Kivo names ex-Veeva leader Chris Xistris to head services

By AI, Created 11:26 AM UTC, May 27, 2026, /AGP/ – Kivo said Tuesday it hired former Veeva executive Chris Xistris as vice president of services as the life sciences software company expands to meet demand from pharma, biotech and CRO customers. The move comes as Kivo pushes a new open architecture for AI-enabled regulatory, clinical and quality workflows.

Why it matters: - Kivo is adding senior leadership as it tries to scale services for life sciences customers that want alternatives to legacy enterprise systems. - The hire comes as AI and faster operating models are changing how drug development teams manage regulatory, clinical and quality work. - Kivo is also using the appointment to support adoption of its newer open architecture, Kivo Headless GxP™.

What happened: - Kivo appointed Chris Xistris as vice president of services. - Xistris most recently served at Veeva Systems as senior director, R&D services engagement. - Kivo announced the hire from Portland, Oregon, on May 27, 2026.

The details: - Xistris brings more than 25 years of experience across regulatory operations, clinical operations, quality systems and enterprise software transformation. - At Veeva, Xistris led adoption and transition planning across more than 600 customer engagements in regulatory, clinical, quality, commercial and safety areas. - Xistris started his career inside regulatory and clinical operations teams at small and mid-sized biotech companies. - His early work focused on TMF management, investigational drug submission management and the implementation of content and information management systems. - Xistris later worked in consulting, helping organizations build regulatory operations infrastructure, improve business processes and modernize workflows. - At Kivo, Xistris will oversee the continued expansion and scaling of the company’s services organization. - Kivo says demand is growing among pharmaceutical, biotech and CRO customers seeking interoperable systems. - Kivo says its partner ecosystem is helping customers standardize workflows, simplify collaboration, accelerate implementation and maintain audit-ready compliance across sponsor projects and internal operations. - Kivo recently introduced Kivo Headless GxP™, an open architecture intended to help life sciences organizations operationalize agentic AI across regulatory, clinical and quality workflows. - Kivo’s platform is built for regulatory information management, eTMF, QMS, controlled document management, submission assembly, eCTD lifecycle management, inspection readiness, SOP management and training management. - The company says the platform includes Part 11-compliant e-signatures, process automation and continuous validation assurance. - Kivo says those capabilities are designed to reduce IT costs and operational friction. - The company said its platform is aimed at scaling pharmaceutical and biotech organizations.

Between the lines: - The hire signals that Kivo sees services as a key part of winning and retaining regulated life sciences customers, not just selling software. - Xistris’ background across sponsor operations, consulting and enterprise SaaS could help Kivo speak more credibly to customers managing complex system changes. - Kivo is positioning itself around AI readiness and connected workflows, which suggests the company wants to compete on architecture as much as on features.

What’s next: - Kivo said Xistris will help expand services as the company grows its customer base. - Kivo will showcase Xistris at the DIA Global Annual Meeting in Philadelphia at booth #1313. - Kivo will also host a Headless GxP debut event on June 8 at 10 a.m. PT at the webinar registration page. - More information is available on Kivo’s website.