Autodesk Announces Executive Leadership Team Hires
Autodesk, Inc. (Nasdaq: ADSK) has appointed Debbie Clifford as chief financial officer, effective March 8, 2021, and Raji Arasu as chief technology officer, effective April 19, 2021. Clifford returns to Autodesk after 13 years, bringing extensive financial experience, while Arasu joins from Intuit, focusing on technology strategy and innovation. The leadership changes aim to infuse fresh perspectives into the company’s operations. These appointments are part of Autodesk's strategy to enhance growth and maintain its status as a leading design and make platform.
- Debbie Clifford brings extensive financial leadership experience, potentially enhancing fiscal management.
- Raji Arasu's background in technology and innovation may strengthen Autodesk's tech strategy.
- The executive changes could lead to fresh perspectives and drive company growth.
- Changing CFOs may disrupt financial strategy continuity during a critical growth phase.
- Raji Arasu replaces a long-standing CTO, which could cause temporary gaps in strategic technology alignment.
SAN RAFAEL, Calif., Feb. 25, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Autodesk, Inc. (Nasdaq: ADSK) today announced the hiring of Debbie Clifford as chief financial officer, effective March 8, 2021, and Raji Arasu as chief technology officer, effective April 19, 2021.
"We are thrilled to welcome both Debbie and Raji – two dynamic and accomplished executives – to Autodesk," said Andrew Anagnost, CEO and president of Autodesk. "Debbie and Raji bring deep leadership experience and a passion for customer success. Their addition to our executive leadership team – along with Diana Colella, who was recently appointed to lead our Media & Entertainment group – will inject fresh perspectives into our company and towards our goal of delivering the world's leading design and make platform."
Clifford, who currently serves as chief financial officer at SurveyMonkey, returns to Autodesk – where she spent 13 years in various financial leadership roles – and brings with her expanded financial, strategic and operational experience. She will oversee all aspects of Autodesk's finance, accounting, tax, treasury, operations and investor relations teams. Clifford serves on the board of Harmonic, a video technology and services company, and holds a Bachelor of Arts in Political Science from the University of California Los Angeles, and a Master's in Business Administration from Stanford Graduate School of Business.
"Accepting the CFO position at Autodesk is like coming home," said Clifford. "I'm excited to reconnect with the exceptionally talented finance organization and help accelerate the next phase of Autodesk's growth. Autodesk's leadership in design and make and its incredible culture positions the company well for continued success. I am thrilled to be back and can't wait to get started."
Arasu will join Autodesk from Intuit, where she serves as senior vice president of platform engineering. She will oversee and be responsible for Autodesk's technology strategy and ensure alignment against long-term innovation priorities and short-term technology imperatives. Arasu will replace current Autodesk CTO Scott Borduin, who announced his intent to retire last year.
Raji Arasu is a technology executive with over 25 years of experience focused primarily on eCommerce, marketplaces, payments, and fintech systems. She specializes in leading through transformative change across people, product, platform and process to accelerate customer benefits and revenue growth. At Intuit, Arasu helped shape the platform strategy and technology culture, led its cloud journey and expanded foundational core capabilities that amplified the pace of innovation for Intuit's customers. Prior to Intuit, Arasu served as Chief Technology Officer for StubHub and held leadership roles at eBay.
Arasu has received public recognition for technology leadership, promoting diversity, and mentoring women to be successful leaders in technology. She serves on the board of directors for NIC Inc. and MediaAlpha Inc.
"Autodesk has long been one of the world's most innovative companies and I'm thrilled for the challenge and opportunity to lead a world-class team of technologists," said Arasu. "It's an exciting time to join the company as we seek to deliver solutions that enable our customers to make an impact and achieve better outcomes for their products, their businesses, and the world."
The company also reported FY21 Q4 financial results today. See here for more info.
About Autodesk
Autodesk makes software for people who make things. If you've ever driven a high-performance car, admired a towering skyscraper, used a smartphone, or watched a great film, chances are you've experienced what millions of Autodesk customers are doing with our software. Autodesk gives you the power to make anything. For more information visit autodesk.com or follow @autodesk.
Autodesk is a registered trademark of Autodesk, Inc., and/or its subsidiaries and/or affiliates in the USA and/or other countries. All other brand names, product names or trademarks belong to their respective holders. Autodesk reserves the right to alter product and services offerings, and specifications and pricing at any time without notice and is not responsible for typographical or graphical errors that may appear in this document.
© 2021 Autodesk, Inc. All rights reserved.
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SOURCE Autodesk, Inc.
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