Workday announced today that Carl Eschenbach has stepped down from his roles as CEO and Executive Chairman.
The company's stock price fell more than 5% following the news. This drop occurred amid a broader sell-off in enterprise stocks, which began last week after Anthropic PBC launched an AI tool for automating legal tasks. This move has raised investor concerns about AI's impact on existing job applications.
Workday develops a cloud-based platform that companies use for routine accounting tasks. Finance teams can review expenses, create budgets, and forecast revenue. They can also use built-in scenario modeling tools to simulate the effects of potential business changes.
Another core focus for Workday is workforce management. Human resources teams utilize its software for payroll management tasks and planning recruitment efforts. The platform also offers various other features, such as supplier onboarding.
Eschenbach, a former Sequoia Capital partner and VMware executive, joined Workday's board in 2018. Four years later, he became co-CEO alongside company co-founder Aneel Bhusri. After Bhusri's departure in February 2024, Eschenbach became Workday's sole CEO.
Over the past two years, the executive oversaw a major restructuring plan and a series of AI acquisitions. The largest of these deals was Workday's $1.1 billion acquisition of Swedish software startup Sana Labs AB, announced in September. This transaction brought the company an AI platform capable of automating business tasks like creating data visualizations.
Workday announced this acquisition during an analyst event, where it also detailed a new financial roadmap. As part of this plan, the company will repurchase $5 billion worth of stock and take steps to enhance profitability. The day after executives unveiled the plan, activist investor Elliott Management disclosed its $2 billion stake in the company.
Eschenbach will be succeeded by Workday co-founder Aneel Bhusri, who previously served as co-CEO with Eschenbach from 2022 to 2024. Bhusri has spent most of the last two decades as the company's co-CEO or sole CEO.
"I am incredibly grateful to Carl for leading Workday through an important phase—scaling the company, solidifying our foundation, and preparing for the future," Bhusri said. "We are now entering one of the most critical moments in our history. The transformation by AI is bigger than SaaS."
The leadership change comes approximately two weeks before the company's fourth-quarter earnings report. Workday today reaffirmed its forecast for a 15.5% adjusted operating margin and $2.355 billion in subscription revenue. For the full fiscal year, the software maker anticipates an adjusted margin of 29.1% and subscription revenue of $8.828 billion, representing a 14.4% increase from 12 months prior.
