Introducing DigitalOcean’s New CEO: "Why I'm So Excited to Join DO!"

Hi, my name is Yancey, and as the incoming CEO of DigitalOcean, I wanted to take the opportunity to introduce myself to all of you – the developer community who helped make DigitalOcean what it is today.

I’m thrilled to be joining this amazing team and even happier to lead the company through its next phase of growth – with a vision of serving many millions of developers, like you, all around the world.

I started my career as a manufacturing engineer. I was responsible for integrating third-party hardware and software tools to enable factories to produce products faster, more efficiently, and with better quality. In this role, I truly came to appreciate the things that helped make my job a little bit easier, and I see many parallels in my experience then to the role of today’s developer.

Later on I spent a number of years as an investment banker focusing on mergers and acquisitions to help technology, media, healthcare, and energy companies with their inorganic growth strategies to meet the needs of their customers. I learned a lot, but ultimately found my way back to my roots in the technology industry, helping to scale two rapidly growing companies, DigitalGlobe and SendGrid. What I loved most about these companies was their focus and passion for customer and employee experience, which I believe were critical elements leading to our ability to deliver strong financial results and returns for our investors.

So why does this matter for DigitalOcean?

I’ve worked with many companies at various stages of their growth, but regardless of industry or size, there’s always one constant: the need to identify what makes a company “magical” and to preserve it at all costs.

At DigitalOcean, we have experienced incredible success by showering our customers and the broader developer community with “DO Love.” It is a pillar of our culture and something we will never abandon. Frankly, that was a critical element for me in deciding to join the team here. Seeing our team’s passion for customers and developers is inspiring, because any company that leads with genuine focus on its customer is a company that can endure for decades. DigitalOcean is one of those companies.

Additionally, we have a product that truly makes an impact. Simplifying software allows everyone to integrate multiple tools much more easily, saving time, friction, and money. Making it so much simpler for new businesses and new ideas to get off the ground is our goal at DO. We want to make app development seamless, so you can spend less effort building and instead focus on growing your core business.

As we focus on our own core business, DO Love will continue to be at the center of everything we do. We will continue to provide the simple-to-use tools, tutorials, documentation, and support as we always have, adding more of them over time. We will continue to provide our services in a scalable, reliable and secure way, even as we grow our numbers of products and expand our current 500,000 customer base. My aspiration is for us to continue to provide everything you love about DO now, but to also enhance our offerings in a way that is meaningful, strategic and most helpful for you over time.

It’s incredibly exciting to be joining DO, where so many customers come to build their dream business, or just to follow their passion. It's vitally important to me as CEO to make sure that as our customers grow, and therefore we grow, we remain focused on ensuring that our products are always enabling and perpetuating our customers’ success.

I look forward to meeting many of you in the coming days, months, and years. I look forward to your perspectives on how we can make things better for you today and how we can better serve you in the future.

Finally, and most important to me, I look forward to DigitalOcean delivering for you as you evolve, grow, and realize your potential and your dreams.