SolarWinds names new finance chief as CEO plans exit
Fri, 28th Aug 2026 (Today)
SolarWinds has announced a chief executive succession plan and appointed Samuel Monti as Chief Financial Officer. President and Chief Executive Officer Sudhakar Ramakrishna will step down at the end of September.
Cullen Childress will serve as interim Chief Executive Officer while the board completes the transition. Ramakrishna will remain an adviser and shareholder, and SolarWinds expects to name a permanent successor in the coming weeks.
Monti will succeed Tim Karaca, who told the board earlier this year that he wanted to pursue opportunities outside the company. Karaca will remain an adviser through the end of the year.
The changes affect two of the most senior roles at the software group as it continues work on its observability and IT management products. Childress has been with SolarWinds for more than five years and has overseen the product portfolio, including development of the SolarWinds platform and the newer SW1 Agentic platform.
Leadership change
The board has been conducting what SolarWinds described as a structured succession process in recent months, with Ramakrishna involved. His departure will end a tenure of nearly six years as the company's top executive.
Childress will be supported by Ramakrishna and the existing senior leadership team during the handover, in a move intended to maintain continuity for customers, partners and employees.
Monti brings more than three decades of experience in finance, accounting and operations roles at public and private software companies. His previous positions include Chief Executive Officer, Chief Operating Officer and Chief Financial Officer.
Most recently, he was Chief Financial Officer at WP Engine. Before that, he served as Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer at Epicor Software, where he helped shape a software-as-a-service financial strategy that delivered double-digit recurring revenue growth and a threefold increase in enterprise valuation.
AI backdrop
The leadership changes come as SolarWinds continues to develop its agentic AI roadmap, with further product additions expected later this year.
The succession process comes amid a broader push by software suppliers to weave AI tools into established product lines while managing costs and investor expectations. At SolarWinds, the appointment of a new finance chief alongside a chief executive transition suggests the board is reshaping senior leadership as that strategy advances.
Ramakrishna linked the transition to the company's current position and its next phase.
"This transition has been planned deliberately, and the leadership team, strategy, and roadmap are stronger than at any point in my nearly six years here," said Sudhakar Ramakrishna, President and Chief Executive Officer of SolarWinds. "Sam is the right partner for this next chapter - he has scaled and transformed complex software businesses, and he brings the energy and operating rigor SolarWinds needs as we take agentic AI to market. SolarWinds is an integral part of who I am, and I intend to stay close to it."
Monti said he joined the company because of its market position and product direction.
"I joined SolarWinds because the combination of a trusted brand, a deeply loyal customer base, a world class partner community, and a genuine AI-driven product opportunity is rare," said Samuel Monti, Chief Financial Officer of SolarWinds. "My focus is on giving this team the operating clarity and capital to move quickly - on our customers, our partner community, our product, and on the growth ahead."
SolarWinds did not disclose financial terms for Monti's appointment or provide further detail on the shortlist for the permanent Chief Executive Officer role. It said only that the succession process has been led by the board and that Ramakrishna's successor is expected to be announced soon.