October 24, 2025
Qualtrics’ CEO Steps Down After Mega-Merger, Big Questions Ahead
After nine years at the helm, Qualtrics’ CEO Zig Serafin is taking a step back from the role, shuffling over to a vice chairman and advisory capacity.
Announcing the move to staff and then on LinkedIn, he notes “The hardest part of this decision is that there’s never a perfect time to step back from something you love. Now is the right time to begin a thoughtful search for our next CEO – a process that will take time to do right.”
The news comes as the ink is still drying on the contract for the $6.75 billion acquisition of Press Ganey Forsta and its Human Experience Platform. And the likely complex integration work from that and the growing place of AI in Qualtrics’ product line-up.
Co-CEOs Start The Long Road Ahead for New Qualtrics
Taking the key role, board members Jim Whitehurst and Mark Gillett are stepping in as interim co-CEOs. As Zig highlights, “Bringing in Mark and Jim as interim leaders allows them to get directly involved as we shape our 2026 plans and prepare for the planned integration of Press Ganey Forsta. Jim will also become our Executive Chairman, providing continuity into our future CEO’s tenure.”
“Both Jim and Mark have served on our Board for many years and bring a deep understanding of our business, our strategy, and our culture.
Jim is a seasoned executive and former CEO of Red Hat, where he helped grow the company into one of the world’s leading enterprise software businesses.
He later served as President of IBM and is widely respected for his leadership in open-source technology and customer-driven innovation.”
Analysts Weigh In on the News
Independent consultant and advisor Bill Staikos wins the award for the most considered response, looking at other internal moves, possible departures and what rivals like Medallia and Sprinklr could get from the shakeout. He concludes:
“So don’t fixate on who left. Care about who is coming in. Care about who the new heads of product and engineering might be. And care about who will own the roadmap and the integrations. If I were leading CX at a Qualtrics client right now, I would be getting names from my account lead, not vibes. I would be getting hard dates, not promises.”
In the post comments, there’s also plenty of chat about the risks of user focus suffering during the “execution gap” between leadership. And the pendulum of value swinging back from the recent hard push to AI and automation, heading in the direction of customer value and empathy.
Only time will tell whether there are price increases for users. How the products (given PGF acquired the likes of InMoment and others recently) will integrate. And who ends up winning in the boardroom shuffle, and what the key people in product and sales decide to to in light of those changes.
Certainly, 2026 and beyond will be interesting times for customers and rivals. And good luck to Zig in his future adventures, I only got to meet him briefly once earlier this year, but he’s a very focused chap, who will spark lots of interest from many tech corps.
