Born in Vienna, Austria, to parents from England and Germany, Peter Stewart moved to Atlanta at age eight when his father was transferred with The Coca-Cola Company. His first language was German. Because Atlanta did not yet offer English as a second language programs, learning a new language and culture was especially challenging. This experience made Stewart very empathetic to others who were new to an organization or different in some way.
Stewart has spent his 25-year career in the communications and collaboration spaces. He has driven transformative market initiatives across three different industries: wireless data communications, online SaaS meetings and visual collaboration solutions. In 2009, Stewart was recognized as an Outstanding Corporate Innovator by the Product Development Management Association, the same prestigious award given to Apple, BMW and 3M. Looking to make a bigger impact within an organization, he joined Cyviz, a global technology provider for advanced visual collaboration solutions, in 2015, becoming its executive vice president of strategy and global alliances in 2021. The solutions Stewart oversees at Cyviz are mission-critical for businesses wishing to succeed in a digital landscape.
When Stewart arrived at Cyviz, revenues were plummeting in the face of new competition and a changing marketplace where Cisco, Zoom and Webex had entered into the physical meeting rooms arena. Despite the challenges, Stewart was able to turn the company around by winning key new global strategic accounts, developing a new collaborative work culture, creating new SaaS/cloud products and establishing new strategic alliances.
During COVID-19 disruptions, Stewart ensured the survival of the company as revenues temporarily plummeted 50% by negotiating a $4 million strategic partner investment. Later that year, Cyviz went public and benefited from the return-to-office surge driven by companies wanting to improve the hybrid collaboration experience for in-office workers and remote participants.
Post-pandemic, Stewart established strategic global alliances with Microsoft, Logitech, Poly and Accenture. These partners enabled Cyviz to expand its reach and extend its capabilities globally. As a result, Cyviz is now the global standard for all 46 Microsoft Technology Centers, including the headquarters in Redmond and the new Atlanta Experience Center at Atlantic Station.
As a leader, Stewart believes it is important to look beyond profit and share price to the well-being and development of employees. He considers his proudest moment the fact that he did not let any employees go during the COVID-19 pandemic, despite an initial 50% loss in revenue.
