Evernote’s Exits Continue As VPs Of Partnerships And Brand Both Move On

Evernote is a company very much in transition, and that’s highlighted by the exit of couple of notable vice presidents at the company. Vice President of Partnerships Alex Pachikov, a nine-year veteran at the company, is moving to pastures new come January, multiple sources told TechCrunch, while Vice President of Brand Andrew Sinkov has just departed following an eight year tenure, as his LinkedIn profile shows.

These exits come five months after CEO and co-founder Phil Libin shifted to Executive Chairman following the appointment of ex-Googler Chris O’Neill to the CEO hot seat. (Libin also took a role as Managing Director at General Catalyst Partners, emphasizing his removal from day-to-day management at the company.) Then, last month, we reported that COO Linda Kozlowski is leaving at the end of 2015.

Neither Evernote nor Pachikov responded to our requests for comment.

This year has been a tumultuous one for Evernote. In addition to the leadership change, the company restructuring its staffing — closing three international offices and letting 47 people go — and killed off its Evernote Food, Skitch, Clearly and Pebble Watch apps. (Skitch for Mac was spared the ax, though.) Evernote said it will instead increase focus on its core app.

There are also more changes in Pachikov’s team, which one source told us has been “decimated” by a spate of staff moving on. In particular, key personnel Tammy Sun, Director of Partnerships, and Pearl Woon-Tai, Senior Director of Partnerships, have followed their boss Pachikov in making an exit. Stanford graduate Woon-Tai has moved over to Facebook, where she is working on mobile business partnerships.

Staff leaving isn’t necessary a sign of impending doom. While Evernote’s business has been closely scrutinized and accused of becoming stagnant, a change in the long-term management structure very often leads to the departures of long-serving employees. Evernote CEO O’Neill will need to rebuild some important company pillars, but, in some ways, starting fresh with new personnel might not be such a bad thing. Time will tell — 2016 is shaping up to be an important year for Evernote.