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After 23 years as co-CEO of Sydney-headquartered software giant Atlassian (NASDAQ: TEAM), Scott Farquhar has announced he will be stepping down from the role in four months, leaving Mike Cannon-Brookes as the only top boss.
In an announcement to shareholders, Atlassian said that Farquhar made the decision in order to spend more time with his young family, improve the world via philanthropy and help further the technology industry globally.
Farquhar’s last day as co-CEO will be on August 31. Following that date, he will continue as an active board member and assume a special advisor role.
“While it's a difficult decision to step away, I do so knowing Atlassian is exceptionally positioned to take hold of the massive opportunities at its feet. We have a strong leadership team, and great momentum around cloud, enterprise, and now, AI,” said Farquhar.
“I’m looking forward to spending some time with my young family, improving the world via philanthropy with Skip Foundation and Pledge 1%, investing with Skip Capital, as well as mentoring other tech CEOs,” he added in a note sent around to Atlassian employees.
“While there will be plenty of time for long thank yous and goodbyes over the next four months, I can’t let this opportunity go by without recognising and thanking my co-founder Mike. Mike, it’s hard to put into words the gratitude I feel, and my love for all we have created together.”
I'm stepping down as co-CEO of Atlassian after an incredible 23 years. I'm so grateful to everyone along this journey. https://t.co/aA0oAD1aKh
— Scott Farquhar (@scottfarkas) April 25, 2024
The co-CEOs met at the University of New South Wales at 18, having landed in the same scholarship course in 1998. Cannon-Brookes said that Scott's contribution at Atlassian is impossible to quantify.
“Starting with just the two of us in 2001, to a global company of over 11,000 employees and over USD$4 billion in annual revenue, Atlassian would not be the company it is today without Scott,” he said.
“I am truly grateful to have had him by my side every day for the last 23 years.”
The news of Farquhar stepping down came at the same time Atlassian announced a 30 per cent increase in revenue for the quarter ended March 31, hitting USD$1.2 billion. Subscription revenue also grew 41 per cent year-on-year.
Atlassian recorded a net income of USD$12.8 million for the quarter, compared to a net loss of USD$209 million for the third quarter of FY23.
The software giant also generated a record free cash flow of $555 million, reflecting a 59 per cent year-on-year increase. The company expects total revenue to land between USD$1.12 billion to USD$1.13 billion for the fourth quarter of FY24.
“Today, Atlassian is a cloud-majority company. We have over 300,000 customers using our Cloud products and have seen a 3x increase in paid seats in Cloud since we announced end-of-support for Server three and a half years ago,” Cannon-Brookes said.
“We have a significant opportunity to drive durable, long-term growth as we continue to execute against our cloud roadmap and deliver innovation across our cloud platform.”
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