In an era of founder-led tech companies, Snowflake’s Frank Slootman is a corporate throwback.
Slootman, 61, is a professional CEO. He’s an operations guru, the leader who turns a jet plane into a rocketship and makes piles of cash for investors, employees, and himself. Along the way, some feelings will get hurt. As Slootman says himself, he’s more Marine Corps than Peace Corps.
Now, as Snowflake heads out on its virtual roadshow, Slootman is gearing up for his third IPO in what many investors say is the hottest tech deal of the year, even with Airbnb, Palantir, and Asana — all run by founders — in the pipeline.
Sixteen months ago, Slootman was named CEO of Snowflake, which gives businesses new ways to store and access data, rather than relying on clunky databases tied to hardware.
Before he arrived, the company, guided by former Microsoft executive Bob Muglia, was already valued at about $4 billion by venture investors.
Muglia was ousted suddenly in late April of 2019. As a former senior employee described the situation, the board saw Muglia taking Snowflake to the moon and believed Slootman could pilot the ship to Mars. To get there, Slootman would impose more aggressive sales tactics, cut back on perks like ski trips and expensive lunches and bring his trusted confidantes into the C-suite.
Muglia was informed of the move on a Wednesday, just two days before Slootman was introduced to employees in an all-hands meeting, according to people familiar with the matter. Lead investor Mike Speiser of Sutter Hill Ventures was at Slootman’s sid
The supercharge was underway. By February, the eight-year-old company lifted its valuation to $12.4 billion in a round led by Salesforce as part of a product partnership.
