OpenText Ousts CEO Mark Barrenechea, Plans To Exit ‘Non-Core Assets’

The OpenText board said Mark Barrenechea is no longer CEO, CTO and vice chairman, effective immediately, and named an interim to replace him.

The board of cloud, AI and cybersecurity vendor OpenText Monday ousted its longtime top executive Mark Barrenechea and replaced him on an interim basis with Executive Vice President of International Sales James McGourlay, a 28-year company veteran.

“The OpenText [board] informed Mark J. Barrenechea of this transition from his role as CEO, Chief Technology Officer, and vice chairman of the board, effective immediately,” according to an OpenText statement.

The Waterloo, Ontario-based company on Monday also said it is continuing to work with financial advisors to refocus its business on its core Information Management for AI business and exit from certain non-core assets.

Barrenechea (pictured) joined OpenText in 2012 as the company’s CEO and CTO.

Since then, he worked to transform the company into an MSP and enterprise software powerhouse with a number of high-profile acquisitions, including Carbonite in 2019, Zix in 2021, MicroFocus in 2023 and the Pillr managed detection and response platform from solution provider Novacoast in 2024.

Barrenechea’s departure comes at a crucial time for OpenText as it seeks to enhance its cybersecurity offerings and build stronger relationships with MSPs. The company in March named Mike DePalma as its new channel chief in the role of vice president of business development.

DePalma, an MSP veteran from Datto and Kaseya, was named as the No. 1 Disrupter last month on CRN’s 2025 Top Executives list for the efforts he is making to help solution providers capture the massive cybersecurity growth opportunity.

OpenText did not respond to a CRN request for more information by press time. Barrenechea was not able to respond to a CRN request for information by press time.

The move to remove Barrenechea came four days after OpenText announced that total revenue for fiscal year 2025, ended June 30, fell by 10.4 percent to $5.17 billion. GAAP earnings were down 3.5 percent year-over-year to $1.65 per share, while non-GAAP earnings were down 8.4 percent to $3.82 per share.

OpenText did a thorough review of its future and saw an opportunity to enhance shareholder value by growing its Information Management for AI business and moving away from non-core assets, said P. Thomas Jenkins, who on Monday was promoted to executive chair of the board and chief strategy officer, in the statement

"On behalf of the Board, I thank Mark for 13 years of dedicated service at OpenText and we wish him the best. Now is the right time for this leadership transition, and James is the ideal leader to serve as Interim CEO. I look forward to working with him and our Executive Leadership Team to ensure that OpenText continues to advance its strategy,” Jenkins said.

McGourlay is an OpenText veteran, having joined the company in 1997. He rose through the ranks to serve multiple roles at the company, most recently as executive vice president of international sales.

In addition, OpenText Monday also appointed Savinay Berry as its new CTO, effective immediately. Berry previously served as OpenText’s executive vice president and Chief Product Officer.

The company also created an executive committee to support the executive leadership team. The committee includes: Paul Duggan, president and chief customer officer; Todd Cione, president of worldwide sales; Cosmin Balota, interim CFO and chief accounting officer, and Michael Acedo, executive vice president, chief legal officer, and corporate secretary.

OpenText also said it formed a CEO search committee and retained an executive search firm to look for its next leader.