E2open replaces Farlekas as CEO following weak earnings report

The cloud-based connected supply chain platform provider E2open Parent Holdings Inc. is replacing its CEO in the wake of slumping revenues shown in its latest quarterly earnings report, the Austin, Texas-based company said. 

Former e2open chief executive Michael Farlekas has stepped down, replaced by Andrew Appel as interim chief executive officer while the company’s board of directors launches an external search for a new permanent CEO.

Appel, who has served on e2open’s advisory board for more than a year, has experience in the technology industry as well as expertise in business strategy and innovation. He previously served as president and chief executive officer at IRI, a provider of big data, predictive analytics, and forward-looking insights. Prior to joining IRI, he served as chief revenue officer of Accretive Health, chief operating officer of Aon, and was a senior partner at McKinsey & Company.

E2open’s Software as a Service (SaaS) platform connects more than 420,000 manufacturing, logistics, channel, and distribution partners as one multi-enterprise network tracking over 14 billion transactions annually.

Despite that large customer base, the company said yesterday that it saw revenue droop in its fiscal second quarter 2024, reaching $158.5 million, a decrease of 1.4% from the year-ago comparable period. And that trend is on track to get worse in future months, as E2open adjusted its guidance to predict that its total revenue for fiscal 2024 is expected to be in the range of $625 million to $635 million, reflecting a 3.4% year over year decrease.

“While we delivered subscription revenue near the high end of our guidance in the second quarter and maintained strong adjusted EBITDA margins, our growth rate remained below our potential,” Marje Armstrong, chief financial officer of e2open, said in a release. “We continue to reposition the company for organic growth and have already taken a number of steps to improve our go-to-market performance and client engagement model in order to reaccelerate growth.

“These changes will take several quarters to show their intended impact and as a result, we now expect pressures on our growth rate to persist for the remainder of fiscal year 2024. In the meantime, we will maintain our focus on profitability and cash flow generation while continuing to invest in innovation across our platform to provide the most comprehensive and capable end-to-end global supply chain software ecosystem,” Armstrong said.