Tricentis Appoints Technology Industry Veteran Kevin Thompson as CEO

By AIT News Desk On Apr 26, 2021

Industry disruptor and cloud software leader to drive Tricentis’ next level of growth

Tricentis, the world’s #1 testing platform for modern cloud and enterprise applications, announced the appointment of Kevin Thompson as chairman of the board and chief executive officer. Former CEO, Sandeep Johri, will be leaving the company after strategically leading Tricentis through nearly eight years of unprecedented growth and success. Johri will remain involved with the company as a member of the Tricentis Board of Directors.

“Joining as CEO provides an incredible opportunity to drive Tricentis into the next phase of growth, build upon the company’s industry leadership, and continue offering the leading AI-driven, end-to-end continuous testing platform to accelerate software delivery and innovation.”

“We are excited to welcome Kevin Thompson as Tricentis’ new chairman and CEO to further accelerate the company’s rapid growth trajectory. Kevin is a proven leader and has significant experience leading and scaling world-class, global technology organizations,” said Wolfgang Platz, Founder and Chief Strategy Officer of Tricentis. “We would also like to thank Sandeep Johri for his dedication to Tricentis. Under his leadership, Tricentis has grown 35X and scaled into a global industry leader.”

Thompson has an impressive background leading global technology companies and is a seasoned executive and cloud software veteran. After serving as the CFO and COO of SolarWinds from 2006 to 2010, Thompson then served as President and CEO from 2010 to 2020 – taking the company from $20 million in revenue to over $1 billion in revenue and becoming a global leader in IT Management. Prior to SolarWinds, Thompson was SVP and CFO of analytics company SAS and EVP and CFO of software company Red Hat.

During his time at SolarWinds, Thompson played a pivotal role in the company’s growth and trajectory toward the company’s IPO in 2009, its transaction to go private in 2016, and its second IPO in 2018. Thompson led the SolarWinds effort to further establish the company as one of the leading IT management and monitoring partners in the industry and, while doing so, was featured in Forbes magazine as one of America’s top CEOs.

“I’m thrilled to be joining such a strong organization with the potential to truly disrupt the software industry and provide immense value for companies around the world,” said Thompson. “Joining as CEO provides an incredible opportunity to drive Tricentis into the next phase of growth, build upon the company’s industry leadership, and continue offering the leading AI-driven, end-to-end continuous testing platform to accelerate software delivery and innovation.”

Over the last year, Tricentis hit several notable achievements, including reaching high double-digit growth in annual recurring revenue (ARR) in 2020. Additionally, the company announced a key strategic partnership with SAP, a significant expansion into the federal market, and the acquisition of leading performance testing company Neotys. Tricentis helped advance testing from script-based to model-based test automation, and ushered in a new era with the recent introduction of Vision AI, a next-generation AI-driven test automation technology.

The company’s momentum over the past year encompasses notable industry awards, including being named a Deloitte Technology Fast 500 winner and recognition by the 2020 BIG (Business Intelligence Group) Awards for Business. Additionally, Tricentis was recognized as a 2020 Gartner Peer Insights Customers’ Choice for Software Test Automation and a leader in the Forrester Wave™ for Continuous Functional Test Automation Suites for the third consecutive time.