Atlassian cofounder Scott Farquhar steps down as co-CEO

Scott Farquhar, the kid from Sydney’s Western suburbs who became a billionaire after responding to an email from fellow uni student Mike Cannon-Brookes about starting a tech company, will step down as co-CEO role at the end of August

The father of three sons called time on role after 23 years as Atlassian posted a profit in its quarterly results, posting net income of US$12.8 million, a major turnaround on a US$209 million net loss 12 months ago.

Atlassian’s revenue for its third quarter was up 30% on a year ago to US$1.189 billion. Quarterly subscription revenue grew by 41% to $1.071 billion.

Operating income for the third quarter of FY24 was US$17.8 million, a turnaround on the operating loss of $161.6 million for Q3 FY23.

Atlasssian said Farquhar was resigning to spend more time with his family, and focus on philanthropy, and help the technology industry globally.

“While it’s a difficult decision to step away, I do so knowing Atlassian is exceptionally positioned to take hold of the massive opportunities at its feet,” Farquhar said.

“We have a strong leadership team, and great momentum around cloud, enterprise, and now, AI.”

His cofounder Mike Cannon-Brookes said his contribution at Atlassian is impossible to quantify.

“Starting with just the two of us in 2001, to a global company of over 11,000 employees and over US$4 billion in annual revenue, Atlassian would not be the company it is today without Scott,” he said.

“I am truly grateful to have had him by my side every day for the last 23 years.”

Farquhar will depart on August He will remain on the Board and take on a special advisor role.

In a blog post announcing his decision, the cofounder said he has a “full but heavy heart”

“While there is never a perfect time to make this change, I take comfort in my decision knowing Atlassian is so well placed for the future,” he wrote.

“We have a world-class cloud platform and the best team we’ve ever had. Our new Point A products are gaining real traction, AI is providing new and exciting opportunities, and we have over 300,000 cloud customers consolidating around Atlassian.”

Farquhar said Atlassian’s “soul” brings me the most joy

“Atlassians really, truly, deeply care about each other and for doing the right thing for one another, for our customers, and for the planet,” he said.

“I’m looking forward to spending some time with my young family, improving the world via philanthropy with Skip Foundation and Pledge 1%, investing with Skip Capital, as well as mentoring other tech CEOs.”

Skip Capital is the family venture fund run by his wife Kim Jackson.

He paid tribute to Cannon-Brookes saying  “it’s hard to put into words the gratitude I feel”.

” You really are George Bernard Shaw’s Unreasonable Man, and the world and I are better as a result,” Farquhar said.

Atlassian said it expects total revenue for Q4 to be in the range of US$1.120bn to $1.135bn.

Operating margin losses are expected to return at approximately (7.0%) on a GAAP basis .