38 years building and scaling enterprise technology — from VMware's rise to 20,000 employees to the CEO chair at Workday — have given Carl Eschenbach a clear-eyed view of what separates companies that transform from ones that merely dabble. Watch his full Captivate 2026 conversation on speed, simplicity, and the build-vs-buy call every leader eventually faces.

What you'll learn

• Why speed and simplicity are the two strategies that actually compound
• Carl's build-vs-buy framework: the questions to ask before your team commits to building anything in-house
• The three reasons any technology purchase makes it into production (ROI, growth acceleration, or risk avoidance) and how to apply the same test to internal AI projects
• His "change agent" theory for driving adoption: why converting the skeptics first is the wrong order of operations
• The governance risk he calls "AI sprawl," and why it matters even more for teams handling sensitive comp and pipeline data
• Why he believes AI won't replace revenue teams so much as clear the decks for the work that actually compounds: relationships, judgment, and strategy

"The most dangerous thing you can do in regard to your future is to rely on your past success. There's a reason the windshield is bigger than the rearview mirror."

- Carl Eschenbach, Partner, Sequoia Capital

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