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DocuSign CEO Dan Springer resigns amid slow growth and falling stock price

Dan Springer is stepping down as CEO of the e-signature giant, effective immediately.

Dan Springer, chief executive officer of DocuSign Inc., speaking during a Bloomberg Technology television interview.

Dan Springer, chief executive officer of DocuSign, resigned Tuesday as growth has slowed.

Photo: David Paul Morris/Bloomberg via Getty Images

DocuSign CEO Dan Springer is stepping down, the company's board of directors announced Tuesday, and Chairman of the Board Maggie Wilderotter will fill in as interim CEO during the executive search process. Springer's resignation comes on the heels of slowing growth for the e-signature giant.

Springer was appointed DocuSign CEO in 2017 and led the company through its IPO the following year. The SaaS company saw increased growth during the pandemic as demand for electronic signatures rose. In 2021 the company reported an increase in revenue of 57% over the previous year, driven by the fact that digital signatures became a necessity for doing business, and not just a convenience.

But since then, the company's growth has slowed. DocuSign's stock lost 60% of its value this year alone, according to CNBC.

The company's slowing growth may have played a part in Springer's resignation, but a huge miss on its earnings numbers earlier this month didn't help. As investors focus less on growth and more on profitability, the pressure on CEOs of SaaS companies is quickly escalating. Springer's next moves haven't been announced yet.

Aisha Counts

Aisha Counts (@aishacounts) is a reporter at Protocol covering enterprise software. Formerly, she was a management consultant for EY. She's based in Los Angeles and can be reached at acounts@protocol.com.

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