New Relic (NYSE: NEWR), the observability company, today announced several updates related to its Board of Directors. As the result of its ongoing board refreshment process, New Relic has appointed Pali Bhat to the Board of Directors, effective June 13, 2022.

Mr. Bhat brings to New Relic’s Board more than 15 years of expertise in leading teams and products across consumer services, developer platforms, fintech, and cloud. He has served as the Chief Product Officer of Reddit, Inc since October 2021. Before joining Reddit, Mr. Bhat held senior leadership roles for more than 10 years at Google, Inc, including most recently as Vice President of Product and Design at Google Cloud.

“We are pleased to welcome an executive of Pali’s caliber to the Board,” said Lew Cirne, Executive Chairman and Founder of New Relic. “The Board has focused on refreshment over the last several years and today’s announcement furthers this commitment. We believe the Board and New Relic will greatly benefit from Pali’s deep and domain-specific product, engineering and business expertise, as we continue to position our customers at the center of every function in the company to drive long-term profitable growth and value creation for all our shareholders.”

Mr. Bhat said, “I am honored to have the opportunity to serve on the Board to help deliver on New Relic’s mission of helping every engineer take a data-driven approach at every stage of the software lifecycle. I look forward to contributing my expertise to further grow New Relic and transform customer experiences to succeed in today’s digital environment, and to deliver enhanced value for shareholders.”

New Relic also announced that it has appointed Kevin Galligan, a Partner of JANA Partners LLC and Director of Research at JANA Strategic Investments, and Susan D. Arthur, Chief Executive Officer of CareerBuilder, LLC, to the Board, effective June 13, 2022.

“We are pleased with the constructive engagement we have had with JANA, as we do with all shareholders, and welcome Kevin and Susan to the New Relic Board,” said Hope Cochran, Vice Chair and Lead Independent Director of New Relic. “We are confident that with their diversified expertise and relevant experience, Kevin and Susan will add valuable perspective in the boardroom as we execute on our strategic plan to accelerate growth and drive shareholder value.”

Kevin Galligan said, “We appreciate the productive conversations we have had with the New Relic Board. We are excited about the company’s future as it continues to leverage its unique and competitive product to deliver new account, data and user growth, and we look forward to working closely with the directors and management team to realize the company’s value potential on behalf of all New Relic shareholders.”

New Relic CEO Bill Staples said, “I look forward to working with our Board as we further strengthen our company and continue to experience broad-based market acceptance of our unique business model and observability platform. We will continue building on our momentum by delivering greater value that inspires customers to use more and more of our observability platform across every stage of the software lifecycle.”

James (Jim) Tolonen, Dan Scholnick and Adam Messinger will step down from the Board, effective June 13, 2022.

“On behalf of the entire Board and management team, I would like to thank Jim, Dan and Adam for their many years of service to New Relic,” said Cirne. “We are grateful for their valuable insights, guidance and tireless dedication to advancing our company and strategy for the benefit of all our stakeholders during their tenure. We wish them all the best in their future endeavors.”

In connection with the appointment of Kevin Galligan and Susan Arthur to the Board, the company has also entered into a cooperation agreement with JANA Partners LLC (“JANA”). Under the terms of the agreement, JANA has agreed to a customary standstill and non-disparagement commitments. The cooperation agreement will be filed by the company with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”) as an exhibit to the Current Report on Form 8-K.

About Pali Bhat

Phalachandra (Pali) Bhat has served as the Chief Product Officer of Reddit, Inc., an online community of communities, since October 2021. Prior to Reddit, Mr. Bhat worked for Google, Inc. from March 2011 to October 2021, where he was most recently Vice President of Product Management from May 2017 to October 2021. Earlier in his career, Mr. Bhat was Vice President at SAP Labs and a consultant with McKinsey & Co. Mr. Bhat holds a M.S. in Computer Science from University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign and an M.B.A. from Duke University.

About Kevin Galligan

Kevin Galligan has 15 years of experience investing in companies and driving shareholder value. He is a Partner of JANA Partners LLC and Director of Research of JANA Strategic Investments, a strategic investment fund specializing in enhancing shareholder value through active engagement. Mr. Galligan joined JANA Partners LLC in 2011 from Kohlberg Kravis Roberts & Company where he was a Principal in the North American Private Equity Group.  Prior to that, he worked in the Mergers & Acquisitions Advisory Division of The Blackstone Group. Mr. Galligan holds a B.A. in Economics from Columbia University.

About Susan D. Arthur

Ms. Arthur currently has served as Chief Executive Officer of CareerBuilder, LLC, a marketplace for job seekers and employers, since 2021. Previously, Ms. Arthur served as Chief Operating Officer at OptumInsight, the healthcare technology services division of United Health Group Incorporated (NYSE: UNH). Before joining OptumInsight, Ms. Arthur served in various corporate development and operating company roles, including as Group President of Vertical Industries at NTT Data, a multinational information technology service and consulting company. Prior to that, Ms. Arthur served as Vice President and General Manager at DXC Technology Company (NYSE: DXC), a multinational provider of information technology services and business consulting. Ms. Arthur formerly served as a Vice President and General Manager at Hewlett Packard, and later Hewlett Packard Enterprise Company, leading their healthcare, life sciences, communications, media and entertainment sectors, as well as the Canada public sector business. Ms. Arthur has also serves on the Board and Audit Committee of Rackspace Technology, Inc. (NASDAQ: RXT), a cloud computing services company and serves as a member of the board of directors and Strategic Planning Committee of the Make-A-Wish Foundation, a nonprofit organization that helps fulfill the wishes of children with critical illness. Ms. Arthur holds a B.A. in Economics and Spanish from Gettysburg College.

Forward-Looking Statements

This press release contains “forward-looking” statements, as that term is defined under the federal securities laws, including but not limited to statements regarding the appointment of Pali Bhat, Kevin Galligan and Susan D. Arthur, and the experiences and value that they will bring to the Board and New Relic. The achievement or success of the matters covered by such forward-looking statements are based on New Relic’s current assumptions, expectations, and beliefs and are subject to substantial risks, uncertainties, assumptions, and changes in circumstances that may cause New Relic’s actual results, performance, or achievements to differ materially from those expressed or implied in any forward-looking statement. Further information on factors that could affect New Relic’s financial and other results and the forward-looking statements in this press release is included in the filings New Relic makes with the SEC from time to time, including in New Relic’s most recent Form 10-K, particularly under the captions “Risk Factors” and “Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations.” Copies of these documents may be obtained by visiting New Relic’s Investor Relations website at http://ir.newrelic.com or the SEC's website at www.sec.gov. New Relic assumes no obligation and does not intend to update these forward-looking statements, except as required by law.