I was sorry to read the “VMware Announces Change in Executive Leadership” press release today from EMC.
VMware’s Board of Directors announced today that it has made a change in the leadership of the company with the departure of Diane Greene as President and CEO. VMware’s Board of Directors has appointed Paul Maritz as President and CEO of VMware effective immediately. Maritz was also named to VMware’s Board of Directors.
I heard her speak at a October 2006 Fireside chat at TiE and was extremely impressed by her low key style and forthright manner. She also said a number of smart things and as I blogged back then “I got a real sense of her as a genuinely caring leader (what Jim Collins would call a “Level 5 Leader” ).”
I always hate to see a founder get ousted from a company, especially one that’s still wildly successful (VMWare is expected to grow revenue almost 50% this year over last). I am interested in her perspective on events: she was against VMWare being acquired by EMC, mentioning it as one of the two “blackest days” she faced at VMWare during the Fireside chat, so I look forward to her being able to speak more candidly about the last few years once she is fully separated from EMC.
Update July 12: Ho Nam at Altos Capital has an interesting take–especially for a VC, but Altos is an unusual shop–in his post “Ousting the Founder.”
I was shocked to learn this week that Diane Greene, the co-founder and CEO of VMWare was ousted. I was not alone. Except for senior management (who found out very late, the night before) the employees of VMWare read about it, just like I did on Tuesday morning. […]
As co-founder and CEO, Diane Green built one of the all time great successes in Silicon Valley. Very, very few companies ever reach $1B in revenues. Even fewer in the technology industry. Even fewer in the software industry. And even fewer ever exceed $10B in market cap.
Why the hell would you fire her?? No, don’t tell me…I’ve heard all the reasons. VCs oust founders all the time. I’ve been in plenty of board level discussions around this topic! It’s almost a rite of passage in Silicon Valley. As a founder, you start a company, get VCs to fund you, recruit a “world class” management team…and eventually, find your replacement (or get ousted).
What people seem to miss, however, is that just about every great company ever created – in technology as well as low-tech, was built by a founder (or a CEO who happened to join the company very early in its growth phase) and a team of dedicated people who grew with their companies.[…]
I’d rather take my chances with the people who built the business and grew their companies than the “professionals” – the hired guns – the mercenaries – coming in, after the fact, to “fix” things or to “take it to the next level.”
We tell all of our companies this – if you want to build the leader in your industry, you have to have the world’s leading experts in your field working for you. But do NOT expect to find them outside of your company. Someone senior from the outside won’t come in to show you the way. They won’t save you.