Data platform provider, Splunk announced that Doug Merritt has stepped down from his position and Graham Smith, Chair of Splunk’s Board of Directors, has been appointed interim Chief Executive Officer, effective immediately. Smith is replacing Merritt after having served as President and CEO for the past six years. Merritt will remain with the company in an advisory role during the transition and while the company is looking for a new CEO.
Graham Smith interim CEO
The new interim CEO, Graham Smith, served as a member of the board since 2011 and as chair since 2019. Prior to his role at Splunk, he held various executive positions in Salesforce, such as Chief Financial Officer. In his new role, he will be focussing on investments and priorities for the company’s upcoming fiscal year. After the search for a new CEO is over, Smith will retain his Chair responsibilities.
The company also announced preliminary results for the 3rd quarter. Splunk expects to report the following for the 3rd quarter, all of which are within or above previously provided guidance:
- Cloud ARR will be approximately $1.105 billion, representing 75% year over year growth.
- Total ARR will be approximately $2.825 billion, representing 37% year over year growth.
- Total revenues will be approximately $660 million, representing 19% year over year growth.
- Non-GAAP operating margin will be approximately negative 14%.
Graham Smith, Interim CEO of Splunk said,
“On behalf of the Board, I want to thank Doug for his innumerable contributions and dedicated years of service to Splunk. Since his appointment as CEO in 2015, Doug has led Splunk through critical product and business model transformations, which have enabled the company to become the leading data platform across Security, Observability and IT. With the proven success of our ongoing cloud transformation and our team’s strong execution, we are confident that Splunk is well positioned for its next phase of growth.”