LaunchDarkly Co-Founder Harbaugh Replaced as CEO by Dan Rogers

Developer software business LaunchDarkly co-founder Edith Harbaugh is stepping down as chief executive officer and will be replaced by technology veteran Dan Rogers.

(Bloomberg) — Developer software business LaunchDarkly co-founder Edith Harbaugh is stepping down as chief executive officer and will be replaced by technology veteran Dan Rogers.

Rogers was most recently president at Rubrik Inc. Harbaugh will move to the role of executive chair of the Oakland, California-based company.

LaunchDarkly provides software for developer teams, aiming to help them release new software features. Its customers include Intuit Inc., Atlassian Corp. and SAP SE.

The CEO switch isn’t a negative reflection on Harbaugh, but a positive one on Rogers and optimism about his ability to further scale the business, according to Mary D’Onofrio, a partner at LaunchDarkly investor Bessemer Venture Partners.

LaunchDarkly already has “tremendous existing momentum,” thanks to Harbaugh bringing the business to $100 million in annual recurring revenue. This move is “tied to an excitement for future potential more so than anything else,” D’Onofrio said. 

Harbaugh said that the new role will allow her time to “focus on things that I truly love,” like meeting with customers. Asked how LaunchDarkly was affected by the difficult environment for tech valuations and greater industry pressure on profitability, she said, “It’s not something new or surprising to us that you need to run a company as a business.”

LaunchDarkly was valued at $3 billion in 2021, according to a company statement at the time. Investors include Bessemer, Redpoint Ventures, Insight Partners and Bloomberg Beta, the venture capital arm of Bloomberg News parent Bloomberg LP.

Prior to Rubrik, Rogers was chief marketing officer at ServiceNow Inc.

As to whether the company is gearing up for an initial public offering, Rogers said, “It’s going to be a high bar for any company that goes public. It will be a great, enduring company when the time comes.”

More stories like this are available on bloomberg.com

©2023 Bloomberg L.P.