Analyst(s): Keith Kirkpatrick
Publication Date: February 10, 2026
Qualtrics has appointed Jason Maynard as Chief Executive Officer, effective immediately, as the company deepens its focus on AI-driven experience management. The move signals an emphasis on execution discipline, product clarity, and scaling AI adoption, as nearly half of customers have already upgraded to AI capabilities.
What is Covered in this Article:
- Appointment of Jason Maynard as Chief Executive Officer and Board member
- Leadership transition following the interim co-CEO period
- Alignment of the CEO change with Qualtrics’ AI strategy and customer adoption trends
- Relevance of Maynard’s Oracle and NetSuite background amid the pending Press Ganey acquisition
- Competitive context within experience management and customer experience platforms
The News: Qualtrics announced the appointment of Jason Maynard as Chief Executive Officer, effective immediately, with Maynard also joining the company’s Board of Directors. The leadership change ends the interim co-CEO period led by Jim Whitehurst and Mark Gillett, who both return to Board roles, with Whitehurst continuing as Executive Chairman.
Maynard joins from Oracle, where he served as Executive Vice President of Revenue Operations after entering the company through the 2016 acquisition of NetSuite. The appointment comes as Qualtrics increases investment in AI capabilities, reports that nearly half of its customers have upgraded to AI-driven features, and works toward closing its pending $6.75 billion acquisition of Press Ganey.
Qualtrics Names Jason Maynard CEO; Can Execution Match AI Ambition?
Analyst Take: Qualtrics’ decision to appoint Jason Maynard as CEO represents a leadership shift tightly linked to execution priorities rather than a change in strategic direction. The company continues to position experience management as a critical layer in enterprise decision-making as AI adoption increases across customer and employee workflows. Management has framed the appointment around accelerating growth, scaling AI adoption, and delivering clearer business outcomes from experience data. Nearly half of Qualtrics’ customers have already upgraded to AI capabilities, creating pressure to move from early adoption toward consistent, repeatable value delivery. Against this backdrop, leadership execution and operating discipline become central to sustaining momentum.
Execution and Operating Discipline Come to the Forefront
Maynard’s background centers on scaling go-to-market operations and enforcing execution rigor in large enterprise software organizations. At NetSuite, he helped scale revenue nearly fivefold and expand the customer base from 11,000 to more than 43,000, an experience that directly aligns with Qualtrics’ stated need to broaden AI adoption across its installed base. His tenure navigating NetSuite’s integration into Oracle also brings familiarity with operating inside complex organizational structures while maintaining product focus. This is particularly relevant as Qualtrics prepares to integrate Press Ganey and manage overlapping healthcare and experience management priorities. The leadership change signals a belief that operational execution, rather than strategy reset, is the primary constraint on growth.
Product Focus Over Portfolio Expansion
Maynard’s preference for focus over product proliferation is evident, a message that aligns with customer demand for clearer outcomes from experience platforms. Qualtrics has positioned its XM, CX, EX, and research capabilities as interconnected, but execution has required tighter prioritization. Maynard’s mandate includes strengthening the connection between insights and action rather than expanding surface-level AI features. This reflects a broader challenge in experience management: translating analytics into operational decisions within existing enterprise systems. The leadership shift underscores that clearer product alignment may matter more than adding new modules.
AI Positioned as an Operational Decision Layer
Qualtrics leadership has consistently framed AI as a mechanism for turning experience data into action, not simply generating insights. Maynard’s publicly stated view underscores the need to combine probabilistic systems, such as large language models, with deterministic systems, such as workflows, approvals, and compliance. Qualtrics positions itself as owning the “experience intelligence layer” that feeds enterprise decision-making. Nearly half of customers upgrading to AI capabilities suggests early validation, but scaling adoption requires consistent operational impact. The CEO appointment reinforces that AI value will be measured by execution outcomes rather than innovation narratives.
Competitive Pressure Intensifies Leadership Stakes
The experience management and customer experience software market is becoming increasingly competitive, with rivals such as Medallia executing their own leadership and organizational resets. Medallia’s earlier executive reshuffle, which brought in multiple former Qualtrics leaders, underscored how closely talent, execution, and AI positioning are intertwined in this market. At the same time, the global contact center software market is projected to grow at a 23.9% CAGR through 2030, raising the stakes for platform relevance. Qualtrics’ CEO transition should therefore be viewed less as a symbolic move and more as a response to intensifying execution demands. Leadership continuity combined with operational authority becomes critical as AI-driven differentiation narrows.
What to Watch:
- The pace at which AI upgrades move from early adoption to enterprise-wide standardization across the Qualtrics customer base
- How effectively Qualtrics integrates Press Ganey while maintaining product clarity and execution focus
- Whether tighter product prioritization improves measurable customer outcomes, such as churn reduction and engagement
- Competitive responses from experience management and contact center software peers as AI capabilities mature
See the complete press release on the appointment of Jason Maynard as Chief Executive Officer of Qualtrics on the Qualtrics website.
Declaration of generative AI and AI-assisted technologies in the writing process: This content has been generated with the support of artificial intelligence technologies. Due to the fast pace of content creation and the continuous evolution of data and information, The Futurum Group and its analysts strive to ensure the accuracy and factual integrity of the information presented. However, the opinions and interpretations expressed in this content reflect those of the individual author/analyst. The Futurum Group makes no guarantees regarding the completeness, accuracy, or reliability of any information contained herein. Readers are encouraged to verify facts independently and consult relevant sources for further clarification.
Disclosure: Futurum is a research and advisory firm that engages or has engaged in research, analysis, and advisory services with many technology companies, including those mentioned in this article. The author does not hold any equity positions with any company mentioned in this article.
Analysis and opinions expressed herein are specific to the analyst individually and data and other information that might have been provided for validation, not those of Futurum as a whole.
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Author Information
Keith Kirkpatrick is VP & Research Director, Enterprise Software & Digital Workflows for The Futurum Group. Keith has over 25 years of experience in research, marketing, and consulting-based fields.
He has authored in-depth reports and market forecast studies covering artificial intelligence, biometrics, data analytics, robotics, high performance computing, and quantum computing, with a specific focus on the use of these technologies within large enterprise organizations and SMBs. He has also established strong working relationships with the international technology vendor community and is a frequent speaker at industry conferences and events.
In his career as a financial and technology journalist he has written for national and trade publications, including BusinessWeek, CNBC.com, Investment Dealers’ Digest, The Red Herring, The Communications of the ACM, and Mobile Computing & Communications, among others.
He is a member of the Association of Independent Information Professionals (AIIP).
Keith holds dual Bachelor of Arts degrees in Magazine Journalism and Sociology from Syracuse University.
