Richard Roberts, former MD Commercial and Partner Sales for Cisco UKI, relishes new role as Purple’s VP EMEA

November 30th, 2016: Purple, the intelligent spaces company, today announces its latest high profile appointment with Richard Roberts joining as VP EMEA.

Richard is set to supercharge Purple’s EMEA partnerships and continue its fast growth. He will be responsible for leading the regional team and driving revenue through, and with, Purple’s Customers, Distributors and Channel Partners.

He joins from Cisco UKI, where he was MD Commercial and Partner Sales for the last four years and spent another six years with the Distributed Government and EMEA Advanced Technology Sales and Marketing teams. At Cisco, he forged a reputation as a vibrant and charismatic leader and Channel innovator. Richard is already a Purple convert and has been impressed with the organisation’s performance, ambition and its culture of infinite possibility and optimism.

Richard comments: “This is the opportunity I have been looking for and I am thrilled to be joining the team. I have been involved with Purple for the past three years, during which time the business has flourished in a challenging market. The proposition has evolved to capture the imagination of even the largest of customers.

“There is also a cultural connection, which for me is critical, where core values are shared and where everyone is working for one another. I have seen this in Purple and I am looking forward to becoming a part of it.” 

Richard joins Purple at a time of impressive global traction with major service providers, a series of large customer wins and huge growth in platform usage. Purple now boasts 18 million users, with deployments in 73 countries, with offices in the UK, Spain, the US, Singapore and Australia; with more international locations coming soon. 

Purple has built a reputation for innovating at the leading edge of technology to deliver insights and empower customers. It is a leader in real-time analytics and marketing for venues and businesses that want to engage with visitors. Through the process of creating ‘Intelligent Spaces’, Purple can help brands to understand customer behaviour in physical spaces, and help them to take action.

Eric Law, Chief Revenue Officer and Head of Worldwide Sales, Purple, comments: “Richard brings a wealth of experience to our EMEA team. He is well positioned to help our customers increase revenue and improve their operations through a rich connected experience provided by Purple. His past experience driving differentiation and profitability with top Partners will allow them sell Purple as a Service as a further springboard for their cloud strategies. We will continue to expand our footprint in the EMEA region with Richard at the helm.”

Gavin Wheeldon, CEO at Purple, comments: “Purple is building a reputation for innovation and excellence. Our results are making waves and so we only want to add the best to our team. Richard is a definite fit for us and we’re really excited to be working with him. I know from personal experience in working with him while he was at Cisco, that he already embodies Purple’s culture. I also have no doubt his strong leadership skills will help us to fulfil our potential in EMEA and I’m looking forward to what is to come.”