Zane Rowe

Chief Financial Officer Workday, Inc.

Last Reviewed: September 19, 2026

Executive Summary

Zane Rowe is Chief Financial Officer of Workday, the company whose cloud applications run the finance and human resources functions of a large share of the Fortune 500. His remit is wider than the title usually implies: accounting, business finance, investor relations, tax and treasury, but also real estate and workplace safety, and an advisory hand in business strategy and product development — which is a natural fit at a company whose product is financial management software. He has now been a public-company finance chief four times over, at United Airlines, EMC, VMware and Workday, and in 2021 he briefly ran VMware outright as interim chief executive while still serving as its CFO. He came to finance leadership by an unusual route, having earlier led North America sales for Apple.

Career Highlights

• Appointed Chief Financial Officer of Workday in May 2023, effective 12 June 2023, and confirmed as the company’s Section 16 Chief Financial Officer in filings as recently as September 2026.
• Holds an exceptionally broad functional mandate for a software CFO, spanning accounting, business finance, investor relations, real estate and workplace safety, tax and treasury, alongside advising on business strategy and product development.
• Served as interim Chief Executive Officer of VMware from February to May 2021, holding the CFO role simultaneously.
• Was Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer of VMware for around seven years, overseeing finance and accounting and also leading the strategy and development team.
• Previously Chief Financial Officer of EMC Corporation, VMware’s then majority owner.
• Previously Chief Financial Officer of United Airlines.
• Led North America sales for Apple, a commercial rather than financial role and an uncommon entry on a CFO’s record.
• Serves on the board of directors of eBay, Inc. and the board of trustees of Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University; previously served on the board of directors of Sabre.

Professional Journey

Rowe took his bachelor’s degree at Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University and an M.B.A. at San Diego State University, and began his career in the airline industry, rising to become Chief Financial Officer of United Airlines. The aviation grounding runs through his life outside the executive role too: he sits on Embry-Riddle’s board of trustees.

He then made two moves that are unusual in sequence. First he went to Apple to lead North America sales — a step out of finance entirely and into direct commercial responsibility. Then he returned to the finance chair at EMC Corporation, the storage company that was at the time the majority owner of VMware.

When EMC was absorbed into Dell, Rowe moved to VMware as Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer, where he stayed for roughly seven years. Beyond finance and accounting he also led VMware’s strategy and development team, and between February and May 2021 he served as the company’s interim Chief Executive Officer during a leadership transition, carrying both jobs at once.

Workday announced his appointment in May 2023 and he took the CFO seat on 12 June 2023, joining a company then pushing hard on operating margin and on the integration of artificial intelligence into its finance and HR applications. He has held the role since, and continues to file as a Workday officer. Outside the company he sits on the board of eBay, and previously served on the board of the travel technology company Sabre.

Education

Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University

Bachelor’s degree

San Diego State University

M.B.A.