Dan Springer, CEO of DocuSign.
David Paul Morris | Bloomberg | Getty Images
DocuSign CEO Dan Springer is stepping down. The decision comes after the e-signature software maker lost more than 60% of its value year to date.
The company gave no reason for his departure, but said Springer “agreed to resign effective immediately”. CEO Maggie Wilderotter will serve as interim CEO while the company begins searching for the next executive. Shares rose about 1% as markets opened.
Springer assumed the role of CEO in 2017 and took the company public in 2018.
DocuSign has benefited from the Covid-19 pandemic as more consumers switched to online transactions and commerce. But its business has slowed in recent quarters, especially as it faces harsh comparisons to its dramatic growth in 2020 and early 2021. The deteriorating macro environment has also impacted the company. At the close on Friday, shares were down 80% from their 52-week high.
Springer’s exit comes less than two weeks after DocuSign released first-quarter results that fell short of analysts’ expectations, further accelerating the company’s share price decline.
Several Wall Street companies, including Evercore ISI and Bank of America, downgraded the stock in the report. The company forecast billing growth of 7% to 8% year over year for 2022, which “falls well short of DocuSign’s previous forecast of 15% growth,” William Blair’s Jake Roberge said in a note to the company investors.
“Given management’s limited visibility, a sales reorganization that will take several quarters, and a lack of near-term catalysts, we believe DocuSign’s stock will remain range-bound for the next several quarters,” he said.
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