Qualtrics, the pioneering force behind the experience management (XM) category, has named Jason Maynard as its new Chief Executive Officer, effective immediately as of February 3, 2026. Maynard, a seasoned technology executive with 30 years of experience scaling enterprise software giants, also joins the company’s Board of Directors. He succeeds interim co-CEOs Jim Whitehurst and Mark Gillett, who return to their board roles, with Whitehurst remaining as Executive Chairman. This leadership transition coincides with Qualtrics’ aggressive scaling of AI-driven XM solutions and its pending $6.75 billion acquisition of Press Ganey, a healthcare analytics leader.

Maynard joins from Oracle, where he served as Executive Vice President of Revenue Operations following the 2016 NetSuite acquisition. There, he helped grow revenue nearly fivefold and expanded the customer base from 11,000 to over 43,000. Earlier, Maynard spent 15 years as a top-ranked analyst at Merrill Lynch, Credit Suisse, and Wells Fargo, honing insights into software markets and growth trajectories. Qualtrics co-founder Ryan Smith praised the fit: “Jason’s background, market experience, and ability to lead out in new trends is critical for where the technology ecosystem and Qualtrics are going.”

Jason Maynard’s Vision for AI-Powered Experience Management

Maynard assumes leadership at a transformative juncture. “Qualtrics invented Experience Management, and with AI at the core of modern business, the ability to understand human experience and act on what matters in context is more important than ever,” he stated. Nearly half of Qualtrics’ customers have upgraded to AI capabilities, yielding millions in returns through enhanced customer loyalty, reduced churn, higher employee engagement, and rapid insights. Maynard’s mandate emphasizes execution: scaling adoption to deliver tangible ROI amid AI’s reshaping of enterprise decision-making.

His NetSuite tenure demonstrated operational scaling in cloud ERP—parallels to XM’s data-intensive workflows. At Qualtrics, expect sharpened focus on AI orchestration, integrating behavioral science with machine learning for predictive interventions, such as preempting customer attrition or optimizing frontline engagement.

Qualtrics’ Platform and Strategic Momentum

Qualtrics dominates XM with a platform processing billions of signals daily across customer, employee, product, and brand experiences. Core AI features—powered by stats engine and LLMs—automate analysis, surfacing actionable intelligence 10x faster than manual methods. The Press Ganey deal, if completed, catapults Qualtrics into healthcare XM, commanding $6.75B valuation for 7,000+ provider clients.​

Recent innovations include AI-powered dashboards reducing analysis time from weeks to minutes, driving 20-30% engagement lifts. With 20,000+ enterprises onboard, Qualtrics’ flywheel—data moat, AI scale, ecosystem integrations—positions it for $2B+ ARR by 2027.

2026 Tech Leadership Shifts in Context

Maynard’s appointment caps a flurry of C-suite pivots: PayPal tapped HP’s Enrique Lores for AI commerce; One Identity named Gihan Munasinghe CTO for secure AI pipelines; Vaimo hired Andy Clark for North American alliances amid composable shifts. Genstore’s agentic e-commerce and Positron’s $230M inference chips underscore AI’s infrastructure buildout, where XM platforms like Qualtrics provide the “why” behind optimizations.

President Donald Trump’s deregulation since January 2025 accelerates AI adoption, easing data privacy hurdles and U.S.-India R&D pacts. Indore’s 500+ IT firms—40% cheaper than Bangalore—emerge as XM customization hubs, tailoring Qualtrics for agritech NPS or manufacturing sentiment, buoyed by MP Startup Policy 2.0. Spring Marketing Capital’s INR 500 crore AI fund and Varaha’s climate verification exemplify data-hungry apps needing Qualtrics-grade insights.

Strategic Roadmap Under Maynard

Maynard’s priorities crystalize around execution:

AI Scaling: Universal adoption via no-code agents, targeting 80% customer penetration by 2027.

Acquisition Integration: Seamlessly merging Press Ganey for healthcare dominance, unlocking $1B cross-sell.

Go-to-Market Discipline: NetSuite-honed revenue ops for 25% YoY growth, emphasizing mid-market land-and-expand.

Ecosystem Orchestration: Deepening integrations with Salesforce, ServiceNow, and agentic platforms like Genstore.

Global Delivery: Leveraging Indore for 24/7 support, customizing XM for vernacular insights in India/APAC.

Challenges—integration risks, AI hallucination mitigations, churn in economic softening—leverage Maynard’s playbook: metrics obsession, customer flywheels.

Enterprise Implications Across Verticals

Customer XM: Predictive churn models cut attrition 15-25%, powering PayPal-like personalization.
Employee XM: AI sentiment flags burnout early, boosting retention amid talent wars.
Healthcare via Press Ganey: Real-time patient feedback loops, improving HCAHPS scores 10-20%.
Product XM: Usability heatmaps guide Genstore agents or Positron firmware UX.

ROI shines: clients report $5M+ annual savings from automated insights, per Qualtrics benchmarks.

Competitive Positioning in XM Arena

Qualtrics leads vs. Medallia (enterprise focus), Clarabridge (narrower CX), with AI moat widening gaps. Unlike survey silos, its full-funnel XM correlates signals for causal interventions. Maynard’s software scaling counters private equity pressures post-SAP spinoff.

India angle: Gurugram/Indore teams adapt for ONDC sentiment or Varaha farmer NPS, exporting via U.S. pacts.

Synergies with 2026 Ecosystem

Qualtrics XM fuels adjacent booms:

• Commerce: Vaimo alliances + Genstore agents use XM for post-purchase loops.
• Security: One Identity IAM secures XM data lakes.
• AI Infra: Positron inference accelerates real-time XM queries.
• Fintech/Payments: PayPal Lores integrates XM for frictionless experiences.

Indore’s rise ties all: low-cost XM ops for global SMEs.

Risks and Execution Levers

Acquisition delays, AI ethics scrutiny, macro headwinds loom. Maynard mitigates via phased rollouts, governance frameworks, and NetSuite-proven ops.