistently delivering value relative to cost, India wouldn’t even be part of the conversation. The focus should be on performance.

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Post ID: @dp+1jys4y7wb

When was the last product head worth anything? I can't remember.

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Post ID: @ap+1jys4y7wb

I think the end goal here is to sell to VC. All the pieces have been put into place where the current leadership put family and friends into positions to run straight to the bank if that happens. What should happen is the Board step in and do a refresh of leadership over product, finance, sales, marketing, HR, literally every exec role here with proven leaders not people who have only worked at Five9 or Cisco the last 15 years.

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Post ID: @af+1jys4y7wb

Drop the em dash

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Post ID: @ae+1jys4y7wb

At this point, we don’t need more buzzwords. We need a plan. A pulse. A product strategy that doesn’t feel like it was reverse-engineered from a 2008 TED Talk.

We’re overdue for real leadership, someone who can actually ship, not just speak in half asleep English.

Please, Board: act now. The only agentic thing about this era is the self-destruction.

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Post ID: @a2+1jys4y7wb

This is well written, does anyone know what this goofy did at SKO? There was another event allegedly in which he was impaired with alcohol in front of key members.

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Post ID: @a1+1jys4y7wb

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