Welcome to Lucidworks CEO Mike Sinoway and CMO Troy Monney

We are delighted to welcome Mike Sinoway and Troy Monney to the Lucidworks team! Both have a long track record of success, working at SaaS companies with focuses in customer excellence. We’re welcoming them to the team and sharing their thoughts on Lucidworks and ambitions for the future.

Meet CEO Michael Sinoway

Michael Sinoway is an experienced CEO in the software, ecommerce, and consumer products industries. Prior to joining Lucidworks, Sinoway was CEO of Aftermarket Performance Group, an ecommerce auto parts company with a dozen business units in the Jeep, truck, and sport compact vehicle segments. Before, he served as CEO of a SaaS data analytics company named MaritzCX. Sinoway started in the customer experience and data analytics space when he joined the Walt Disney Company out of grad school. As Manager of Disney’s Research Services, he implemented a Customer Perceived Value Tracking program that was a forerunner of today’s NPS measurement systems. He was also a Managing Director at both Deloitte Consulting and AlixPartners in addition to teaching Operations Strategy for Purdue University’s executive education program. He lives with his wife Erin in Salt Lake City. Their grown children have been displaced by two dogs, a cat, and a bird.

Meet CMO Troy Monney

Troy lends decades of marketing and customer success experience to Lucidworks as the company’s Chief Marketing Officer. Before joining Lucidworks, Troy was the Executive Vice President at InMoment, a SaaS customer experience company. He has worked in tech his entire career holding marketing and operational positions at Symantec, Novell, and MaritzCX. He has helped a series of businesses scale from small to large and then exit. Troy earned his B.S. in Finance from Brigham Young University and resides in Utah. Troy’s bad habits are buying too many sneakers and his love for 80’s Hair Metal Bands. Not to worry Lucidworks team, he is currently in therapy for both.

We sat down with both Mike and Troy to get to know them a little better and learn about their thoughts and plans for Lucidworks. Here’s what they had to say:

Tell us a little about yourselves and your path to Lucidworks.

Mike Sinoway: I started as an aerospace engineer, but moved into business strategy for Disney after picking up an MBA. That was fun, but I eventually moved into consulting. I helped clients with ERP systems, CRM systems, data warehouses, and data analytics. After 25 years in consulting, I had an opportunity to become CEO of a customer analytics software company. That was the first of three CEO experiences that all resulted in technology transformation and rapid growth.

Troy Monney: With the last name Monney, it was appropriate that I graduated with a Finance degree, but I have never worked in a finance or an accounting role. I started my career in tech as a sales associate at WordPerfect and then held various positions in partnering, operations, and marketing at Novell and Symantec. I then focused on the startup world and had a successful journey with a company in the customer experience and analytics industry.

What about Lucidworks are you most excited for?

MS: Working with this team of talented, super-smart, and ambitious people. I have genuinely liked everyone I’ve met so far, while simultaneously being awed by their ability. I’m going to have to be at the top of my game as CEO just to feel like I belong in this peer group.

TM: I love that our solutions are foundational components of our customers’ strategy. In both e-commerce and knowledge management use cases, Lucidworks solutions deliver significant business benefits.

What do you each imagine for Lucidworks’ future?

MS: I want us to be so well known for what we do that I can stop trying to explain our business to my mom. At a practical level, I want us to improve and elevate the Journey Experience for customers and employees in any business.

TM: We are still learning all the different ways our technology can assist our customers and partners. I imagine we will be able to deliver a more relevant, personalized experience to what people are looking for.

What’s one of the most important lessons you’ve learned from previous leadership roles?

MS: There are a few that have stuck in my brain. Always pay attention to cash. When you run out, the game is over. Never tolerate toxic employees, no matter how good they are at their job. The CEO role is 10% inspiration and 90% preparation. My job is to prepare for events and situations before they happen.

TM: It takes a team to win. I learned from WordPerfect that the best technology does not always win in the marketplace. You need the tech, operations, sales, marketing, and customer success team to all be driving toward the same goal.

Favorite business book?

MS: Thinking Fast and Slow by Daniel Kahneman. It’s not a typical business book, but provides incredible insights into how people think and make decisions.

TM: Freakonomics by Stephen J. Dubner and Steven Levitt.

Favorite place you’ve visited?

MS: Vegas. I’m always up for a trip to Vegas. And I’m always eager to leave town after 3 days.

TM: South Texas.

Favorite weekend activity?

MS: A long walk with my wife and dogs.

TM: Hanging out with the Monney Team.

Michael and Troy join Lucidworks with our annual ACTIVATE Search and AI Conference just around the corner. Learn more about Mike’s keynote and check out the full agenda here. Be sure to follow both Mike and Troy on LinkedIn! We are thrilled that they are equally if not more passionate about our mission to connect people with what they need. See you at ACTIVATE 2022!