Symbio taps US Cisco Webex exec Georgio Mihaila as CPaaS chief

Australian telco services provider Symbio has appointed Cisco Webex executive Georgio Mihaila to lead its communications platform-as-a-service division.

Mihaila, who will remain based in the United States, will join the ASX-listed firm in July this year and is tasked to help grow Symbio’s customer base by leading its CPaaS strategy.

“We are extremely pleased to be welcoming an executive of Giorgio’s calibre as the head of our CPaaS division,” Symbio co-founder and chief executive Rene Sugo said.

“Giorgio truly is a champion of cloud technologies and strategy, and we look forward to leveraging his continued enthusiasm for CPaaS to drive growth and further innovating our capabilities at Symbio.”

Mihaila joins Symbio’s other SaaS executive leaders Jon Cleaver, the telco as a service (TaaS) chief, and Iain Falshaw, who leads the unified communications as a service (UCaaS) business.

At Cisco Webex, Mihaila was vice president and general manager of collaboration and customer experience, a role he held since 2021.

Prior to that, he was head of global communications for Amazon Connect at Amazon Web Services from 2018 to 2021, and held multiple leadership and technical roles at cloud contact centre vendor Five9. His other stints include Cisco partner Continuant, Qwest Communications, Verizon Business, Avaya and at Bell Labs Lucent.

Speaking on his appointment, Mihaila said, “I am thrilled to be joining Symbio and look forward to working with the team at this exciting time in its growth trajectory. There exists a huge opportunity, particularly in Asia, to work with customers to integrate real-time communication into their businesses. I strongly believe in the central role CPaaS plays in the future of connectivity.”

“Symbio's ambitious strategy and impressive global client base provide a unique opportunity for growth in the APAC region. I believe my experience, together with the fantastic team Rene has built, positions me well to lead this division through its next evolution of growth.”