Fitbit’s Chief Financial Officer (CFO) Bill Zerella will be leaving the company on June 15 in order to fill in for the same role with an unnamed autonomous vehicle startup. That’s according to an announcement made by Fitbit on June 6. The departure appears to be taking place on cordial terms, with CEO and co-founder James Park including a statement thanking the executive for dedication to the company during its formative years. According to Park, Zerella’s work was a key aspect of what helped the company through its IPO in 2015 and, since starting in 2014, growing Fitbit “from a startup to the leading global brand it is today.” Zerella’s work was pivotal in driving the then tech startup to its current status with more than 78 million devices shipped across 86 countries and 47,000 stores. Thanks to Zerella’s work and that of others, the company currently has an active community of users numbering well above 25 million and has become a household name.
Following Zerella’s departure, the duties of CFO will be overtaken by Fitbit chief accounting officer Ronald W. Kisling. Although Fitbit has not always performed brilliantly in the past, for its latest product – the Fitbit Versa – the company recently reported having shipped more than one million units within its first six weeks. So Kisling should be a good fit for the role since he brings approximately 35 years of experience in financial leadership along with him. As with the Zerella, Kisling will report directly to Park and will be responsible for overseeing and leading the company’s global finance organization. The CEO is confident that Kisling can help Fitbit turn the current positive trend it is experiencing into an entirely new stage of overall growth at the global scale.
Due to the above-mentioned boost to sales, Fitbit took the opportunity to reveal some changes to its current outlook. Overall revenue projections and earnings guidance for both the second quarter and full year remain unchanged. However, the wearables-focused company now estimates that the smartwatch category will account for more than half of overall sales for the second half of 2018. That bodes well for the company and, if it can keep the momentum going, should equate to a better-than-expected performance for the fiscal year.