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Godfrey Sullivan

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Godfrey R. Sullivan
Godfrey R. Sullivan, former CEO of Splunk and Hyperion Solutions
Born1953 or 1954 (age 70–71)[1]
Alma materBaylor University
Occupation(s)CEO of Splunk and Hyperion Solutions
Years active1981–2015

Godfrey R. Sullivan is the former CEO of data analysis software company Splunk, and of enterprise performance management software company Hyperion Solutions.[2]

Early life and career

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Sullivan grew up in Waco, Texas,[3] and earned a Bachelor of Business Administration from Baylor University in 1975.[4][5] In 1981, he joined Apple Inc., where he worked for 11 years in sales, marketing and operations. In 1992, he moved on to Autodesk,[1] where he worked for eight years under CEO Carol Bartz,[4] and then spent time at Citrix.[6][7] He served as President of Hyperion Solutions from October 2001 until April 2007, and CEO from July 2004 until April 2007,[5] when the Oracle Corporation acquired the company for $3.3 billion.[8]

In the mid-1980s, Sullivan began participating in Ride and Tie, a mountain race where teams of two people alternate between riding a horse and running. He raced for 25 years, describing it as "probably the most fun I've had with my clothes on,"[9] and retired from the sport in 2010 in order to focus on Splunk.[1]

Splunk

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Sullivan joined Splunk as CEO in 2008, replacing cofounder Michael Baum in the role,[8] and led Splunk through its initial public offering in 2012.[3] During his tenure at Splunk, the company grew from 750 to more than 10,000 customers, and from $18 million of annual revenue to nearly $600 million.[10] Sullivan advocated for hiring more women within Splunk leadership and the technology sector as a whole.[11] He retired from the CEO position in November 2015, and was succeeded by Splunk SVP Doug Merritt.[12] He continues to serve as chairman of Splunk's board of directors.[2]

References

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  1. ^ a b c Levy, Ari (20 April 2012). "Splunk CEO Twice Zuckerberg's Age Sees Stock Soar in IPO". Bloomberg. Retrieved 21 April 2016.
  2. ^ a b Hesseldahl, Arik (19 November 2015). "Splunk CEO Godfrey Sullivan Steps Down (We Have the Memo)". Re/code. Vox Media, Inc. Retrieved 25 March 2016.
  3. ^ a b Lev-Ram, Michal (1 February 2013). "A CEO who loves to horse around". Fortune. Retrieved 25 March 2016.
  4. ^ a b "Alumnus of the Year, Godfrey Sullivan". Baylor Magazine - Fall 2013. Baylor University. 3 October 2013. Retrieved 21 April 2016.
  5. ^ a b "Godfrey R. Sullivan: Executive Profile". Bloomberg Business. Retrieved 25 March 2016.
  6. ^ Bessette, Chanelle (30 October 2013). "Splunk CEO on the rise of the machines". Fortune. Retrieved 25 March 2016.
  7. ^ Hoge, Patrick (3 September 2008). "Godfrey Sullivan: President, CEO and Chairman, Splunk". San Francisco Business Times. Retrieved 25 March 2016.
  8. ^ a b Vance, Ashlee (2 September 2008). "Godfrey Sullivan Takes Up Splunking". Bits. The New York Times. Retrieved 25 March 2016.
  9. ^ Solon, Olivia (8 April 2016). "From zero gravity to Ride & Tie: the quirky hobbies of the tech elite". The Guardian. Retrieved 21 April 2016.
  10. ^ Sharwood, Simon (20 November 2015). "Seven-year itch claims Splunk CEO". The Register. Retrieved 25 March 2016.
  11. ^ Harding, Scharon (25 September 2015). "Splunk CEO tells tech sector to hire more women". Channelnomics. Retrieved 25 March 2016.
  12. ^ Gagliordi, Natalie (19 November 2015). "Splunk tops Q3 earnings targets, CEO Godfrey Sullivan to retire". ZDNet. Archived from the original on November 20, 2015. Retrieved 25 March 2016.