Godfrey R. Sullivan | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Born | 1953or1954(age 71–72) [1] |
| Alma mater | Baylor University |
| Occupation(s) | CEO of Splunk and Hyperion Solutions |
| Years active | 1981–2015 |
Godfrey R. Sullivan is the former CEO of data analysis software company Splunk, and of enterprise performance management software company Hyperion Solutions. [2]
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]
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]
