This is at least what Drupal founder Dries Buytaert states in one of his recent blog communications. Chris Tranquill is now the new CEO of Acquia, one of the world’s most popular DXP (digital experience platforms), replacing Steve Reny, who spent many years at the company, the last three as CEO.
The new CEO arrives at Acquia with a difficult mission: to revive a company that has been slipping in the rankings of major technology consultancies (Gartner and Forrester) and that also recently went through a significant round of lay-offs. Although Acquia is large and powerful and has a strong strategy, it falters in the same way Drupal does when it comes to winning over and empowering marketing departments with low-code or no-code tools.
Tranquill now comes in to address this, bringing more than 25 years’ experience in enterprise software and customer experience. He was recently CEO of Khoros and before that co-founded Topbox, a company later acquired by Khoros.
“In our conversations, I was impressed by how quickly Chris grasped our business, the thoughtful questions he asked, and his enthusiasm for our innovation roadmap. I also appreciate that he has been a founder and brings that perspective. Most importantly, he immediately recognised how essential Drupal is to Acquia’s success.”
Drupal can rest easy precisely because one of the main arguments for this CEO selection was Tranquill’s recognition of the vital role Drupal can and must play for Acquia. Acquia should play a crucial role in the development of Drupal, just as Automattic does with WordPress, and Tranquill has affirmed this. Acquia’s support for Drupal is fundamental, and it will continue throughout Tranquill’s tenure.
It remains to be seen how the arrival and development of Drupal CMS will affect Acquia’s contribution and Drupal’s own.
* Original article written in Spanish, translated with chatGPT and reviewed in English by Jorge Mediavilla.
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