Workday Names Sarah Kennedy Ellis Chief Marketing Officer

Workday has appointed Sarah Kennedy Ellis as its new Chief Marketing Officer, with the appointment set to take effect on October 5, 2026. She will report to Aneel Bhusri, Workday co-founder, CEO, and chair, and will lead the company’s global marketing and communications organization.

Kennedy Ellis brings more than 20 years of marketing experience across enterprise technology. She joins Workday from Google, where she led global marketing for Google Cloud and Google Workspace. Her experience at Google included working across marketing for major enterprise technology businesses as AI became increasingly integrated into cloud and workplace products.

Before Google, Kennedy Ellis served as Chief Marketing Officer of Adobe Experience Cloud and Marketo. At Marketo, she was part of the company’s leadership during its acquisition by Adobe in 2018, adding experience across marketing technology and enterprise software to her background.

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At Workday, Kennedy Ellis will take responsibility for global marketing and communications as the company continues to position its business around AI and enterprise software. Her remit will include the company’s brand narrative and growth strategy as organizations increasingly evaluate how AI can be incorporated into business operations.

The appointment comes at a time when marketing leaders at enterprise technology companies are navigating a shift in how AI is communicated to customers. Beyond explaining product capabilities, marketers are increasingly tasked with translating complex AI developments into clear business use cases and customer outcomes.

For Workday, the CMO transition also places marketing at the center of its broader messaging around AI, HR, finance, and IT. The company currently describes itself as an enterprise AI platform serving more than 11,500 organizations worldwide.

Kennedy Ellis’ appointment adds an experienced enterprise technology marketer to Workday’s leadership team as the company develops its marketing strategy for an increasingly AI-focused market.