Industry reacts to 'Citrix turmoil' after shock CEO departure

Citrix CEO exits after just 18 months in the hot seat, with some in the industry left reeling at the swift tenure

Citrix has a new CEO after the sudden departure of Kiril Tatarinov in a move that has left some industry experts bemused.

After just 18 months in the role, Tatarinov will be replaced by Citrix CFO and COO David Henshall, a long-time Citrix figurehead.

The news has perplexed some in the industry as the reasoning behind the hot seat shuffle is yet to be comprehended.

In a piece titled More turmoil at Citrix as CEO Tatarinov exits, TechMarketView's research director Angela Eager, said "something is happening at Citrix" after Tatarinov's brief CEO foray.

"No reason was given for the top seat change but there have been rumours that Citrix might put itself up for sale as a single unit rather than selling off further parts piecemeal," Eager said.

"There was no mention of a change in ownership in the announcement; however, the company has created an Operations and Capital Committee 'that will work with Citrix's management team and advise the Citrix board on a comprehensive review of opportunities to drive margin expansion and return capital to shareholders'."

Citrix was rumoured to have been put in play again earlier this year, with Microsoft fingered as the most likely buyer by partners.

Robert Calderoni, executive chairman of the Citrix board, claimed Henshall is a "proven leader" who knows the company inside and out.

"Moving forward, the board believes that accelerating our cloud transformation will position the company for even greater success in the years ahead," he said.

Steve McGovern, Point2Point's technical director, told CRN he was surprised by Tatarinov's departure as the firm's refocus on its core products seemed to be progressing well.

"It feels that the ship has been steadied [under Tatarinov], with that focus on the core technologies being a positive thing," he said.

"Overall, most people are surprised and are waiting for the next step to see what happens."