Varolii’s new CEO: Ex-Microsoftie

Seattle-based business software company Varolii has a new president and chief executive: Former Microsoft general manager David McCann. He replaces Nicholas Tiliacos, who was with the company for 10 years. Varolii makes tools for text messaging, voicemail and email that help businesses reach customers and employees. It was founded under a different name by two MIT grads and has an office in the Boston area. Like many companies, Varolii’s fortunes have reflected the troubles in the broader U.S. economy in recent years. In 2008, Xconomy’s Bob Buderi wrote about Varolii shelving plans for an IPO that had been expected to raise up to $86 million. The company also laid off unspecified numbers of workers in early 2009 and late 2010. Varolii says it now has about 250 employees nationwide, and some 450 clients, including big players in banking, wireless, and healthcare.

Author: Curt Woodward

Curt covered technology and innovation in the Boston area for Xconomy. He previously worked in Xconomy’s Seattle bureau and continued some coverage of Seattle-area tech companies, including Amazon and Microsoft. Curt joined Xconomy in February 2011 after nearly nine years with The Associated Press, the world's largest news organization. He worked in three states and covered a wide variety of beats for the AP, including business, law, politics, government, and general mayhem. A native Washingtonian, Curt earned a bachelor's degree in journalism from Western Washington University in Bellingham, WA. As a past president of the state's Capitol Correspondents Association, he led efforts to expand statehouse press credentialing to online news outlets for the first time.