Workday Appoints Former VMware President as New Co-CEO

Enterprise cloud applications provider Workday has appointed longtime channel vet Carl Eschenbach to co-CEO, effective immediately.

Workday’s Karl Eschenbach

Eschenbach will remain on the Workday board of directors. He joined the board in 2018. He’ll serve as co-CEO alongside Aneel Bhusri, Workday co-CEO, co-founder and chair, through January 2024, Workday’s fiscal year end.

At that time, Eschenbach should assume sole CEO responsibilities, and Aneel will assume a full-time role as executive chair and will remain as chair of the board of directors. Chano Fernandez has stepped down as co-CEO and as a member of the board of directors.

“I’ve long admired Workday and how it has redefined the enterprise software industry, with a focus on putting people at the center, a values-based approach to leadership, and a relentless focus on customer service and innovation,” Eschenbach said. “This has helped differentiate Workday, driving its growth and success in supporting some of the world’s largest organizations. I’m thrilled to be expanding my role at Workday and working with Aneel, the rest of the leadership team, and our amazing group of employees to help us build on this great momentum and take hold of the massive opportunity in front of us.”

Several Leadership Roles with VMware

Eschenbach has more than 35 years of experience leading technology companies. He has been a partner at venture capital firm Sequoia Capital since 2016. There, he worked closely with high-growth, innovative enterprise software organizations. He’ll stay involved with Sequoia in a venture partner capacity.

Prior to Sequoia, he held several leadership positions at VMware, including president, chief operating officer, acting chief financial officer, and executive vice president of worldwide field operations. He helped the company grow to more than $7 billion in total revenue during his 14 years at the company.

“We have an incredible opportunity in front of us and I’m confident that Carl, with his leadership skills and his proven experience in helping technology companies scale, as well as his commitment to culture and values, will help lead Workday through its next phase of growth,” Bhusri said. “Chano has been an integral part of Workday since he joined almost nine years ago and has helped us to achieve great success and growth. We thank him for his many contributions.”