Guest: Carl Eschenbach, co-CEO of Workday

When Carl Eschenbach decided to leave VMWare after more than 14 years as COO, no one believed it: Not chairman Joe Tucci, not CEO Pat Gelsinger, and maybe not Carl himself. But he needed a more predictable work-life balance to help raise his teenage children. For the next seven years, he served as a partner at Sequoia Capital. And every day, he thought — and to his wife’s chagrin, talked — about going back: “It was always on the back of my mind,” he says. After the kids were out of the house, in late 2022, he jumped back into operating and became co-CEO of Workday. “It’s what I love to do,” he says. “I feel like I’ve been called to do it.”

In this episode, Carl and Joubin discuss jumping rope, Mike Clayville, the Flowbee, focusing on the family, wrestling, commuting cross-country, servant leadership, Sequoia Capital, Aneel Bhusri, co-CEOs, and Palo Alto Networks.

In this episode, we cover:

Working on Sand Hill Road (00:55)
Carl’s workout routine (03:15)
Staying humble and grounded (08:04)
Carl’s family and dinner table conversation (11:41)
Drive and ambition (16:08)
College vs. trade school (19:53)
3Com, Inktomi, and EMC (24:33)
Deciding to join VMware (28:02)
Virtualizing the data center (31:48)
The pressure of an incredible ride (35:54)
The infamous CFO story (40:14)
Eyeing the CEO job (46:00)
Carl’s one “big regret” (47:40)
Refocusing after a tragedy (52:05)
A left turn into venture (55:37)
The “itch” to go back to operating (01:00:17)
Joining the Workday board (01:04:37)
Building an enduring business (01:07:15)
“End[ing] my career in an operating role” (01:09:09)
Transitioning out of venture (01:15:56)
Who Workday is hiring and what “grit” means to Carl (01:18:01)

Links:

#149 Co-CEO Workday, Carl Eschenbach: A Life of Significance

Grit