Announces $200 Million Share Repurchase Program
Promotes Priyanka Carr to Chief Operating Officer
Announces Cooperation Agreement With Legion Partners; Sagar Gupta to Join Board of Directors
Announces Corporate Governance Changes
Momentive, an agile experience management Company, today outlined its plans to leverage the strengths of its products, its hybrid go-to-market strategy, and its strong financial profile to accelerate value creation for stockholders. As part of this plan, the Company announced changes to its Board of Directors and the Board’s Strategic Committee, and that it has authorized a $200 million share repurchase program.
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“We have conviction in our strategy,” said Zander Lurie, chief executive officer of Momentive. “The setbacks we’ve faced are transient. We compete in a massive market and we maintain a valuable portfolio of products that address specific challenges our customers face, in small and large companies alike. Our sales-assisted business is strong, and our team is committed and inspired to drive value for our customers and shareholders.”
Stockholder Letter Published Today, Investor Day Targeted for the Second Quarter
- Customer-centric innovation: Product development focused on customer personas and purpose-built solutions that are resonating in the market.
- Clearer market positioning: Streamlined positioning, consolidating to two brands and web surfaces—Momentive and SurveyMonkey—with strong connective tissue between the two. The Company will make its customer experience offering, known today as GetFeedback, a cornerstone of Momentive, which will clearly communicate the value of the Company’s suite of upmarket solutions. SurveyMonkey will reinforce the merits of its complementary products for value-oriented customers who prioritize speed and ease of use.
- Hybrid go-to-market (GTM): Reducing friction in the buying process and meeting customers where they prefer to buy, whether through a product-led or sales-assisted GTM motions.
- Steering into customer expansion: Delivering more to existing customers—deeper relationships, more value, and more products—as only 6% of the Company’s sales-assisted customers currently use more than one product.
Momentive expects to build on its track record of profitable growth, with added emphasis on driving meaningful non-GAAP operating margin leverage, beginning in 2022. The Company’s goal is to become a consistent “Rule of 40” company.
Management expects to host a virtual investor day in the second quarter to share more details on its product and go-to-market initiatives, as well as provide an updated long-term operating model. We’ll publish a date in the near future.
Leadership Change
Priyanka (Pri) Carr has been promoted from general manager of the market research business to the role of chief operating officer, reporting to CEO Zander Lurie. Pri will lead the functions responsible for building great products (product strategy, design, methodology, research), bringing them to market (product marketing, pricing, partnerships), and driving Momentive’s scaled product-led growth motion. The Company believes that unifying these functions under one leader will enable more customer-centric product innovation. Tom Hale will be leaving after nearly six years. Under Tom’s leadership, the Company scaled its operations and expanded its sales-assisted motion. Momentive is grateful for Tom’s partnership and wishes him well in his next chapter.
Pri joined Momentive in 2014 and most recently served as the general manager of the Company’s market research business. Previously, she led the Company’s strategy, corporate development, and partnerships function. Prior to joining Momentive, Pri led teams at Bain & Company in its technology, media, telecommunication, and private equity practices.
$200 Million Share Repurchase Program Authorized
Based on its conviction in its go-forward plan, Momentive also announced today that its Board of Directors authorized a $200 million share repurchase program.
First Quarter 2022 Outlook Provided
Today, Momentive is providing its outlook for the first quarter of 2022. For Q1 2022, the Company currently expects:
- Total revenue in the range of $114.5 to $116.5 million. The midpoint is based on expected year-over-year growth in the thirties for our sales-assisted channel revenue and mid-single digit growth for our product-led channel revenue.
- Non-GAAP operating margin of approximately (1%).
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For the first quarter of 2022, the Company expects basic weighted average shares outstanding to be approximately 151 million and dilutive weighted average shares outstanding to be approximately 153 million. The Company plans to resume providing full year financial guidance in parallel with its Q1 2022 financial results in early May.
Stockholder Cooperation Agreement and Corporate Governance Changes
The Company has entered into a cooperation agreement with Legion Partners, a significant stockholder of Momentive. As part of the agreement, the Company will appoint Legion’s Sagar Gupta to the Momentive Board of Directors, and he will serve as a member of the Board’s Strategic Committee, which will continue to oversee and direct the Company’s strategic review. Commenting on the Strategic Committee, David Ebersman, the Chair of Momentive’s Board said, “We will focus on driving stockholder value and will remain committed and open minded to this important objective on the journey ahead.”
Gupta stated, “I am excited to be joining the Board at this important moment, and to help ensure that the Company acts with conviction to effectively maximize value for all stockholders.”
Under the agreement, Legion has agreed to vote its shares in favor of the Momentive Board’s nominees at the 2022 annual meeting, as well as other customary standstill provisions.
Separately, Brad Smith, who has served on the Momentive Board since 2017, was recently named President at Marshall University and will be stepping down as a director. “I’d like to thank Brad Smith for his many years of extraordinary insight and mentorship,” said Lurie. “Marshall will benefit greatly from Brad’s leadership.”
In addition, the Company will also take the following actions to further enhance its corporate governance:
- Momentive stockholders will vote at the 2022 annual meeting to approve an amendment to the Company’s certificate of incorporation to declassify the Board and, subject to approval of the amendment, the Company will begin to declassify the Board and allow for the annual election of directors beginning with the 2022 annual meeting; and
- The Board will implement a majority voting standard in uncontested elections of directors, where directors would be elected if they receive more votes in favor than against, and each incumbent director will submit an irrevocable, conditional offer of resignation effective if such director fails to receive a majority vote in favor of their election.
The full agreement between Momentive and Legion, as well as additional details regarding the governance changes, will be filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission.
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