# Frank Calderoni

> Frank Calderoni is a tech-industry lifer who spent a decade as Cisco's CFO, then jumped into the CEO seat at Anaplan in 2017, taking the connected-planning company through its 2018 IPO and a $10.7B sale to Thoma Bravo in 2022. He briefly ran Velocity Global, sits on Adobe's board as Lead Director, and wrote 'Upstanding,' a book arguing that company character is a competitive moat.

- **Role:** Lead Director at Adobe Inc.
- **Organizations:** Adobe Inc., Anaplan (former Chairman & CEO), Velocity Global (former CEO), Red Hat (former CFO), Cisco Systems (former CFO), IBM (alum), Palo Alto Networks (former board)
- **Nationality:** American
- **Education:** BS, Accounting and Finance, Fordham University, MBA, Pace University
- **Known for:** Took Anaplan from roughly $1B valuation to NYSE IPO in 2018, Sold Anaplan to Thoma Bravo for $10.7B in 2022, one of the largest software take-privates of its time, Grew Cisco from approximately $22B to $47B in revenue while CFO; doubled annual EPS

## Career timeline

- **1980s-2000s** — Spent 21 years at IBM in finance and operations roles, rising to vice president
- **2004** — Joined Cisco Systems; later became Executive Vice President and CFO
- **2012-2014** — Named one of the best CFOs by Institutional Investor three years running
- **2015** — Named CFO of the Year by the San Francisco Business Times; joined Red Hat as EVP, Operations and CFO
- **2017** — Appointed President and CEO of Anaplan (January 23)
- **2018** — Took Anaplan public on the NYSE
- **2021** — Published 'Upstanding: How Company Character Catalyzes Loyalty, Agility, and Hypergrowth'
- **2022** — Sold Anaplan to Thoma Bravo for $10.7B; stepped down as CEO in June
- **2023** — Became CEO of Velocity Global (April)
- **2024** — Departed Velocity Global in August; continues as Lead Director at Adobe

## Achievements

- Took Anaplan from roughly $1B valuation to NYSE IPO in 2018
- Sold Anaplan to Thoma Bravo for $10.7B in 2022, one of the largest software take-privates of its time
- Grew Cisco from approximately $22B to $47B in revenue while CFO; doubled annual EPS
- Three-time Institutional Investor 'Best CFO' (2012, 2013, 2014)
- San Francisco Business Times CFO of the Year (2015)
- Authored 'Upstanding' (2021)
- Independent Lead Director at Adobe; previously on Palo Alto Networks and Nimble Storage boards

## Latest updates

- **2024-08** — Departed as CEO of Velocity Global
- **2025** — Continues serving as independent Lead Director at Adobe Inc.

## Links

- LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/frankacalderoni
- Twitter/X: https://x.com/frank_calderoni

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Profile page: https://yespress.io/frank-calderoni
Published by YesPress — https://yespress.io
Last updated: 2026-05-30