(Bloomberg) -- Autodesk Inc. Chief Executive Officer Andrew Anagnost said the company is focused on cutting costs in its sales and marketing teams, a move that comes following pressure from activist investor Starboard Value LP.
“We are very much focused on sales and marketing optimization moving forward,” Anagnost said Wednesday in an interview on Bloomberg Television. “That is something we and all of the investment community agree is an important target for Autodesk.”
Scrutiny intensified earlier this year on the maker of engineering software after an accounting investigation delayed its financial filings and led to the replacement of its finance chief. Starboard has pushed for changes such as increasing margins as well as considering the ouster of Anagnost.
Autodesk announced Tuesday during its quarterly earnings that it had authorized an additional buyback of $5 billion and increased its annual profitability guidance. The company also named a new chief financial officer, Janesh Moorjani.
“We want best-in-class operational excellence in our finance organization that will help us drive those optimizations, make sure we’re getting a return for every dollar, and hold people in the company accountable,” Anagnost said.
Anagnost wouldn’t detail any conversations with Starboard. “We listen to all of our investors,” he said.
A Starboard representative couldn’t immediately be reached for comment.
--With assistance from Crystal Tse and Vonnie Quinn.
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