Short answer: 2026 has seen a steady run of high-profile CTO exits. Atlassian's CTO stepped down as the company cut about 1,600 roles, Robinhood disclosed its CTO's separation in an 8-K, Xero's CTO left after about 16 months, and in October OpenAI's head of computing capacity said he would leave. In most cases the company reorganized the role rather than replacing it like for like.

Key takeaways

• Restructuring drives exits. Atlassian split 1 CTO role into 2 when Rajeev Rajan left in March 2026.
• Short tenures are common. Xero's CTO left after about 16 months; Smartsheet's after about 1 year in the CTO seat.
• Successors are often internal or re-scoped. Atlassian promoted 2 internal leaders; Xero hired an SVP reporting to its CPTO instead of a new CTO.
• AI infrastructure roles turn over fastest. OpenAI's compute leadership changed twice in 2026.

Which CTOs left in 2026?

[Table 1]

What happened at Atlassian?

On March 11, 2026, CEO Mike Cannon-Brookes announced about 1,600 job cuts, roughly 10% of the workforce, to "self-fund further investment in AI and enterprise sales," according to The Next Web. CTO Rajeev Rajan stepped down on March 31 after nearly 4 years. The role was split: Taroon Mandhana became CTO Teamwork and Vikram Rao became CTO Enterprise and Chief Trust Officer.

What happened at Robinhood, Xero and Smartsheet?

Robinhood's Form 8-K states that CTO Jeffrey Pinner separated on May 7, 2026, eligible for benefits under its severance plan for a termination without cause; no successor was named in the filing. At Xero, CTO Rick Carragher resigned in July 2026 after about 16 months, with travel and time-zone demands cited to staff, per Forbes Australia. Xero then hired Madhuri Dhulipala as SVP of Engineering, Payments and AI Transformation, reporting to the CPTO. At Smartsheet, CTO Cynthia Tee departed in February 2026, about a year after becoming CTO, shortly after layoffs (GeekWire).

What happened at OpenAI?

Uday Ruddarraju, who joined OpenAI from xAI in 2025, was promoted to CTO of Compute in July 2026 (National CIO Review). In October, Quartz, citing The Wall Street Journal, reported that Sachin Katti, head of computing capacity, would leave the following month and stay on as an adviser, with Ruddarraju taking over strategy.

What do the exits have in common?

[Table 2]

How should CHROs prepare for a CTO exit?

1. Keep a named successor list. Atlassian could split the role in weeks because 2 internal leaders were ready.
2. Decide whether to replace or redesign. Xero and Atlassian both re-scoped the role. Run that decision before a search starts.
3. Watch tenure risk. CIO and CTO tenure averages about 4.6 years in large US companies, and exits within 2 years are common. See CTO and CIO tenure data.
4. Line up a search partner before you need one. See how CHROs should choose a CTO search firm.

For the hiring side of the market, read CTO appointments in October 2026 and why a new CEO often means a new CTO.

Frequently asked questions

Which major CTOs left their roles in 2026?

Notable 2026 departures include Rajeev Rajan at Atlassian, Jeffrey Pinner at Robinhood, Rick Carragher at Xero, Cynthia Tee at Smartsheet and Brian Gill at DAT, plus Sachin Katti leaving OpenAI's compute leadership.

Why did Atlassian's CTO step down?

Rajeev Rajan stepped down on March 31, 2026, as Atlassian cut about 1,600 roles to fund AI and enterprise sales investment. The CTO role was split between 2 internal leaders.

How long do CTOs stay in their roles?

Korn Ferry data puts average CIO and CTO tenure at about 4.6 years in the top 1,000 US companies, but several 2026 exits came after 1 to 2 years.

What should a company do when its CTO leaves?

Name an interim leader, decide whether to replace or redesign the role, then run a structured internal and external search with a specialist CTO search firm.

Hiring a CTO or building a technology leadership bench? See CTO Club hiring resources or apply to join CTO Club.