Following years of executive leadership positions at such companies as Hewlett Packard and Dell, Kevin Jones started in 2019 as CEO of Rackspace Technology, a Windcrest, Texas-based cloud computing services provider. With Jones at the helm, the company has seen double-digit growth in year-over-year revenue for the last seven quarters.
Through acquisitions and expansions into countries including New Zealand, Japan, Egypt, India and Malaysia, Rackspace (NASDAQ: RXT) has some 7,000 employees providing multicloud solutions for more than 125,000 customers in 120 countries, including a majority of the Fortune 500.
Despite its growth, the company in August got a downgrade from Raymond James Financial Inc. (NYSE: RJF) and Bank of Montreal Capital Markets. Raymond James downgraded Rackspace from "strong buy" to "market perform," stating that the tech company "posted respectable results in line with prior announcements, but the trend into 4Q is slower, and we now believe it will take longer to reach consistent results."
In mid-August, a little over a year after the company went public for the second time in its history, Rackspace reported second quarter revenue of $744 million, a 13% year-over-year increase from the $656.5 million the company generated in the same period in 2020 that ended on June 30.
The company did see an increase in net loss year-over-year from $32.6 million in the second quarter of 2020 to $36.6 million this past quarter, and saw a decrease in income from operations of nearly $20 million year-over-year from $22.7 million in the second quarter of 2020 to $2.9 million this past quarter, according to a document filed with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission.
And in July, Rackspace reduced its global workforce by 10% in a push for higher growth markets in automation and cloud products.
When the Covid-19 pandemic hit, Jones helped oversee new company processes and resources to support employees, including offering additional paid time off and launching an online tool to help improve mental wellbeing and reduce stress. In addition, he initiated an employee donation matching campaign in April 2020 to support Covid-19 relief around the world. This campaign raised over $300,000 for over 300 organizations around the world. The company also distributed 100,000 masks to its employees and their families.
In addition to its Covid-19 relief efforts, Rackspace, under Jones' leadership, also boosted its philanthropic initiatives. The company launched “Racker Cares Giving Campaign,” matching dollar for dollar every donation an employee makes to their charity of choice. Jones also designated April as the company's "Annual Month of Giving Back," during which time the company highlights special opportunities to serve communities around the globe. And Jones expanded the company's volunteer time-off policy from 24 hours a year to 40. Company employees used over 14,000 volunteer time-off hours to helps various organizations and causes in 2020.
The Essentials
Kevin James
Career: CEO, Rackspace Technology, 2019 - present; CEO, MV Transportation, 2017 - 2019; senior vice president and general manager, Americas, DXC Technology, 2017; senior vice president and general manager, enterprise services Americas, Hewlett Packard Enterprise, 2014 - 2017; various positions, including chief customer and sales officer, vice president of Dell services, Dell, 2011 - 2014; senior vice president - HP enterprise services, Asia Pacific and Japan, Hewlett Packard, 2009 - 2011; various positions, including vice president - UK government, EDS Europe, Middle East, Africa, Electronic Data Systems, 1989 - 2009
Education: B.B.A, finance, James Madison University
