Sitecore Taps Veteran Eric Stine as CEO to Lead Next Phase of Growth and Innovation

Change is a-brewin' for Sitecore.

Just over a year ago, the DXP appointed Dave O’Flanagan as its new CEO, assuming the role from Steve Tzikakis, who had held the reins since 2020. During O'Flanagan's tenure, the company achieved some key wins, specifically around the growth of its popular AI-enhanced XM Cloud offering – a headless, cloud-native SaaS CMS that changed the game for the legacy player as the fastest-growing product in Sitecore’s history.

As of this morning, the torch is passing to COO Eric Stine, who has been a visible force behind Sitecore’s recent traction. Effective immediately, Stine will assume the role of CEO, bringing deep experience and proven performance to the top job. 

The appointment comes at a time of rapid change for Sitecore. While the company has achieved notable growth, surpassing $500 million in ARR as of last October, it faces the same economic headwinds as its competitors. There’s also the persistent grudge of AI and deriving value from those investments in an increasingly crowded field. 

But Sitecore has been pushing the innovation envelope, reengineering the company’s core DXP and CMS for an AI era led by the agent revolution. While the company has steadily introduced solutions in AI/ML and GenAI, it released its Sitecore Stream solution at last year’s Symposium event, which brings integrated, brand-aware AI across its product ecosystem. 

With Stine’s experience leading enterprise software companies to grow at scale, he aims to accelerate Sitecore’s expansion to attract and retain even more of the world’s top brands.

“I’m honored to lead Sitecore through the next phase of growth and innovation,” he said in the company’s press release. “Having spent a significant amount of time with our clients, our partners, and our talented team of employees, I am confident that we are uniquely positioned to help brands simplify how they reach, engage, and serve their customers.

Proven experience to drive the next wave of growth

As mentioned, Stine was serving as Sitecore’s Chief Operating Officer and has been instrumental in building momentum across the company’s go-to-market organization. Under his leadership, Sitecore XM Cloud – an AI-enabled SaaS platform for delivering powerful digital experiences at scale – has significantly expanded its customer base, growing global revenues by 100% over the last year.

Stine’s impact on driving sustained revenue growth and aligning teams around customer success certainly gives the company an edge as it transitions through this period. A big part of his focus has been dedicated to deepening Sitecore’s partner ecosystem and improving customer retention – where it continues to be a trusted DXP to some of the world’s most notable brands, including Equifax, INEOS Automotive, Shure, and Zurich Insurance Group.

“We have the most compelling and advanced AI-powered DX platform on the market, unlocking powerful, personalized connections at global scale,” Stine said. “Combine that with an ecosystem able to implement and drive value faster than any other vendor, and we are simply unrivalled.”

Stine is no stranger to the C-Suite. Before joining Sitecore, he was Chief Executive Officer of Elemica, a digital supply chain platform for manufacturers. Prior to that, he served as Chief Commercial Officer at Skillsoft, an employee training platform provider, and Chief Revenue Officer at Qualtrics – an experience management platform. 

Earlier in his career, Stine spent over a decade at SAP, one of the world’s leading ERP providers, where he led industry go-to-market strategies and built customer-centric commercial operations across North America.

The shift to a cloud-first, AI-powered era

During his time as CEO, Dave O’Flanagan made significant strides, leading Sitecore’s transformation as a modern cloud-focused AI-capable DXP. The rollout of Stream arguably gives Stine a faster runway for building more innovative solutions, particularly as agentic AI becomes a mandate for digital experiences. 

O’Flanagan initially joined Sitecore through the acquisition of Boxever – a customer data platform (CDP) – where he was founder and CEO. The transaction, which closed in 2021, happened simultaneously with Sitecore’s purchase of Four51, a digital commerce platform. At the time, these were viewed as key elements in completing Sitecore’s vision for its DXP.

Following the integration of Boxever into Sitecore’s CDP, O’Flanagan became the company’s Chief Product Officer and later rose to CEO. Over the course of his tenure, he moved Sitecore into the Cloud as a feature-rich DXP with AI capabilities. Under his watch, XM Cloud became a key factor in the company’s roadmap, gaining significant adoption – thanks in large part to Stine’s guidance. 

While O’Flanagan will be moving on from the day-to-day management of the business, he will remain an advisor to the Board.

Why it matters

Change at the top of an organization is always precarious. It can telegraph a wide range of signals to the market while leaving customers wondering about the broader implications. Managing the optics is always tricky. 

For Sitecore, Stine is exactly the kind of vocal consensus builder who can drive results. He brings the right mix of confidence and charisma to help reinforce the vision and address some of the persistent challenges that exist. This includes assurances to Sitecore’s legacy XP users and committing to support and enrich those tools while focusing on the future of XM Cloud.

On that note, the growth of XM Cloud is a clear indicator that the company is moving in a solid direction from a composable perspective. In my recent assessment of the Forrester Wave Report for CMS, I discussed with Matt McQueeny – a CMS Critic contributor and three-time Sitecore MVP – how XM Cloud is showing up as a contender from a feature and pricing perspective. All positive points in its favor.

One of Sitecore’s greatest strengths is its community. Stine is already a visible leadership figure among users and partners, and maintaining strong ties will be key to easing the transition and laying out future innovation. When I spoke to agencies and partners at last year’s Symposium, it was clear that O’Flanagan was working to build stronger bridges within Sitecore’s ecosystem.

There’s no doubt that AI continues to be the center of gravity for Sitecore’s strategy, enabling brands to deliver more personalized and scalable digital experiences. I recently spoke to O’Flanagan about the company’s partnership with Microsoft to launch the industry’s first AI Innovation Lab – which is keenly focused on the role of marketers. Bolstered by Microsoft’s partnership with OpenAI, this kind of collaboration is exactly what vendors need to drive differentiated value as trusted advisors.

2025 has already served up a menu of challenges, from trade wars to waning consumer sentiment. If there’s a time for bold and decisive leadership, it’s now – and that might be playing into Sitecore’s calculus as it shakes things up. There are obviously other factors at play, but Stine's experience and heritage make him an ideal choice for steering this company through its next chapter.

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