Highlights:
- Dan Deklich recently joined RingCentral as Chief Development Officer
- We sat down with Dan to learn more about his background, RingCentral’s collaborative culture and the future of UCaaS.
Dan Deklich recently joined RingCentral, bringing with him a world of experience. After spending four and a half years at 8×8, Deklich left and made the move to Chief Development Officer at RingCentral. Dan sat down with us to talk about the future of UCaaS, our collaborative culture and shared some of his personal hobbies and passions (Star Trek!).
Experience Informs Innovation.
One thing Deklich wanted us to know is the variety of places he has lived and worked. “I have lived in Croatia, Italy, Austria, Germany, US, Hong Kong, and Shanghai, then moved back to the US.” That means he’s worked with some of the best engineers around the world and he’s ready to use his international expertise to take RingCentral’s AI-driven tools to the next level. For instance, in the future, RingCentral will drive smarter interactions and customer self-service that anticipates what customers need to get them better solutions, faster.
Why RingCentral and What’s Ahead?
The warm welcome Dan received at RingCentral was a breath of fresh air. He recalls being greeted with “‘Welcome, there’s a lot to do, go do it!’ It’s the most collaborative culture I’ve seen.” Deklich shared some new development projects that he’ll be focusing on in 2023. Besides consistently maintaining the best video and voice quality in the industry and recently completing end-to-end encryption, other projects include contact center and telephony integration to create a fully cohesive product. “RingCentral has one of the largest R&D organizations in the space, continuing over the years to build products, (which I think is a wonderful thing), while continuing to have commercial success.” Dan is looking forward to supercharging RingCentral’s capacity to further innovate and capitalize on an ever-changing communications marketplace.
Energy is The Most Valuable Quality.
Looking forward to the development projects ahead, we asked Deklich what kind of talent he’s looking to recruit. He’s searching for the best engineering talent, wherever he can find them, currently that includes Europe and India. The most valuable quality in new talent? Energy! For inspiration he recites Bob the Builder’s catchphrase: “Can we build it? Yes we can!” He wants prospective team members to know, “RingCentral is a super interesting company in a super interesting space. Lots of technology, lots of willingness to build cool new stuff. Lots of good people who can help you learn and get things done. So let’s go do it!”
Family Matters.
Outside of the office, Deklich enjoys time in the great outdoors with his wife and two teenage sons. Their favorite activities include all things water-related; swimming, sailing, scuba diving, wind-surfing, etc. But don’t look for them in the frigid Bay Area Pacific, Deklich prefers the warmer waters of Europe where thick wetsuits aren’t required. Just for fun, we asked him one final question, “Star Wars or Star Trek?” Star Trek! My sons are named after Wesley Crusher and William Riker, both Star Trek characters.”
Spoken like a true technology development leader. Welcome to RingCentral Dan – we are lucky to have your energy and leadership on the team.
Originally published Feb 07, 2023, updated Aug 06, 2024
