Intervoice (News - Alert) is about to have new leadership. CEO Robert Ritchey has announced his intention to retire from the company effective August 31, 2008. In anticipation of this retirement, the Intervoice Board of Directors has selected Jim Milton as his replacement.

 

Milton is currently the company’s President and Chief Operating Officer. Effective September 1, 2008, he will become President and Chief Executive Officer.

 

After his retirement, Ritchey expects to continue to serve as a director of the company and is a nominee for re-election to the Intervoice Board of Directors at its annual meeting of shareholders scheduled for July 16, 2008. Ritchey will continue to actively support the company as a member of the Board of Directors.

David Brandenburg, Chairman of Intervoice, said in a Wednesday statement, “Bob has been a major contributor to Intervoice over the past eight years, and I wish him all the best during his retirement. I look forward to his active participation on the Intervoice Board of Directors.”

Brandenburg added, “The Board of Directors is very confident in the future of the company with Jim Milton at the helm. His strong leadership will help guide the company into its next phase of growth.”

Prior to joining Intervoice in December 2000, Ritchey served Honeywell (News - Alert) Fire and Security Systems as Vice President and General Manager of their Integrated Security Systems Division.

Before this assignment, Ritchey enjoyed a career that has spanned more than 30 years serving in senior and general management positions with Tyco/Sensormatic, Nortel (News - Alert) and Sprint.

During his tenure at Intervoice, Ritchey served as President of the Enterprise Product Division until his appointment to President and Chief Operating Officer of the company in July of 2002.

Ritchey was elected to the Board of Directors in June of 2004 and became President and Chief Executive Officer in November of 2004. He is a graduate from the University of Pittsburgh.

Milton came to Intervoice in January of 2006 after 25 years of high technology sales, marketing and general management experience at Digital Equipment Corporation, Compaq, Hewlett-Packard (News - Alert) and UGS Corporation.

Most recently, Milton served as Executive Vice President at UGS Corporation. He previously rose to the level of Senior Vice President and Managing Director of the Americas for Hewlett-Packard.

Mr. Milton received a Bachelor of Mathematics degree with Joint Honors in Computer Science and Economics from the University of Waterloo in Canada.

Ritchey shared when announcing his retirement: “We are fortunate to have an executive, with the experience and leadership ability that Jim Milton exemplifies, ready to assume the position of President and CEO. I am very confident that the company will continue to prosper under his leadership.”

Intervoice has built its success by delivering natural, intuitive ways for people to interact, transact and communicate. The company’s software and professional services are designed to enable innovative voice portal, IP contact center, hosted and mobile messaging and self-service applications.

A “changing of the guards” can be a trying time for any company, although Intervoice is in the favorable position of being able to select a new CEO internally. This should make for a smooth transition, allowing Milton to implement his own vision and strategy, while still relying on the expertise that Ritchey can supply while serving on the Board.