GitHub CEO Thomas Dohmke to step down, launch new startup

GitHub CEO Thomas Dohmke to step down, launch new startup Microsoft-owned code-hosting platform GitHub CEO Thomas Dohmke will leave the company to launch a new startup, citing his "startup roots." Dohmke's tenure included a major push into AI through Copilot products. He will leave at the end of the year, and Microsoft developer division head Julia Liuson will oversee GitHub's revenue, engineering, and support.

Microsoft-owned code-hosting platform GitHub has seen a significant change in leadership with the resignation of CEO Thomas Dohmke. Dohmke, who joined GitHub in 2018 and became CEO in 2021, will leave the company to launch a new startup, citing his "startup roots" as motivation [1]. His tenure included a major push into AI through the company’s Copilot products, which he described as "the greatest change to software development since the personal computer" [2]. Dohmke will remain through the end of 2025 to support the transition.

Under the new structure, Microsoft Developer Division president Julia Liuson will oversee GitHub's revenue, engineering, and support functions, while Chief Product Officer Mario Rodriguez will report to Microsoft AI Platform Vice President Asha Sharma [3]. The CoreAI group, led by former Meta executive Jay Parikh, will now fully integrate GitHub into its operations, positioning it at the center of Microsoft's AI-powered developer ecosystem.

GitHub has grown to more than 1 billion repositories and forks and over 150 million developers during Dohmke's tenure, doubling AI projects on the platform [4]. The platform's acquisition by Microsoft in 2018 for $7.5 billion has positioned it as a cornerstone of the company's AI strategy [2].

The transition marks a significant shift in Microsoft's approach to GitHub, moving it from a separate entity to a fully integrated part of the CoreAI organization. This restructuring underscores Microsoft's growing strategic role in AI and its ambition to leverage GitHub as a key component of its AI-powered developer ecosystem.

References:
[1] https://www.theverge.com/news/757461/microsoft-github-thomas-dohmke-resignation-coreai-team-transition
[2] https://www.rttnews.com/3564698/github-ceo-thomas-dohmke-to-step-down-as-microsoft-deepens-ai-integration.aspx?utm_medium=amp&utm_source=rttnews
[3] https://finance.yahoo.com/news/github-ceo-thomas-dohmke-step-171548534.html
[4] https://www.investing.com/news/stock-market-news/github-ceo-thomas-dohmke-stepping-down-to-launch-new-startup-93CH-4183510