Workday’s Founder Returns to Lead Its AI Reinvention

Workday has reinstated co-founder Aneel Bhusri as chief executive officer, effective immediately, as the company begins fiscal 2027. Carl Eschenbach is stepping down as CEO and as a member of the board and will remain as Special Advisor to the CEO, according to the company’s February 2026 announcement . In a LinkedIn post announcing his return, Bhusri wrote: “AI is reshaping how work gets done and represents an even bigger transformation than the shift to cloud 20 years ago. Just as we helped redefine enterprise software when we founded Workday, I believe we can once again lead the way in this AI era.” Eschenbach described his tenure as focused on “greater operational discipline, expanding globally, broadening our industry focus, and laying meaningful groundwork in AI,” in the same announcement. Workday currently describes itself as “the enterprise AI platform for managing people, money, and agents,” according to its investor materials. Revenue Trajectory and Workforce Cuts Workday reported third-quarter fiscal 2026 revenue of $2.432 billion, up 12.6% year over year, with operating income of $259 million (10.7% of revenue), according to its Nov. 25, 2025 earnings release . The company guided to $8.828 billion in subscription revenue for fiscal 2026, representing roughly 14% growth, and a non-GAAP operating margin of approximately 29%. For full fiscal 2025, Workday reported total revenue of $7.26 billion, up 17% year over year. Workday reported more than $1.5 billion in research and development expense in fiscal 2025, representing roughly 21% of revenue, according to its annual filing (Form 10-K FY25). The company’s investor materials reference AI and agent capabilities as part of its platform strategy. The company reports serving more than 11,000 organizations globally, with products deployed in more than 175 countries, and employing more than 20,000 people, according to its investor disclosures. Shares fell approximately 6% to 7% in early trading following the CEO announcement, according to market coverage. The leadership change followed reported workforce reductions. Business Insider reported in early February 2026 that Workday cut approximately 400 employees, or about 2% of its workforce, affecting primarily customer service and non-revenue roles. Workday also announced workforce reductions in 2023 affecting approximately 3% of employees, citing macroeconomic conditions at the time. Workday is scheduled to report fiscal 2026 fourth-quarter and full-year results on February 24, 2026, according to the company. Investors will review revenue growth, margin performance, and product updates during that report. Competing for the AI Layer In his statement, Bhusri referenced “20 years of trusted data and process history,” adding: “We know how decisions flow, how policies are applied, and how work really gets done.” Workday was founded in 2005 and built its position in human capital management and finance applications during the early shift from on-premise enterprise software to cloud-based systems. Workday launched Skills Cloud in 2018 to map workforce capabilities using machine learning. Enterprise software peers have expanded AI offerings over the past two years. SAP introduced Joule, a generative AI copilot integrated into SAP applications, in September 2023. Oracle has announced AI features embedded across Oracle Fusion Cloud Applications and launched an AI Agent Marketplace to support enterprise AI deployments. Microsoft has rolled out Copilot integrations across Dynamics 365 and related enterprise applications. SAP, Oracle, and Microsoft have each announced AI assistants and agent capabilities integrated into their enterprise platforms. The CEO transition takes effect at the start of Workday’s fiscal 2027, with Bhusri resuming day-to-day leadership as the company enters its next reporting cycle. The shift places the company’s AI strategy directly under its co-founder’s oversight as it begins the new fiscal year.

Workday’s Founder Returns to Lead Its AI Reinvention

Revenue Trajectory and Workforce Cuts

Keep reading. It's free.

Related stories