Carl Eschenbach is officially taking on the role of Chief Executive Officer for Workday, the leader in enterprise cloud applications for finance and human resources. The appointment comes into effect from February 1, 2024, following a year of Eschenbach being a co-CEO alongside Aneel Bhusri from December 2022.
Bhusri, who is also the co-founder and chair of Workday, will continue to play a crucial role within the organisation. Now titled the Executive Chair of the Workday Board of Directors, he is slated to serve as a strategic adviser to the CEO. His focus will be on collaborating with Eschenbach and the rest of the executive team on developing strategic growth plans and aligning them with Workday's mission, vision, and values. Bhusri's expertise will be particularly focused on advising the company on innovation and the future direction of Workday's applications and technology platform.
"I'm honoured to serve as CEO of this incredible company," says Eschenbach, expressing his gratitude for the opportunity. Having found the past year alongside Bhusri a highlight of his career, Eschenbach comments that he was excited about "the opportunities ahead for Workday and to continue working with our world-class leadership team and more than 18,000 Workmates around the globe to build one of the most enduring software businesses of our time."
Bhusri is equally positive about Eschenbach's appointment stating "Workday has never been in a stronger position, thanks in large part to the impact Carl has made in his first year." He adds, "From the start, he has embodied the company's core set of values and I am confident that he is the right person to help Workday scale and lead us into our next phase of growth."
Under Eschenbach’s co-leadership since December 2022, Workday has seen substantial growth and achievements. The company has surpassed 65 million users under contract, listed more than 50% of the Fortune 500 and over 70% of the top 50 companies in the Fortune 500 amongst its customer base. Workday's EMEA business has seen increased momentum, surpassing $1 billion in annual recurring revenue (ARR). Moreover, the industry businesses have seen significant growth, with both retail and hospitality joining the firm's financial services industry in exceeding $1 billion in ARR.
Additionally, Workday expanded its leadership team, hosted its largest annual user conferences in the US and EMEA to-date, bolstered its innovation with numerous Workday AI announcements, and expanded partnerships. The firm also gained recognition as one of the Best Companies for Women, Best Company Culture, Best Company Diversity, and Best CEOs by Comparably Best Places to Work.
Eschenbach will step into the sole CEO role from tomorrow, marking the start of Workday's fiscal year 2025.