Carl Eschenbach, formerly the co-CEO of Workday alongside founder and chair Aneel Bhusri, has been formally appointed full CEO effective today, in line with leadership succession plans announced more than two years ago.

Eschenbach was appointed co-CEO in December 2022, replacing Chano Fernandez who stepped down from all his leadership positions at Workday and subsequently moved to Eightfold.ai. At the time, Workday stated that Eschenbach was expected to assume sole CEO responsibilities after January this year.

Bhusri remains executive chair of Workday's board of directors, and will serve as strategic advisor to the CEO. According to today's announcement, he will be particularly focused on 'advising the business on innovation and the future direction of Workday’s technology platform.'

Eschenbach has served on Workday's board since 2018. Prior to taking the role of co-CEO, he was a partner from 2016-2022 at venture capitalist Sequoia Capital - the firm famously known for backing Apple in the 1970s, and which also backed now-global technology platforms like Stripe, Zoom, and Instagram.

On taking up executive leadership at Workday, Eschenbach was expected to drive significant growth for the platform, which he has done. Among some of the statistics Workday achieved over the last two years under his leadership:

• Surpassed 65 million users under contract, and more than 10,000 global customers.
• Counted more than 50% of the Fortune 500, and more than 70% of the top 50 companies in the Fortune 500, among its customer base.
• Reached over $1 billion in annual recurring revenue (ARR) for its EMEA business.
• Surpassed $1 billion in ARR for its retail and hospitality segments.
• Expanded its leadership bench with a new CFO, CMO, and CIO.
• Partnered with a number of tech and industry leaders including Accenture, ADP, Alight, AWS, and Google Cloud.

“Workday has never been in a stronger position, thanks in large part to the impact Carl has made in his first year,” Bhusri lauded Eschenbach's performance. “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.”