A Fond Farewell
This is my last week at Qlik. I have had a wonderful time, but it’s time to retire a little.
When I joined Qlik, almost six years ago, I didn’t consider any other vendor: no looking around or discussions. I saw clearly that at Qlik I could do what I wanted to do, and Qlik needed me to do it. Now, preparing to leave, I can still tell you there is no other software company I want to work for. So what will I do?
Well, although I am going to relax with Alison a lot more, I am not quite ready to retreat to my treehouse. I will act as a strategic advisor to some investors and to exciting startups round the world. I have books to write. There are non-profits about which I am passionate. And I want to travel more for pleasure than for business.
When someone like myself leaves - with a high profile and an influential role - people often think that something is wrong. Not at all. In fact, if I thought something badly needed fixed, I would stay to fix it! Happily, I leave technologies that fascinate me and customers and partners I care about in good hands. I really believe Qlik has a sound strategy, the right funding, exceptional people and breakthrough technologies to assure a compelling future.
I simply can’t thank everyone I would like individually. The teams I worked with have shown endless kindness. But I do want to thank two people in particular …
Bold, sustained and successful innovation requires above all vision and patience. Both are rare in our business. Anthony and Lars, in these ways and many others, have been outstanding innovators. I am grateful to them for the opportunities I enjoyed at Qlik.
With that, it’s time to sign off for now. I will still be around in the world of analytics and the Qlik ecosystem. I expect I’ll write a guest blog here, now and then. Thank you all for these years. It was such a pleasure.
Image Credit: Joshua Lewis / Seattle Refined