Alteryx Inc., the data analytics software company, is turning to a new leader as it readies a return to private hands.
The Irvine-based firm, OC’s most valuable public company in the software industry, has named Chief Financial Officer Kevin Rubin as the interim chief executive.
Rubin succeeds Mark Anderson, who took over the top role at the company (NYSE: AYX) in 2020 and is now leaving the board and the CEO job to pursue other professional opportunities.
“I am pleased to serve as interim CEO as we continue to build on our strong foundation and capitalize on the momentum in the business,” Rubin said in a statement on Jan. 26 when his appointment was announced.
Rubin will continue to serve as CFO while serving as interim CEO.
Capital Group, Insight
Private equity firms Capital Group and Insight Partners on Dec. 18 announced a deal to buy Alteryx for $4.4 billion, factoring in about $1 billion in debt.
The transaction is expected to close in the first half of this year.
Alteryx got its start in 1997 and then soared to more than $10 billion in value as a publicly traded company just as the pandemic hit.
The company went public in 2017 at $14 a share; its stock currently trades around $47.
Blizzard Entertainment Exec Changes, Layoffs
There’s been more upheaval at Blizzard Entertainment in Irvine, Orange County’s largest software company by local employee count.
President Mike Ybarra and Chief Design Officer Allen Adham said they were leaving the video game maker, three months after its parent company Activision Blizzard was acquired by Microsoft Inc.
Blizzard is known for developing hits such as Diablo and World of Warcraft.
Johanna Faries was announced as Ybarra’s successor on Jan. 29.
She had been the general manager of Activision’s Call of Duty franchise.
Microsoft Cuts
The exec moves came around the same time that Microsoft said it was laying off about 1,900 employees, or almost 9%, of its gaming division.
Specific cuts to its OC operations weren’t disclosed as of last week.
Microsoft completed its $69 billion purchase of Santa Monica-based Activision Blizzard (Nasdaq: ATVI) in October.
An untitled survival game that Blizzard announced it was working on in January 2022 has also been canceled, Matt Booty, head of Microsoft’s gaming studios, reportedly said in a memo. Bobby Kotick stepped down as Activision Blizzard CEO at the end of last year.
