Geek of the Week: Alex Shootman, CEO of Workfront
Founded in 2001 by Scott Johnson, Workfront is an Utah based organization that specializes in software development. It helps other businesses develop their web based work and projects managements software. The company was initially known as AtTask before its name was officially changed to Workfront in the year 2015.
The company has a number of platforms through which it executes its operations. Some of these platforms include the Software-As-A-Service platform, the Workfront Enterprise Work Cloud, the Digital Asset Management Space, amidst others. These platforms make the Workfront a very suitable choice for managing work in the digital space.
The company is currently being headed by Alex Shootman, who became the CEO in 2016. He also doubles as the president of the company and also a member of the board of directors. Before becoming Workfront CEO, Alex served in other leadership positions including as the president of Apptio, president of Eloqua, he has also served as one of the key executives in other organizations such as IBM, Teletech and Vignette amongst many others. As president of Workfront, he brought in an advantage of over 25 years of expertise experience in the software platform industry when he became CEO.
Alex is a Marketing graduate from the University of Texas, Houston. He also has a large affinity for volunteering, examples of his own personal volunteering experiences includes being a board member of Eden Reforestation Projects and The Refuge for DMST. Known for his very big heart, Alex was known to have adopted two kids internationally; from Ethopia, as he considers it a good source of emotional lessons.
After becoming the CEO of Workfront, the company was named to Forbes inaugural Cloud 100 List and also included on the Deloitte Fast 500 list for the fourth consecutive year.
Asides being a CEO, 53 years old Alex Shootman is a published author and also a blogger. He uses this as an avenue to pass his knowledge across to people and also gives a glimpse of his personal life through his blog. He was listed among Business Insider’s Top Tech CEOs of 2018.
According to Alex, “A really critical skill that middle management needs to learn is what I would call ‘translating the message’. Senior management creates very broad, horizontal communications. ‘We’re going to be a great company. We’ll be a billion dollars in five years. Let’s create excellent customer service.’ Only middle management can translate the message. If they do it, they will be hugely successful. If they don’t do it, teams are just going to flail.”
