DocuSign Unexpectedly Ousts CEO as Growth Stalls

In a shocking early Tuesday announcement, DocuSign revealed that CEO Dan Springer has agreed to step aside, effective immediately.

DocuSign has retained a leading national executive search firm to assist with succession planning and a CEO search, but in the meantime, board chair Mary Agnes "Maggie" Wilderotter has been appointed its interim CEO.

The company elaborated that Wilderotter, the former CEO of Frontier Communications, will retain her board role, and that Pete Solvik has been appointed the board’s Lead Independent Director.

Springer, who joined the agreement automation and digital signature company in January 2017, has steered the company through some of its most pivotal moments, including its April 2018 IPO and the global shift to remote work during the COVID-19 pandemic.

In the company’s press release, Solvik said “As we turn the page and begin DocuSign's next great chapter, I'd like to express our gratitude on behalf of the full Board to Dan Springer for his leadership through a period of unprecedented growth over the past five years, which has positioned DocuSign to capitalize on the strong trends that are driving accelerated digital transformation at companies large and small.”

In DocuSign’s first quarter of its 2023 fiscal year, which ended April 30, 2022, the agreement management platform posted $588.7 million in total revenue, a 25% year-over-year increase, and a global customer base of 1.24 million. However, despite positive financial results, DocuSign’s stock price has collapsed 80% since the start of the year. The return to in-person work and meetings has spurred an abrupt slowdown in the tech company’s overall growth—the company’s revenue growth has been stagnant or slowing over the past year.

DocuSign didn’t reveal a specific reason for Springer’s Tuesday morning exit, but in the tech firm’s announcement, Wilderotter said she looked forward to “improving execution and continuing to drive profitability at scale for our company with the talented and capable DocuSign team."

Springer’s ousting is part of a recent trend at DocuSign of bringing new perspectives into the company’s leadership team as it looks to reignite its growth engine.

Over the past three months, the company appointed a host of new executives, including Steve Shute as President of Worldwide Field Operations, Inhi Cho Suh as President of Product and Technology, Jim Shaughnessy as Chief Legal Officer, Jennifer Christie as Chief People Officer, Jerome Levadoux as Chief Product Officer and Iesha Berry as its first Chief Diversity and Engagement Officer.

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