Message Systems Names Phillip Merrick As CEO

COLUMBIA, Md., April 16, 2014 /PRNewswire/ -- Message Systems, the global leader in digital messaging software, announced today the appointment of Phillip Merrick as Chief Executive Officer. Phillip brings more than 30 years of leadership experience working with numerous fast-growing technology companies as a founder, investor, executive and technologist. Former CEO George Schlossnagle will remain President of the company and will retain responsibility for the company's industry-leading products and technology.

"Messaging technology is fundamental to how we communicate, collaborate and transact business, across both our personal and professional lives," said Merrick. "Having seen dramatic growth at companies with similar fundamental technology in the database and middleware markets, I am greatly attracted to the opportunity at Message Systems. With a very strong technology platform, a capable team and an extraordinary customer base, the company is positioned for substantial success."

In recent years, Phillip has served as chairman of Enterprise DB, a leading open source database company; chairman of RollStream, a SaaS supply chain collaboration company acquired by GXS; and co-founder and executive chairman of VisualCV.com, an online multimedia resume website. Previously Phillip was co-founder and CEO of webMethods, Inc., a leading vendor of business integration software. Under his leadership the company pioneered web services and XML-based software integration technologies, and grew revenue from zero to over $200 million, the fastest growth of any US software company in that period. He led the company through a highly successfully IPO and several acquisitions; subsequently the company was acquired by Software AG in 2007. He holds a degree in computer science from the University of Melbourne in Australia.

"2013 was a momentous year for Message Systems, and the company is poised for tremendous growth in the future," said Schlossnagle. "I look forward to working closely with Phillip and our talented and committed team to further transform the messaging infrastructure market."  

About Message Systems
Message Systems solutions power many of the world's largest, most complex email, text and mobile app messaging operations. Our solutions enable companies to integrate messaging with any number of data sources and applications in order to orchestrate real-time two-way customer interactions through any messaging stream. The result is more effective customer communication that boosts engagement, drives down costs, increases revenue and builds closer relationships. Message Systems is the leading provider of messaging infrastructure to the world's largest social networks and e-businesses, and many global leaders in banking, consumer technology and telecommunications. For more information follow us on Twitter @MessageSystems or go to messagesystems.com.

Logo - http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20140305/NE77044LOGO

Contacts:
Leslie Grant
SHIFT Communications
(415) 591-8456
[email protected]

SOURCE Message Systems