Smartsheet’s Leadership Shake-Up and Apple’s AI Moves: Industry Giants Reposition for Growth

In a significant executive shuffle, Smartsheet has appointed Scott Torrey as its new chief revenue officer, marking another strategic addition to the company’s evolving leadership team. Torrey brings a wealth of experience to the role, having previously served as CEO of Payscale from 2019 to 2021 and, more recently, as executive chairman at finance software startup Tesorio. His most notable experience, however, comes from his nearly two-decade tenure at Concur, where he spent six years as chief revenue officer. The appointment creates a notable reunion between Torrey and Smartsheet’s newly appointed CEO, Rajeev Singh, who co-founded Concur. This leadership connection signals Smartsheet’s deliberate strategy to assemble a team with proven chemistry and success in scaling enterprise software businesses. “Smartsheet is on a growth trajectory, and Scott’s leadership will drive our go-to-market success,” Singh remarked, highlighting the company’s confidence in this strategic hire.

This latest addition is part of a broader transformation at Smartsheet, which has been methodically refreshing its executive ranks. Earlier this year, the company brought on Pratima Arora as chief product officer, Ravi Soin as chief information security officer, and elevated Cynthia Tee to chief technology officer. These changes come at a pivotal moment for Smartsheet, which stands as one of the Seattle region’s most established tech companies. With over two decades in operation, the company now boasts a robust client portfolio of major businesses and generates more than $1 billion in annual revenue. Perhaps most significantly, Smartsheet transitioned from public to private earlier this year in an impressive $8.4 billion acquisition by Vista Equity Partners and Blackstone—a move that gives the company greater flexibility to execute its long-term vision away from the quarterly pressures of public markets.

At Smartsheet’s annual Engage conference in Seattle last month, CEO Singh articulated a bold new direction for the company, declaring it was time for Smartsheet to “step out of the shadows” and challenge outdated perceptions of the platform as merely an online spreadsheet tool. This rebranding effort coincides with the company’s recent rollout of advanced features within its “Intelligent Work Management” platform, which now leverages AI agents, knowledge graphs, and automation to deliver more sophisticated solutions to enterprise customers. The company appears to be positioning itself at the intersection of productivity software and artificial intelligence—a rapidly growing market segment that promises significant growth opportunities as businesses increasingly seek to streamline workflows and enhance productivity through intelligent tools. With its new leadership team and private company status, Smartsheet seems poised to accelerate innovation and expand its market presence.

Meanwhile, in a surprising development in the AI talent wars, Amar Subramanya, who had just joined Microsoft as a corporate vice president in July, has already made another career move—this time to Apple as vice president of AI. This rapid transition underscores the intense competition for top AI talent among tech giants. In his new role at Apple, Subramanya will report directly to Craig Federighi, Apple’s vice president of software engineering, and will lead the company’s Foundation Models, ML research, and AI Safety and Evaluation efforts. The appointment comes as Apple also announced that John Giannandrea, the company’s senior vice president for Machine Learning and AI Strategy, is stepping down, creating a significant leadership transition in Apple’s AI division at a critical juncture for the company’s artificial intelligence ambitions.

Subramanya brings impressive credentials to Apple, having spent more than 16 years at Google where he played a key role in the development of Gemini, one of Google’s most advanced AI systems. His academic background includes a Ph.D. from the University of Washington, completed in 2009, and previous experience as a visiting researcher at Microsoft in the mid-2000s. Apple CEO Tim Cook expressed enthusiasm about the appointment, stating, “AI has long been central to Apple’s strategy, and we are pleased to welcome Amar to Craig’s leadership team and to bring his extraordinary AI expertise to Apple.” This high-profile hire represents Apple’s latest effort to bolster its AI capabilities after falling behind competitors in the rapidly accelerating artificial intelligence race.

Apple’s struggle to keep pace with rivals in AI development has been well-documented, with the company recently delaying a new version of its Siri voice assistant—a move widely interpreted as a sign of the challenges it faces in upgrading its AI offerings. Subramanya’s appointment signals a renewed commitment to catching up in this critical technology domain. For both Smartsheet and Apple, these executive changes reflect the broader industry trend of companies strategically repositioning themselves in response to the transformative potential of artificial intelligence. As enterprise software and consumer technology increasingly incorporate AI capabilities, having the right leadership talent has become essential for companies looking to capitalize on these opportunities. The movement of executives like Torrey and Subramanya highlights not only the competitive market for experienced technology leaders but also the strategic importance companies are placing on expertise in revenue growth, product innovation, and artificial intelligence as they navigate an increasingly complex and AI-driven business landscape.