Workday changes CEO. The current one, Carl Eschenbach, has submitted his resignation, and will replace him one of the founders and current President of the company, Aneel Bushri. The departure of Eschenbach, who will also leave the company’s Board of Directors, although he will continue to be a strategic advisor to the CEO, comes after the announcement of a round of layoffs in his staff, and several fluctuations in the Price of his shares.
The change in the most senior position at Workday has already been communicated to investors, as well as the United States Securities and Exchange Commission. In the statement sent to said organization, it is stated that Eschenbach will receive a one-time cash payment of $3.6 million as compensation for his departure.
Eschenbach was named CEO of Workday in January 2024, and then succeeded Bushri, who now returns to take the reins of the company. A year ago the company announced a cut of 8.5% of its workforce, about 1,750 jobs, as part of a restructuring plan motivated by Workday’s investment in AI.
Weeks later, in June, it announced the opening of a process to recruit personnel for different positions and skills, a plan interrupted a few weeks later when several activist investors acquired 2 billion in Workday shares. Last week, the company announced another round of layoffs, in this case, 2% of its total employees, with the aim of aligning its staff with its main priorities, as well as achieving the margins planned in the forecasts for the quarter and its fiscal year.
Workday is dedicated to the development of business software as a service for Human Resources and finance. In recent days, as has happened with different software as a service companies, the value of their shares has registered a significant decrease, because investors are assessing what impact it is having on the market. This adds to the drop in the price of its shares, which during the last month have fallen by more than 25%.
As Eschenbach commented about his time at the head of Workday, “ha It has been a privilege to serve as CEO for the past three years and I am proud of all we have achieved: instilling greater operational discipline, expanding globally, broadening our industry focus and laying a significant foundation in AI. I couldn’t be more grateful to Aneel and our board of directors for the trust they have placed in me to lead this very special company, and I look forward to supporting Aneel and Workday in this new stage«.
Meanwhile, Bushri has shown his gratitude to Eschenbach «for having led Workday in an important stage: the expansion of the company, the consolidation of our base and the appropriate positioning for what the future holds. We are now entering one of the most crucial moments in our history. AI is a bigger transformation than SaaS and will define the next generation of market leaders. I am energized to return as CEO and work alongside our Presidents Gerrit Kazmaier and Rob Enslin, and I am excited about the opportunity ahead.«.
