Practis names Ryan Felton as CTO to lead Voice AI push

Practis has hired Ryan Felton as chief technology officer to steer engineering, AI and product development as the company expands its Voice AI sales training platform. The move is meant to strengthen a system that helps sales teams practice real customer conversations and measure skills more directly.

Why it matters: - Practis is pushing to make sales training more measurable by tying practice, coaching and live customer conversations into one Voice AI platform. - The company says that approach gives sales leaders a clearer view of the skills behind pipeline, close rates and revenue. - Felton’s hire adds an executive with enterprise software, mobile product and acquisition experience as Practis scales.

What happened: - Practis named Ryan Felton chief technology officer. - Felton will lead engineering, AI and product development at the AI sales training company. - The appointment comes as Practis expands its Voice AI platform and builds out its leadership team. - Practis announced the hire from Overland Park, Kansas, on Nov. 11, 2026.

The details: - Practis uses AI Coach, AI Customer simulations and analysis of live customer conversations to help organizations track skill development and coaching impact. - Felton will set technical direction across engineering, AI and product. - Felton will also lead Voice AI Labs. - Practis says Felton’s role is to advance learning and practice experiences for real customer conversations. - At UnitedHealth Group, Felton served as senior director of software engineering and led a global organization that included teams at Optum. - Felton oversaw product, design, project management, software engineering, quality assurance and cloud infrastructure at UnitedHealth Group. - Felton led the rebuild of the UnitedHealthcare mobile app, which reached No. 1 in the Medical category on the Apple App Store under his leadership. - Felton founded Calculated Combustion, which was acquired by BLiNQ Media in 2011. - Felton later served as vice president of technology and product at BLiNQ Media, which was acquired by Gannett in 2012. - Felton also served as co-founding CTO at Pulse Platform, which was acquired by Rally Health. - Felton later became senior director at Rally Health, which was acquired by UnitedHealth Group. - Felton holds a bachelor’s degree in computer science and mathematics from the University of Iowa. - Felton also holds an Executive MBA from the University of Missouri–Kansas City. - Felton is a U.S. Army veteran. - Practis says its platform helps organizations close skill gaps individually and at scale. - Practis says the platform supports continued skill development throughout a person’s career. - More information is available at Practis.

Between the lines: - The hire signals Practis wants deeper product and AI execution as it tries to move beyond traditional training tools. - The company is framing voice-based practice as a way to connect learning with business outcomes, not just course completion. - Felton’s background in acquisitions suggests experience building products that can survive integration and scale.

What's next: - Practis said Felton will help advance the company’s next phase of growth. - The company will continue developing its Voice AI platform around learning, practice and measurable improvement. - Practis is likely to keep leaning on Voice AI Labs and its customer-conversation analysis tools as it broadens the platform.

The bottom line: - Practis is betting that a more sophisticated Voice AI product, paired with experienced technical leadership, can make sales coaching more practical and more measurable.