Good morning. Workday has reached a milestone—earning a spot on the Fortune 500 for the first time.
The software company, which offers finance and HR tools in one system, landed at no. 490, on the annual list released this week, pulling in $7.3 billion in revenue and nearly $1.4 billion in profits. The company was founded in 2005 by Aneel Bhusri and Dave Duffield. (Workday is a CFO Daily sponsor.)
Workday’s CFO Zane Rowe said great teams and a commitment to customers have been key. “I’ve become a far better CFO, and we become better as a company, in knowing how our customers think about our products,” he told me.
Rowe was a seasoned tech CFO when he joined Workday in June 2023, but made it part of his job to engage with the finance chiefs who are the firm’s most critical customers. He meets with them and asks how they’re driving their business, their thoughts on value creation, and what they expect Workday to do for them, he explained.
Rowe joined Workday from virtualization software developer VMware where he was CFO for seven years. During that time, he served for several months as interim CEO. Before VMware, Rowe was the CFO at EMC, and spent time as former EVP and CFO at United Airlines and Continental Airlines. He has also led North American sales for Apple.
He brought his tech savviness to Workday, which has been building out AI as part of its platform for roughly 10 years, he said. It was in 2023, however, that the technology had its first truly breakout year as generative AI began to proliferate. Customers are increasingly looking to the company to help with greater insight for use cases and strategies for AI, Rowe said.
In February, Workday announced plans to acquire HiredScore, an AI-powered HR technology company focused on hiring processes and talent mobility. Workday CEO Carl Eschenbach recently told Fortune the company has rolled out around 50 AI features so far, including generative AI capabilities for creating job descriptions, for example. The company plans on releasing another 25 AI features later this year.
There’s still “a sort of choppy, macro environment” around the globe, and that’s causing the need for companies to become more efficient, Rowe said. “So by and large, it’s actually been a good backdrop for us, and we continue to see tremendous demand for our products,” he said.
For the full year ended Jan. 31, Workday’s subscription revenues were $6.6 billion, up 19% year over year. In the latest quarter ended April 30, subscription revenues were $1.8 billion, an increase of 18.8% from the same period last year. And for the quarter, total revenues were $1.990 billion, an increase of 18.1%.
With a growth mindset, Rowe said he works to keep the teams aligned with longer-term strategies and objectives. For example, Workday’s current revenues are 25% international and 75% domestic, so there’s an opportunity to expand around the world, and build partnerships, he said.
At the same time, Rowe continues to focus on efficiency by implementing Workday’s products across the organization from R&D teams to finance. That includes a product that enables companies to send out pulse surveys to employees to gauge their sentiment. And, from Rowe’s CFO perspective, “it’s really what drives success in the finance organization as well,” he said.
Have a good weekend.
Sheryl Estrada
sheryl.estrada@fortune.com
Leaderboard
Some notable moves this week:
Irene Esteves was named CFO at Spirit AeroSystems Holdings, Inc. (NYSE: SPR), effective June 5. Mark Suchinski has stepped down as SVP and CFO. Suchinski will remain with Spirit for a transition period. Esteves is a former EVP and CFO at Time Warner Cable and a member of Spirit's board of directors.
Anat Ashkenazi was named CFO and SVP of Google and Alphabet, effective July 31. Longtime CFO Ruth Porat is remaining with the company but was promoted to a new role as president and chief investment officer of Alphabet and Google, which was previously announced in July 2023. Ashkenazi, CFO at Lilly since 2021, is moving on from a 23-year tenure at the Indianapolis-based pharmaceutical company. Before serving as finance chief, she was SVP, controller, and CFO of Lilly Research Laboratories.
Edmund Reese was named EVP and CFO at Aon plc (NYSE: AON), a global professional services firm, effective July 29. Reese will join Aon on July 1 to succeed Christa Davies, who will become a senior advisor to the firm until her previously announced retirement. Reese has more than 25 years of leadership experience. He has served since 2020 as CFO of the global fintech, Broadridge Financial Solutions. Reese joined Broadridge from American Express, where he last served as SVP and CFO of its largest business unit, the global consumer services group, and held several financial leadership positions.
Scott Haralson was named CFO at Hertz Global Holdings, Inc. (Nasdaq: HTZ), a global rental car company. Haralson will join Hertz by the end of June. He will succeed Alexandra Brooks, who is leaving the company to pursue other opportunities. Haralson has over 25 years of experience, having most recently served as CFO of Spirit Airlines.
Brian McMenamy was named interim CFO at Spirit Airlines (NYSE: SAVE), effective June 14. McMenamy succeeds departing EVP and CFO Scott Haralson. McMenamy was previously VP and controller. Before joining Spirit in 2017, he held various roles in finance at American Airlines, including VP, finance; VP, financial planning and analysis; and VP and controller. Spirit will initiate a search for a new CFO with the assistance of an executive search firm.
Shane Hostetter was appointed CFO of The Chemours Company (NYSE: CC), a global chemistry company, effective July 1. With Hostetter's appointment, Matt Abbott, interim CFO since February, will resume his prior role of SVP, chief enterprise transformation officer. Former Chemours CFO Jonathan Lock resigned on April 23. Hostetter joins Chemours after 13 years of service at the Quaker Chemical Corporation, where he served as CFO since April 2021.
Jane Bailey was appointed CFO for J.P. Morgan Wealth Management, according to the company. Bailey was previously CFO for UBS Americas & Wealth Management Americas, where she spent nearly 20 years. She held numerous leadership positions across several business divisions. Bailey began her career as an analyst at Standard Chartered Bank and later Standard & Poor’s.
Antonio “Tony” Rodriquez was appointed interim CFO at Cerence Inc. (Nasdaq: CRNC), an AI company, effective June 4. Rodriquez brings over 25 years of experience. Rodriquez has served as a partner of CSuite Financial Partners, a financial executive services firm, since 2018, where he served as CFO of The Bouqs Company. Previously, he served as CFO of TouchCommerce Inc. Cerence will continue its search for a permanent CFO.
Big Deal
The World Economic Forum's latest Chief Economists' Outlook explores key trends in the global economy, such as the outlook for growth, inflation, monetary, and fiscal policy. “The views on the long-term prospects for the global economy are encouraging, with many policy opportunities to boost growth across high- and low-income economies,” according to the report.
Going deeper
Here are a few Fortune weekend reads:
“Layoffs, abusive calls, and AI fears: Inside the front lines of Amazon’s ‘customer obsession’ promise” by Jason Del Rey
“Short-seller Andrew Left is betting against GameStop again, undaunted by his 100% loss last time” by Will Daniel
“The Fed was too focused on the soft landing and has stuck the U.S. economy with higher prices, Stifel chief economist says” by Paolo Confino
“It’s not a contest: Bragging about your work stress may make you seem less likable and incompetent, says new study” by Lindsey Leake
Overheard
“This might sound fluffy to some, but fear grips most corporate cultures: fear of losing control of the outcome, looking stupid, or being judged. This leads people to think it’s 'not OK' to express their inner-most judgements, beliefs, and emotions.”
—Alice Zhang, CEO and cofounder of Verge Genomics, writes in a Fortune opinion piece about how she urges employees to share their fears and vulnerabilities and does the same with them.