Carl Eschenbach net worth is around $255 million as of 2025. Carl Eschenbach was born in 1966 and will turn 59 in 2025. He grew up in northeast Pennsylvania in a close-knit family where his father taught him integrity, humility, and the importance of placing family first. Carl earned an Electronics Technician diploma from DeVry University, which set the foundation for his long career in technology. He began his career in customer-facing roles at tech companies like Inktomi, 3Com, and EMC, then spent 14 years at VMware, where he was key to scaling the company from 200 employees and $30 million in revenue to 20,000 employees and $7 billion in revenue.
After VMware, he joined Sequoia Capital as a partner, contributing to major investments in Zoom, Snowflake, and UiPath. Carl joined Workday in December 2022 as co-CEO and became the sole CEO in February 2024. He also serves on the boards of several major tech companies, maintaining a low profile on his private life while focusing on leadership in enterprise cloud software and venture capital.
Social Profiles
Quick Bio
| Category | Details |
|---|---|
| Name | Carl Eschenbach |
| Born | 1966 |
| Education | Electronics Technician diploma from DeVry University |
| Early Life | Grew up in northeast Pennsylvania; active in sports including wrestling, football, baseball |
| Early Career | Started in customer-facing tech roles at Inktomi, NET, 3Com, EMC |
| VMware | Joined in 2002, served 14 years mainly as COO and President; grew company from 200 to 20,000 employees, $30M to $7B revenue |
| Sequoia Capital | Joined as a partner in 2016; led major deals for Zoom, Snowflake, UiPath |
| Workday | Joined Dec 2022 as co-CEO, sole CEO since Feb 2024; CEO of a leading enterprise cloud applications company |
| Board Memberships | Palo Alto Networks, Zoom, Snowflake, UiPath, Workday, Cohesity, Aurora, Retool, Gong.io |
| Known For | Leadership in enterprise software, venture capital, corporate growth |
| Personal | Close family and Christian faith; credits wrestling for leadership skills |
Who is Carl Eschenbach?
Carl Eschenbach is the CEO of Workday, a top company that makes cloud-based HR and finance apps for businesses. He has worked in technology for more than 35 years and has been a top leader at a number of large companies. He was Co-CEO of Workday from December 2022 until February 2024, when he became CEO. Before going to work for Workday, Eschenbach worked at VMware for 14 years in important positions like President and Chief Operating Officer, where he helped the company grow a lot. He also spent more than six years as a general partner at Sequoia Capital, a well-known venture capital company.
Early Life and Education
He was born in 1966 and grew up in northeast Pennsylvania in a close-knit family. His family and Christian religion had a big impact on his upbringing and are still very important to him in both his personal and professional life. As a child, he was good at many sports, including football, baseball, and wrestling so much that he got a Division I wrestling scholarship for college.
In the beginning, Eschenbach went to Wilkes College in Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania, possibly to study business. But Eschenbach changed his mind and went to DeVry University because his brother-in-law had done well there and quickly found a job in technology. He got a diploma as an Electronics Technician there, which gave him a strong technical background that helped him throughout his work.
Career Timeline
Early Professional Journey
Before he joined VMware in 2002, Eschenbach worked as a technical and sales manager for companies like Inktomi, 3Com Corporation, Lucent Technologies, and EMC. These early jobs helped him get better at sales and management by focusing on the customer, getting things done, and building teams. He learned how important it is to stay disciplined, avoid getting comfortable, and respect competition. These are lessons he has carried with him throughout his work.
VMware Era
When Eschenbach joined VMware early on, he was very important in helping the company grow. He worked his way up for 14 years and is now President and Chief Operating Officer. VMware went from having 200 employees and $31 million in annual revenue to having over 20,000 employees and $7 billion in annual revenue under his direction. This made it a world leader in virtualization and cloud infrastructure. He played a big role in scaling go-to-market plans and operational execution, which helped VMware grow during major changes in technology. His pay included an executive salary, bonuses, and a lot of stock options that were tied to the growth of VMware and its ultimate valuation in the billions of dollars.
Sequoia Capital
In 2016, Eschenbach made the switch to venture capital by becoming a general partner at Sequoia Capital in Silicon Valley. Here, he used his knowledge of how businesses work to help and invest in fast-growing corporate software companies. Well-known companies like Snowflake, UiPath, Zoom, and Gong are in his portfolio. Successive venture-backed startups and initial public offerings (IPOs) gave him a lot of stock gains that made this move very valuable. The change from operations to venture capital was a strategic move that was meant to create long-term wealth through stock and help the next generation of tech innovators.
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Workday Leadership
As of February 2024, Eschenbach was the only CEO of Workday. He started the company in December 2022 as co-CEO. He is in charge of Workday, a big business cloud software company with over 65 million contracted users. His main goals are to grow the company strategically and expand the market for finance and HR software. Innovation, operational success, and putting the customer first are important to his leadership. His salary is competitive for an executive, he gets bonuses every year, and he also earns a lot of money from stock options that represent Workday’s market performance and growth trajectory.
This shows how Eschenbach has been able to take technology companies from the beginning to the top of their field, then move into venture capital, and finally return to a top executive position. His pay and net worth went up a lot because the business did well, he took smart stock stakes, and he led the company strategically.
Carl Eschenbach Net Worth in 2025
Carl Eschenbach net worth is thought to be around $255 million as of 2025, mostly from his large stock holdings and executive positions. Over $170 million worth of Workday Inc. (WDAY) stock is owned by him. He also has 209,534 shares of VMware Inc. stock worth over $30 million and shares in Palo Alto Networks worth about $4 million. He also owns shares in other tech companies, such as Zoom.
In addition to the value of his shares, Carl Eschenbach’s overall pay as CEO of Workday in 2025, which included salary, bonuses, and earnings based on stock, was about $26.17 million. This helped him become much wealthier.
Overall, Eschenbach’s net worth puts him in the top group of famous tech executives who own big shares in top business software companies. This is because he has been in charge of these companies for a long time and has been successful at venture capital.
Personal Life
Here is the available information on Carl Eschenbach’s personal life, family, and close relationships in bullet form:
- Wife: Carl Eschenbach is married, though his wife’s name is not publicly detailed in the sources.
- Children: He has teenage children whom he focused on raising when he left VMware, indicating he is a family-oriented person.
- Parents: His father was a significant influence and mentor; he worked at a dynamite factory and later started multiple businesses.
- Siblings: Specific details about siblings are not mentioned, but he was influenced by a brother-in-law’s success, which helped steer him toward DeVry University.
- Personal values: His family and Christian faith are central to his life and professional outlook.
- Hobbies and background: Played football, baseball, and was a high school wrestling athlete, earning a scholarship for wrestling.
- Private life approach: Keeps his personal life relatively private, with a strong focus on family and leadership roles in his career.
FAQs
How much money does Carl Eschenbach have now? Or in 2025?
Carl Eschenbach’s projected net worth in 2025 is between $167 million and over $200 million. This is mostly due to the stocks he owns in Workday, VMware, and other tech companies, as well as his executive pay and venture capital returns.
How did Carl Eschenbach get his cash?
Rich because he was in charge of tech companies like VMware and Workday, made smart investments as a venture capitalist at Sequoia Capital, and bought shares in fast-growing tech companies.
For how long has Carl Eschenbach been the co-CEO of Workday?
As of February 2024, Carl Eschenbach stopped being co-CEO and is now the only CEO of Workday.
In what businesses has Carl Eschenbach put money?
He put money into well-known business tech companies like Snowflake, UiPath, Zoom, Gong, and others while he was at Sequoia Capital.
How much did Carl Eschenbach make at VMware?
Although the exact yearly amounts changed during his time at VMware, he was paid a competitive executive salary, received large bonuses, and was given valuable stock options that helped his net worth grow as the company grew.
Conclusion
Carl Eschenbach’s job path is a great example of how technical know-how, strong leadership, and a long-term view can all work together to help the tech industry grow. From his early years, when he used his technical education to get ahead and develop a strong work ethic, to his time as President and COO at VMware and then as a venture capitalist with Sequoia Capital, Eschenbach has always shown that he can grow companies and encourage new ideas.
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