New Splunk CEO Gary Steele told CNBC’s Jim Cramer on Friday that he hopes to be a “stabilizing force” for the company and its customers.
Steele, whose appointment was announced two days ago, will lead the data analysis software maker and join its board of directors on April 11. Splunk has been without a permanent CEO since mid-November when Doug Merrit abruptly stepped down.
Splunk is working to shift its identity and operations by focusing on cloud subscriptions and moving away from more traditional on-premises software sales.
“I think I can be a stabilizing force — a stabilizing force for the company, a stabilizing force for our customers and start a new chapter for the company,” Steele said in an interview with Mad Money.
Splunk on Wednesday also reported fourth quarter and fiscal year 2022 results for the entirety of fiscal year 2022. Fourth-quarter revenue was $901.1 million, much better than analysts had expected at $774.5 million, according to FactSet. Its full-year sales forecast of $3.25 billion to $3.3 billion also came in above Wall Street’s estimates.
“I’m interfering with a great time,” Steele said. “It’s just great positioning and I think we have a very optimistic path forward.”
Steele previously served as chairman and CEO of Proofpoint, a formerly publicly traded cybersecurity company that was acquired by private equity firm Thoma Bravo in August. While at Proofpoint, Steele oversaw the company’s growth for over 70 consecutive quarters.
“I had a phenomenal run there, it’s just a huge experience for me and I hope to bring a lot of that experience and a lot of those relationships with me,” Steele said.
Graham Smith, who was chairman of the board of Splunk, served as interim head. He will return to his role on the board.
Shares of Splunk rose nearly 6% on Friday to close at $129.06, taking the yearly gain to 11.5%. However, the company’s stock has yet to return to where it traded prior to Merritt’s exit on November 15. In the previous session on Nov. 12, they closed at $167.82 before dropping 18% as investors processed the surprise CEO reshuffle.
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