Cloudstaff appoints ex-Google engineer as Chief AI Officer 

SYDNEY, AUSTRALIA — Cloudstaff, a global remote staffing provider operating in 34 countries, has appointed former Google engineer Richard Lyons as its Chief AI Officer. 

Lyons will lead the company’s artificial intelligence strategy in this newly created position, focusing on how AI can enhance Cloudstaff’s offerings and maximize customer efficiency.

Lyons brings 15 years of experience at Google, where he notably led a team supervising machine learning models at YouTube Search. His background in building ‘planet scale’ solutions and deploying successful AI-driven processes will be invaluable as Cloudstaff seeks to address challenges such as talent shortages, the rise of remote working, and changing work practices.

Cloudstaff CEO Lloyd Ernst said, “As the outsourcing industry evolves, we recognize that AI will play a transformative role in enabling businesses to stay ahead of the competition.”

Cloudstaff, which has been in operation for over 15 years, helps companies in the United States, Australia, and beyond find the best talent in professional services, including accounting, real estate, tourism and travel, software development, customer service, sales, and marketing.

Lyons’ appointment marks the next iteration of Cloudstaff’s technology differentiation strategy, as the company prepares to roll out pilot use cases to help customers source new employees faster and simplify collaboration with remote workforces.

In addition to appointing Lyons as Chief AI Officer, Cloudstaff has made several other strategic moves to drive its global expansion.

The company has recently acquired Sydney-based offshoring consultancy optiBPO as part of an aggressive two-year global growth strategy. Cloudstaff has doubled its team size since 2020 and plans to increase it by a further 70% in the coming months.

Last year, the company achieved a financial milestone of $100 million in annualized recurring revenue. Cloudstaff ranked #56 on the Time Doctor OA500, an index of the world’s top 500 outsourcing firms.